You have probably seen movies that stretch things a little too far in the spirit of pushing boundaries and exploring uncharted territory. So much so that even movie buffs find it difficult to comprehend and compose themselves long enough to sit through and make it to the end credits. While the majority of them are horror films, they might also be from other genres and end up on the list of prohibited films.
Prepare yourself for today’s video, in which we will discuss 15 of the most heartbreakingly unsettling films that we at Marvelous Videos believe 99 percent of viewers will be unable to finish. You had better be prepared!
Faces of Death (1978)
The Original Faces of Death, a Mondo horror film directed by John Alan Schwartz and later re-released as The Original Faces of Death, dares to take one beyond the barrier of the living, vividly presenting mankind’s biggest fear. The film immerses you in a universe where everything seems out of place.
The film, boasting a documentary-like style, revolves around pathologist Francis B. Gröss narrating to the audience an array of footage, each showcasing different dreadful versions of death. The footage is from different parts of the world, a blend of real stock shots of accidents, suicides, autopsies, and animal killings as well as faked scenes of people getting killed – both to comprehend and study the many faces of death.
This video is a textual study of death, a horrible dive into a bloody universe with pictures on display that will not be erased or forgotten any time soon. Mummified bodies, a vicious dogfight between two pit bulls designed to kill each other, decapitation and electric executions, the famed slaughterhouse, and the horrifyingly absurd monkey brain-eating sequences, the latter an act of drawing closer to God – all of these have sparked outrage.
That’s not even all. The movie also features a bunch of seals getting killed and cut open, a violent alligator attack to the extent of even having a nasty bloody cannibalism orgy on display. Would this still come as a shock when we tell you that Schwartz’s film has been banned in 46 countries? Well, it is certainly not a film that is advised to be watched post a good meal and most definitely not for the faint of hearts. John Alan Schwartz’s Faces of Death is a flick that’s made to make you think and if you are someone who has never really thought about death, it is time that you started thinking.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007)
For a long time, John Erick Dowdle’s pseudo-documentary horror film was extremely difficult to obtain. It struggled to get a theatrical distribution after its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and even ended up as a VOD release in 2014 before finally getting a home release through Scream Factory in 2015.
The Poughkeepsie Tapes has on display an uncompromising subject matter surrounding the discovery of over 800 videotapes shot by a malevolent sick serial killer who has yet to ever be identified let alone caught.
The tapes aren’t just a visual record of the sadistic madman’s murders; they also showcase the horrifying details of every murder, the killer’s obsession with power and control and hints at the simple truth that evil people exist and there’s nothing that one can do about it.
This picture, which also features a screenplay by Dowdle, is a very deep psychological thriller that deals with some repulsively macabre themes about random acts of violence. The film incorporates various real-life events and serial killers, including Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
The 2007 flick has experts and investigators trying to analyse and decipher the contents of the videotapes while attempting to determine who or what this killer is. The uncompromisingly dark and grim tone of the movie, add to that a deranged serial killer at large gives this film here quite an edge.
As a viewer, you aren’t just dragged into what’s made to look like a documentary but also into the very sickness of the serial killer’s mind, a mind that’s terrifyingly disturbing and creepy. After all, who in their sane mind will perform a C-section on a woman, then place the severed head of her husband inside her very womb, sew it up, wake her up and then film her reaction?
Wish to watch this movie? Be our guest but don’t tell us later we didn’t warn you!
Tusk (2014)
With a title like that and a slogan like “Let Me Tell You A Story,” one can easily guess the movie’s ramifications. This 2014 comedic horror film, written and directed by Kevin Smith and based on a story from Smith’s SModcast podcast, is the first in Smith’s True North trilogy of horror-comedy films.
The plot is simple: Wallace Bryton is the co-host of the popular podcast the Not-See Party, where he mercilessly mocks people in viral videos doing embarrassing things. As part of the job, Wallace travels to Canada to interview an internet celebrity who sliced off his leg with a katana only to find the latter accidentally dead.
Flustered that he came all the way for nothing, Wallace decides not to come back without a story. One thing leads to the other and he finds himself at the mansion of a retired seaman bound to a wheelchair. Howard Howe offers him tea along with a particular story of how a walrus that he named later as Mr. Tusk had saved him from drowning post a shipwreck.
