An interesting, Infocultish idea, making a list of the 25 most disturbing films, ever. "Mondo bloodbaths and savage satires" is the claim, and the movies do meet that description well enough:
25) Antichrist - Von Trier, 2009 24) Blue Velvet - Lynch, 198623) Shivers - Cronenberg, 1975
22) Martyrs - Laugier, 2008
21) Man Bites Dog - Belvaux, 1992
20) Begotten - Merhige, 1991
19) Aftermath - Cerda, 1994
18) The Human Centipede - Six, 2010
17) A Clockwork Orange - Kubrick, 1971
16) Flower of Flesh and Blood (aka Slow Death: The Dismemberment) - Hinu, 1985
15) The Last House on the Left - Craven, 1972
14) Irreversible - Noe, 2002
13) Nekromantik - Buttgereit, 1987
12) Men Behind the Sun - Mou, 1988
11) I Spit on Your Grave (aka Day of the Woman) - Zarchi, 1978
10) Happiness - Solondz, 1998
9) Funny Games - Haneke, 1997
8) Visitor Q - Miike, 2001
7) Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom - Pasolini, 1975
6) Cannibal Holocaust - Deodato, 1980
5) In a Glass Cage - Villaronga, 1987
4) Eraserhead - Lynch, 1977
3) Audition - Miike, 1999
2) Threads - Jackson, 1984
1) Exorcist - Friedkin, 1973
(via MetaFilter, who did the nice job of setting up the above list in one spot)
It would be interesting to see a "Total Terror" index for these movies; that is, a rating of how scary/disturbing they are, multiplied by how many people saw the film. There are some really artsy, low-distro films on this list, and some blockbusters. I mean, more people have probably been scared by "The Exorcist" than "Human Centipede" by several orders of magnitude.
There is a trick to mainstream scarifying that requires a certain interesting balance....
Posted by: Andy Havens | August 18, 2010 at 15:20
That's a keen idea, Andy. Would make for a fun research project.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | August 19, 2010 at 16:10
I watched Salo last week for the first time, so I can vouch for that one's presence on such a list as valid.
Posted by: Steve B | August 19, 2010 at 20:39
Agreed, Steve B. I try to raise it in discussions of turning books into movies, but people just give me That Look, or That Other Look.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | August 23, 2010 at 12:20
I checked Netflix and 23 of 25 are currently available through Netflix: the two absences are
13) Nekromantik - Buttgereit, 1987 (although they have Nekromantik 2), and
2) Threads - Jackson, 1984.
If I think about it I might make a custom list on Netflix of the 23.
Posted by: Steve B | August 30, 2010 at 00:54