I recently saw “Rampage” from 2009. Its basically a movie where a spree shooter is portrayed as the good guy/anti-hero. Several parts gave me that pit in your stomach, teeth gritting uncomfortable moment. I really hated it. Although I’m not surprised there are sequals I am disappointed and will not be watching them.
The Wolf of Wall Street. That movie gave me nightmares.
At the risk of sounding prude, seeing so much excess and chaos crossed the line from being morbid to becoming genuinely unpleasant, like seeing drunks and drug addicts in real life. I hated DiCaprio’s character with a passion from start to finish, and that night after watching the movie, I had a nightmare where I was at one of those parties and they were abusing me and my friends.
Knowing that it’s based on real events, that the guy DiCaprio plays is free, and that there are people who admire him even after seeing the movie makes me feel dejected.
And it’s relatively tame compared to some billionaire’s realities.
Yeah I fucking hate that movie. It feels like it made their horrendous behavior into a joke. None of it is funny in the context of reality. So glad to hear someone feels the same way about the movie.
Seeing Robin Williams play a creep in 1 Hour Photo was unsettling. Especially the scene where he is imagining being part of the family whose home he has broken into and is just casually doing stuff in.
Also Grave of the Fireflies for being the greatest movie I never want to see again for reasons that will only be clear ig you also watch it.
Falling Down (1993). The main character attacking minorities, saying American conservative shit, and enablement of urban paranoia was pretty unsettling. The black comedy undertones did get me to chuckle once or twice, but overall just an upsetting thinking of some people sympathizing with the MC in a way that led conservatism to what it is today. The fact that he killed a neonazi does not balance it out.
Been a long time since I’ve seen this movie, but I always thought the point of the neonazi was specifically to point out how alike the two were. At the end of the scene where he kills him, the scene is shot in a reflection in a mirror. He kills the nazi, nazi drops out frame in the reflection, leaving just the MC, who then shoots and shatters the mirror itself.
Wasn’t he also watching the neonazi through reflections in a store’s security mirrors earlier? It’s really been a long time.
I always assumed the point of the movie was to show how stupid the idea of the “White Man’s Burden” and white persecution complex was, with some critique of American exceptionslism thrown in.
I shouldn’t be surprised that some people took the exact opposite from the film and empathize with the MC. Kind of reminds me of Fight Club in that sense.
I always wished I had an eye for that kind of thing; no I haven’t noticed that!
I always assumed the point of the movie was to show how stupid the idea of the “White Man’s Burden” and white persecution complex was, with some critique of American exceptionslism thrown
Throughout the movie, I wanted it to be satirical, and wanted to believe that it was exactly this because of how ridiculous and exploitative aspects of this movie are. But there so many moments where the film was intentionally trying to get me to sympathize for the character and made it feel very sincere.
I shouldn’t be surprised that some people took the exact opposite from the film and empathize with the MC. Kind of reminds me of Fight Club in that sense.
Absolutely this, and in more extreme cases with movies like American History X too. But American History X’s message is obvious to me and I really believe you’d have to be pretty moronic, as neonazis usually are, to believe it’s a pro-white supremacy movie and feel empowered by it. Fight Club is more subtle, but I believe it gives more opportunity for people not to identify with the opposite of the message, even for those that don’t know or get it. I just didn’t feel that way about Falling Down.
But I don’t know man, you’ve actually inspired me to want to rewatch it; see if I feel any differently.
Curiously, when I saw it, I picked up that the guy was crazy and violent, and saw it as a horror film following the monster.
Years later, I’d learn that it was popularly seen as a white-guy underdog movie set (and produced) during the Rodney King crisis and the police war on gangs.
I’ve heard of it but never seen it
It wasn’t horrible at the time but in hindsight it really is some kind of conservative underdog fantasy.
Pasolini’s Salo/120 Days of Sodom - Nobody ever regrets watching it.
Bad Boy Bubby - One of many grim Aussie films of that era. A classic.
The Warzone - Tim Roth’s directorial feature. Incestuous rape introducing Colin Farrell in his feature debut.
Drowning By Numbers/ A Zed and Two Noughts - Peter Greenaway shoots his films like renaissance paintings. Do you like lots and lots of snails on naked bodies? No? Tough. The Michael Nyman scores are terrific though.
You can pretty much take your pic with any of Lars Von Triers films. Breaking the Waves, Antichrist, Dogville etc.
Festen - which is Danish but NOT a Lars Von Trier film is probably the best Dogme 95 films of all. Including that fucking MAGAT Harmony Korine. Don’t know if this is that haunting but a good film anyway.