Of course, the tea was laced and Wallace woke up the very next morning strapped to a wheelchair and without a leg. It does not take Wallace much time to figure out that the elderly Howard isn’t the person that he actually thought he was. Howard’s disturbing fondness for walruses makes him go to the extent of surgically as well as mentally altering Wallace into a walrus.
If you are wondering if we made that up, we didn’t, and one thing is certain: you will never look at walruses the same way again. The film, which was shot in just 15 days, boasts a stellar ensemble, led by Justin Long as Wallace Bryton and Michael Parks as the malevolent Howard Howe, who are unquestionably the driving forces behind it.
Smith deserves credits for his screenplay which is dark, witty, disturbing but at the same time fascinating. Granted, the film here isn’t for everyone but if you are in for all things crazy and you watch this film here with an open mind, you are in for a ride.
Grotesque (2009)
Koji Shiraishi’s Japanese exploitation horror film is as gory and filthy as anything you have ever heard or seen. Imagine a film that has been banned solely because it may cause psychological harm to those who watch it; you get the concept, right? For those who don’t, the storyline revolves around a young couple Aki and Kazuo.
They are on their first date when they get kidnapped and they wake up on surgical beds, shackled and gagged inside what looks like a well-equipped basement. What follows next is unthinkable torture being inflicted on them by their kidnapper, of course, one who happens to be a sadistic surgeon.
This film is all that has been said about it; it is not only well-made, but also graphic and, most importantly, effective. Remember, even the most hardened horror fan will find this extreme, so do not say we did not warn you. Right from the sexual violence on display to the torture devices used, the movie is capable of even having adult viewers close their eyes and cover their ears just like children.
All it takes is a run time of 73 minutes, a solid cast of three actors, and their terrific performance to live up to the name – Grotesque, indeed! In fact, Shiraishi’s 2009 movie here is quite a fitting reply to all the horror filmmakers in the West. There’s violence promised here like never before and a maniac capable of scaring the living daylights out of you. Got plans of watching the film? Well, be our guest but at your own risk!
I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
Jennifer Hills is a short story writer who quits the hustle and bustle of Manhattan to write her first novel in an isolated riverbank home in Kent. When she manages to attract the attention of a group of chauvinist perverts, what was supposed to be a refreshing holiday for her quickly turns into her worst nightmare.
The group of four vehemently rapes her and also leaves her for dead. But a horrified Jennifer pieces herself back together and methodically hunts all of them down one after the other to execute her acts of retribution.
You may be startled to learn that the inspiration for this rape and retribution horror picture comes from real interaction that Meir Zarchi, the film’s writer, director, and editor, had with a young woman who was raped and beaten by two guys in a park in New York City in 1974. The concept was further developed when the film’s cinematographer, Yuri Haviv, invited Zarchi to spend a weekend at a riverside summer cottage he had rented in Kent, and the rest is history.
Coming back to this controversial cult movie, the film was initially released as Day of the Woman and it was only in 1980 when distributor Jerry Gross renamed the movie as I Spit on Your Grave, credits to a French drama that was released in 1959. So, what we have here is a movie that has on display the longest rape scene in film history, say close to about 25 minutes.
No wonder, the movie was submitted to the Motion Picture Association of America quite a number of times. The amount of violence on display had the flick getting rejected again and again and the movie got a green signal only after all references to anal rape were removed. The movie had plenty of crew members quitting the film for the sole reason that they just could not process the level of violence anymore.
For instance, not many know this but the makeup artist of the film literally left the movie halfway as the film triggered her memories of her own gang rape and she just could not take it anymore. With a run time of 102 minutes, you are exposed to pure violence and abuse in every manner possible. Mind you, this movie is certainly not for everyone and how you decide to sit through is entirely your decision.
The Green Inferno (2013)
Eli Roth’s cannibal horror film pays tribute to Italian cannibal flicks from the late 1970s and early 1980s. With a screenplay co-written by Roth and Guillermo Amoedo, the movie follows a group of college activists who journey all the way to the Amazon rainforest to shoot and stream live footage to raise awareness about a petrochemical company that is clearing forests and displacing native communities.
Their operation is successful and their video goes viral all over social media. But as fate would have had, the group meets up with a plane accident on their way back. The remaining survivors not only get captured by a cannibalistic tribe but they also end up becoming their meal one after the other.
Let us dive into some specifics now that the plot has been established. There is no disputing that The Green Inferno will shock its viewers to new heights, as it features some of the most gruesome, graphic violence ever seen on screen. As it is, when it comes to jungle and cannibal exploitation films, they are usually allied with more violence, appallingly explicit ritual killings and let’s not forget profuse volumes of bloodshed.
Eli Roth lives up to his name and if you happen to be someone who isn’t familiar with this horror veteran’s work here, there is a high possibility that you wouldn’t be able to finish watching this movie. But Roth was also wise enough to not feature any depiction of violence against any animal for that matter unlike Ruggero Deodato’s controversial film, Cannibal Holocaust.
Mind you, Roth’s movie here isn’t for the squeamish, there are plenty of characters getting their eyes gouged out, impaled, decapitated and even eaten alive. The depiction of torture and horror looks a tad too convincing. No wonder, the movie was not released in Spain till 2016 and when it finally did, it had a limited release of just five copies.
Antichrist (2009)
This experimental psychological horror film stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg and was written and directed by the renowned Lars von Trier. It has received 21 awards and 33 nominations.
The story is divided into a prologue, an epilogue, and four chapters in between, and it follows a married couple who, following the death of their young child, seek solace in an isolated cabin in the woods. However, the husband starts experiencing bizarre visions and the wife starts displaying increasingly violent sexual behavior as well as sadomasochism.
So, with Lars von Trier, you will either love him or detest him; there is no middle ground. Focusing on this film, in particular, von Trier creates yet another unique and magnificent work of cinema, one in which he sticks to his vision without compromise. He creates quite a disturbing atmosphere having on display bizarre sex sequences, inexplicable situations adding up to the psychologically surreal feel, and of course, the mutilation of the genitals.
It would not be wrong to address Antichrist as a movie that’s both challenging and open to interpretations. Boasting a run time of 108 minutes, all it needed was a solid cast of two – Dafoe as the therapist husband and Gainsbourg as the mentally unstable wife to be effective. Watch this subversive art of horror only if you have an open mind, this movie is clearly not for everyone!
Maniac (2012)
In Franck Khalfoun’s psychological slasher film, Frank Zito, a psychotic young man, takes over his family’s mannequin restoration business after his mother’s death. Frank was mistreated by his prostitute mother as a child, and as a result of this, he has grown into a psychopath serial killer with violent urges and a peculiar fascination for scalps.
Things change when he crosses paths with the French photographer, Anna, and the duo develops a friendship. So much so that Frank even agrees to help her out with an art exhibition using his mannequins. But with Frank falling in love with Anna, his fixation on scalps escalates and with that comes to the surface his long-repressed desires of stalking and scalping his victims.
For those who are unaware, the 2012 film Maniac is a remake of the 1980 classic film of the same name and is widely regarded as one of the best remakes ever made. The entire film, which has an 89-minute run duration, is shot from the perspective of a killer, specifically his extremely distressing state of mind and psychology.
Full credits to Elijah Wood for essaying the role of Frank Zito; he is simply outstanding as the mentally deranged killer, putting literally everything he has into the character. The kills on display look so authentic, hats off to the camera work there – one literally has to see it to believe it. This movie here is solely for fans of uncompromising horror but having said that, please brace yourself up to be utterly shocked. The film will give you plenty of reasons, a total of 8 very gory kills and scenes that are bound to stick with you for a very long time.
A Serbian film (2010)
Is there a film you can think of that has been banned in at least 46 countries? Sean Spasojevi’s Serbian horror film, on the other hand, has a worldwide reputation for being one of the most intense and unsettling horror films ever made. The storyline revolves around Miloš, a semi-retired adult performer, one who is strapped financially.
In desperate need of some money to meet the needs of his family, he agrees to be a part of an art film and signs the lucrative deal. But what he fails to realize is that without his knowledge, he has been involved in a sick snuff film that has themes of perversion such as pedophilia and necrophilia topping the list. With Miloš forcibly made to commit abusive and depraved acts of violence, he eventually realizes that there’s no coming back.
A Serbian Film, with a storyline by Aleksandar Radivojevi and Spasojevi, contains some of the most heinous and horrible moments on show, as well as portraying Serbia in a way that few can conceive. There is rape and murder of a newborn, blood and gore, horrifying visuals of having sex with corpses, and a climax that makes viewers want to jump up and go straight to the restroom.
To call this movie shocking and disturbing would be an understatement. The aim of the film was to stir a reaction and it goes without saying that it did successfully achieve its purpose. We bet a lot of you did not know this but this film here happens to be the first and only flick till date to have received an R20+ rating in Japan.