Come and See - Yes yes come and see! and in the vein of horrible WW2 films…
Salon Kitty - Tinto Brass before he went full porno.
Baise Moi - FUCK ME! No really that’s what its called.
Christiane F : Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo - Not a documentary but based on fact.
Reckon that should be enough. Happy viewing! LOL.
The War Zone is a great pick here. Tim Roth’s contributions in this sphere are notable, that was his directorial debut, and before that his acting debut was playing a teenage skinhead in Made in Britain which fits the criteria too.
someone mentioned Michael Haneke elsewhere, Roth is in the english language remake of Funny Games, another film that meets the requirements and one of the the few remakes worth watching, due to it being a) an exact replica of the original but in english and b) having tim roth in it
Do you know I have had Funny Games on DVD for years and I haven’t watched it. I got so burned out by dark films that I have to ‘fall’ into watching them organically somehow. Like either they are on and I get pulled in or I have to creep up on them without quite realising/admitting they’re going to be a fucking brutal trip, or go see them at the cinema.
You sound like your a bit of a film buff as well. What have you watched recently that you rate or hate?
yeah, you never know what will get to you but for what it’s worth i think Funny Games is less dark than many mentioned here
i’ve been lax at watching and noting down what i’ve watched lately but two newish ones that stood out were MadS (2024) and the Toxic Avenger remake (probably in it’s favour that i saw it after the relatively disappointing Street Trash one). also yet another rewatch of From Dusk Till Dawn which is always a winner for me
MadS looks good. I will dl it tonight. Haven’t seen the Toxic Avenger remake but I have it on the server, but tbh I’d probably rather rewatch Tromeo and Juliet. Some films have a magic to them and that film is a sputtering dark candle in a gutter o’erflowed with filth.
I recently rate The Surrender 2025, Bring Her Back 2024 (not just cos I have a thing for Sally Hawkins) and if you haven’t seen it When Evil Lurks from 2023. All scratched the horror itch.
Agree on the pointless Street Trash remake. Feels like ‘they’ have done that a lot recently, i.e. remake schlock and double down on the shit bits in some kind of ironic crapfest. Like with the new Anaconda film. Why not just remake something good instead of microwaving crap bc they got the IP for pennies.
Kids, Requiem for a Dream
Trainspotting
Requiem for a Dream
Both movies were good. Both movies were absolutely a one time watch and never again.
The first time I ever watched Trainspotting (like a decade or so ago) I had taken 2 tabs of acid and looked up online “movies that will change your life” or something along those lines.
One of the first ones listed was this one called Trainspotting and I had no idea what it was about I was expecting some drama about a special needs little boy who likes to look at trains or something.
Ohhh boy. That one scene was horrifying I got up and almost turned the TV off but I’m glad I didn’t. I love that movie so much.
That one scene on acid must be something.
Requiem for a Dream. You’re absolutely correct, a one-time-only must-watch. I always enjoyed re-watching films with friends, but this one is a no go. One thousand years ago, I added the DVD release to my collection on release. Where I grew up, our movie theater only carried ultra-mainstream titles, so when films like Requiem released to theaters, it was either a 2+ hour trek to the nearest metropolitan area or just wait for it to release on DVD. I could be misremembering, but I believe the DVD case was one of those awful cardboard cases with the plastic clip. Anyway, it was mixed in with the rest of the DVD collection I proudly displayed in my living room (we all did this). At least until I had to refuse requested viewing by different guests not once, but twice. Fortunately, somewhere around that same time, I pumped the brakes on tangible media, and started gathering digital rips. Packed all that valueless stuff up, and shoved it up in the attic.
I bought Requiem in a DVD 2-pack, with the second movie being American History X.
That was not a fun weekend.
Changling is another, the A. Jolie kidnapping flick
Old Boy. The 2003 Korean one, at least.
Modern one is not much better. Same story.
Yeah but the Korean one is actually a good movie. They’re both modern.
2003 was nearly a quarter century ago
There’s more time between the remake and now than between the original and the remake, if the first one’s pre-modern, so is the second one.
All quiet on the western front
It’s a movie about a German soldier during WWI, really trying to convey the horrors of war.
I read the book when I was 11. I still have dreams about being in the gas attack.
Grave of the fireflies.
The Hunt (2012). Sweet guy gets accused by the child of his best friends to have abused her, thanks to suggestive questioning. Whole town turns against him, even though he’s innocent. I couldn’t finish watching it, because I was trembling and couldn’t watch the hopelessness and unfair treatment. Even worse, it’s based on a true story.
Jeez that sounds like a tough watch
This and “The Handmaids Tale” I cannot watch, same reason.