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
Ruggero Deodato’s controversial Italian cannibal film is neither for the faint of heart nor for those who are easily offended. If you intend to watch this film, it is strongly suggested that you do so at your own risk. Now that our primary job here is done, we will get to the details of the flick.
The narrative has anthropologist Harold Monroe leading a rescue mission into the wild Amazon rainforest to find a missing crew of American filmmakers. Apparently, the crew went missing while they were shooting a documentary on the region’s primitive cannibal tribes.
Monroe eventually ends up unearthing the skeletal remains of the missing crew along with reels of their underdeveloped documentary but it is only after he comes back to New York and watches the disturbing unedited footage that he realizes who the real cannibals are.
Cannibal Holocaust, which boasts a script by Gianfranco Clerici, was inspired by the Italian media’s depiction of the Red Brigades’ atrocity. According to accounts, the coverage featured news reports that Ruggero Deodato believed were manufactured in order to capture more dramatic video, a concept that would later become the film’s central theme. Produced as part of the contemporary cannibal trend of Italian exploitation cinema, the movie had its premiere in Milan. Shocked? Don’t be because the film was apprehended by the Italian courts exactly after ten days. Deodato has been arrested on charges of obscenity and also on several counts of murders all thanks to rumors that stated many of his actors were killed on camera.
It was only after he could prove his innocence and had the actors appear in court that the charges were finally dropped. Well, you can’t really help it – everything in the movie looked so damn real. Also, you know right that the animal deaths featured in the movie were real, precisely something that made this movie all the more controversial.
The list of animal deaths in the movie is quite long and just so you know, the scene that had the monkey getting killed was shot twice so the movie had two monkeys getting killed for that particular scene. This movie ain’t for the sensitive; watch this only if you really want to and with an open mind.
Hostel: Part II (2007)
Eli Roth wrote and directed the sequel to his 2005 film Hostel, while Quentin Tarantino is one of the executive producers. Hostel: Part II is set immediately after the events of the previous film and features three female protagonists. Without any further delay, let’s get into the storyline of the most pirated film ever.
A trio of American art students charmed by a strikingly beautiful European woman join her on a lush spa retreat in Slovakia oblivious to the fact that they are about to face their worst nightmares. The young women are tricked into entering the hostel whose hosts are the highest bidders and their fondest desires are to inflict on them unimaginable amounts of pain, torture, and eventually kill them of course!
Those who have watched the first film have a good idea of what to expect, but those who have not been in for a bloodbath. Here, Eli Roth follows the one and only rule of horror sequels: go larger and more extreme. The movie brags a literal bloodbath sequence where Heather Matarazzo’s character Lorna is hung upside down naked above a bathtub.
A woman is seen entering the room, mutilating her body with a scythe and like we said before, literally taking a bath in her blood. This scene is not only one of the high points of the flick but also holds a certain historical significance. Actor Monica Malacova portrays the role of Mrs. Bathory, one who bathes in the blood of Lorna.
You will be surprised to know that her character is actually based on a real woman. Apparently, Elizabeth Bathory was known as the Blood Countess of Hungary and is said to have slain more than 600 young female servants and peasants throughout her life. Well, if one is to believe the legend, she used to take her bath in the blood of virgins just to retain her beauty.
Now, that’s some thorough research done and Eli Roth deserves full commendation for the depiction in the movie. If you still haven’t seen the film, we’d recommend you to give the prequel a shot before for a better understanding. Or how about not seeing the movies at all? The choice is yours.
Possession (1981)
Andrzej Żuławski, the late Polish filmmaker, was known for creating films that transport you into his realm of darkness and demons. With a current IMDb rating of 7.4, this 1981 psychological horror drama directed and co-written by Zulawski may appear to be a typical picture, one that revolves around an average couple whose marriage is on the rocks, but do not be fooled.
Maintaining a consistently brisk pace, the film will end up altering into something that is not only terrifying but also supernatural at the same time. Speaking of the plotline, a spy comes back home to find that his wife wants a divorce. While the wife doesn’t state the exact reason for the divorce, she starts showcasing an increasingly unsettling violent behavior.
The husband starts suspecting that his wife is having an affair and as a result, employs a private investigator. At the same time, he also starts having an affair with his son’s teacher who is a ditto lookalike of his wife. What is primarily believed to be a case of infidelity soon turns into something way more sinister.
We want you to believe us when we say that Possession not only had a restricted theatrical distribution in the United Kingdom but it was also banned for nearly a decade due to its violent nature. Because the stuff on the show was so disturbing, even the United States received a significantly altered clip on its initial broadcast.
In fact, the movie had such an impact on the French actress, Isabelle Adjani, one who essayed the lead role that she never took on a similar role after the movie. The flick is filled with sequences that are quite capable of making you squirm but nothing beats the infamous underground menstruation scene featured. We will urge you to give this movie a shot only if you are mentally prepared for it. Otherwise, don’t!
Raw (2016)
“What are you hungry for?” – Yes, that is the tagline for Julia Ducournau’s coming-of-age horror thriller, which had over 30 people leave in the middle of its screening in Sweden. According to reports, a large portion of the audience passed out and dashed to the restroom to puke their guts out.
The storyline is pretty simple; we have a vegetarian starting her first semester at a veterinary school. She is forced to eat raw meat for the first time in her life and soon acquires a taste for meat that goes way beyond just animals.
So, when we say animals, we do not mean cooked animals. We are talking about a film that is won 24 Oscars, received 45 nominations, and caused a lot of controversy because of its explicit material, so you get the idea, right? What we are dealing with is a French-Belgian horror drama filled with gore, Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf as two very wild characters along with a plethora of nauseating scenes.
Mind you, there are fingers, legs as well as various body parts being eaten so if you decide to give this a shot, please make sure that you are seated close to the washroom or at least have a vomit bag with you.
We would not want you to take any chances. Boasting an engrossing script also by Ducournau, Raw is a movie that is fearless and bold enough to stand out in a crowd. It is great for a cannibal movie, more like traumatizing yet mesmerizing at the same time. The gruesome content on display is categorically not for the faint of heart!
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
It is common for movie buffs to come find a film that is so distressing that they are unable to finish it. Sal, or the 120 Days of Sodom, by Pier Paolo Pasolini, is one such film that should be at the top of everyone’s list by now. A loose adaptation of Marquis de Sade’s 1785 novel, The 120 Days of Sodom, this 1975 horror art film is set during the second world war, revolving around four rich and corrupt fascist libertines.
They end up abducting 18 teenagers and subject them to 120 days of extreme barbarity, sexual as well as mental torture. Inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, the movie is divided into four parts – Anteinferno, Circle of Manias, Circle of Shit and Circle of Blood whilst exploring themes of political corruption, materialism, capitalism, totalitarianism, nihilism, righteousness, sadism and fascism.
Still looking for words to describe this uncompromising and unforgiving film? Simply said, it is a type of film that one should only watch once. You will be quite surprised to know that Pasolini himself shot about four different endings to give his movie a fitting ending. To think of, it has been 46 long years since its release and till date, it remains banned in Australia.
To some, it is a masterpiece and to some it is repulsive. Amongst the sea of visuals that are more than just disturbing, there is a scene that has a young girl forced to act like a dog and given food that has a razor in it. A lot of viewers till date don’t really know what to make of that. This inevitably powerful yet provocative movie is only recommended to people who are hundred percent sure that they will be able to sit through the whole run time of 116 minutes.
The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011)
The Human Centipede, a 2009 Dutch body horror film directed, written, and co-produced by Tom Six, is a direct sequel to this exploitation horror film. Laurence R. Harvey, an English actor, plays Martin Lomax, a mentally handicapped parking attendant who is so infatuated by the original film that he resolves to construct his own centipede. Only this time, it is bigger, consisting of 12 people and let’s not forget Martin has no medical training.
Is not simply thinking about it enough to make you feel uneasy, aside from the fact that it is gross? The sequel simply redefines the term “horror.” As far as the British Board of Film Classification is concerned, it simply refused to clear the sequel for a straight-to-video release. BBFC further stated that no number of cuts were capable of making The Human Centipede 2 acceptable enough to be displayed or even vended for that matter. In fact, you will be surprised to know that the whole movie was initially shot in a colour format just like every other movie.
Six was ultimately told to change it to black and white to keep the effects of brutality, body horror and sexual violence in check. The film boasts plenty of scenes that can easily offend its viewers so if you have plans of watching this movie sometime soon, we suggest you sit with a barf bag, maybe two just in case.
If you fancy body horror and you know for a fact that you are okay with extreme levels of torture, especially the discharge of faeces inside one’s mouth, be our guest by all means. If you are not, don’t even think about it!