The Testament is the continuation of Handmaid’s Tale and is rough as well.
I found it a captivating film to watch. It was powerful and left its impression. I’m glad I saw it, no regrets at all, and I recommend it but I think one viewing suffices.
Great movie. Mads Mikkelsen is fantastic as always. Horrible to watch someone go through that. I didn’t know it was based on a true story.
Sorry, i misremembered: Vinterberg (director) got handed a bunch of anonymized cases by his psychiatrist:
They were real cases from around the world. Most were about false memory syndrome and invented memories. The Hunt isn’t based on any individual case but it’s inspired by the ideas in them. The psychiatrist’s idea was that thought, ideas, can be a virus. Once a certain idea about a person takes hold, it can spread like wildfire. If The Celebration was about kids being victimized, this film is too but about victimization of another kind. When someone is accused of child abuse, the kids get interrogated by policemen and psychiatrists who repeatedly ask them the same questions. Sometimes, the kids give the grown-ups the answers they want. They say, ‘yes, he abused me.’ Then everyone goes crazy and for the child, his whole world falls apart.
Requiem for a Dream is likely to come up. maybe Leon as well. Poor Things might be too close to horror to count, The Girl Next Door definitely is. Watership Down is another common one, Plague Dogs is similar and potentially more uncomfortable. for other animations you could count Perfect Blue and Grave of the Fireflies
Gummo is mentioned elsewhere, the only other Korine film i’ve seen is Kids (1995) and it’s fucking grim
Requiem for a Dream is a good one. And the music is great.
never occurred to me tbh but i just looked it up and it’s scored by the guy from Pop Will Eat Itself, got a rabbithole to follow now. thanks for mentioning this
Just commented Kids and Requiem lol
ha all good man. a lot of good recs in this thread
Oh yeah, just mentioned it to say I agree with your recs lol
oh right got you. you have any others? i like this kind of stuff
Most I can think of have been mentioned elsewhere in this thread, like Trainspotting, Blue Velvet, Old Boy. If you know about Requiem, you probably know about π by the same director, but I’ll mention it just in case. Ooh here’s a good one I should have put in the main thread, too late now lol: Die Welle (The Wave). It’s a German drama that takes place in a high school, that’s all I’ll say about it, but it’s really good.
cheers, the only other of his i saw was Black Swan so Pi and Die Welle both going on the backlog
Great answers
Gummo is in my top 10, I love it.
top ten miserycore or top ten all time?
All time, I’ve watched it a bunch. It’s fascinating
yeah it is. i’m going to give it another watch, i think i disliked it before because it seemed at the same time staged and also too intrusive into peoples real lives? but probably that was the point, that they were playing up to it, still it’s all a bit gooble gobble one of us. i’ll have another look, would be interested in the rest of your top ten if you want to post it
It’s entirely fictional, but has some real humanity in there which shows through very strongly in some scenes. So not really intrusive, they are all actors.
I couldn’t give an accurate top 10, but here’s a rough list of 9 others I’ve watched many times and love:
Old boy
Sunshine
Rec (Spanish original)
The matrix
Cloverfield
Cube
As above so below
Watchmen
Alice (1988, russian)
i’m honestly surprised to hear that but glad i had the wrong impression, i’ll get around soon to a rewatch. thanks for the list too, have enjoyed several of those and will be trying Sunshine and Alice
Alice is something else. If you smoke weed, then I would recommend it for that movie.
Idk if I’d classify it as non-Horror, but Threads is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen.
Its a movie from 1984 about a nuclear war scenario in the UK. The movie kept close to the science of the time, and made significant choices in casting and presentation that makes it all feel so much more real.
- Casting unknown actors who look like regular people instead of celebrities
- Giving all the actors relatively average Joe, nobody, roles for their characters
- Presenting the movie in a documentary format as if its real
- Characters exiting the narrative to unknown fates in the aftermath
- The overall sense of hopelessness, dread and loss throughout the
And it’s free to watch on YouTube.
Apparently, they’re making a modern version of it too.
They’ve both been mentioned below but mine are ‘Grave of the Fireflies,’ and ‘When the Wind Blows.’ They hit harder than ‘horror’ movies because they are, in a way, the real human horror for which a ‘genre:horror’ movie would be an abstraction.
Have you seen Threads?
I started it once but got distracted. Been meaning to watch it.
First one that came to mind is Grave of the Fireflies, a Studio Ghibli movie unlike any of the other movies they ever made.
Brave Little Toaster
Gosh, we could add so many 80s/90s animations to go along with this. Watership Down. We’re Back (the dino one). Fantasia (again, the dino scene)
Good answer
