This page is set aside to display those movies which go above and beyond shock and horror. These movies are designed to make you the viewer respond in a way that you wish you had not witnessed it and if successful will make you ashamed to be of the same species as the creatures portrayed in these films. So enter if you dare!

REALLY DISTURBING MOVIES


  1. Salo, 120 Days of Sodom
  2. Nekromantik
  3. Man Behind the Sun
  4. Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer
  5. I Spit on Your Grave
  6. Eraserhead
  7. Blood Sucking Freaks
  8. Natural Born Killers
  9. Jacob's Ladder
  10. Combat Shock
  11. Maniac
  12. Last House on the Left
  13. Cannibal Holocaust
  14. Pink Flamingos
  15. In a Glass Cage
  16. Love Me Deadly
  17. Sleepaway Camp


Checkout MORE DISTURBING MOVIES!!!!

Featuring- Man Bites Dog, Meet The Feebles and Santa Sangre


Salo, 120 Days of Sodom-(1977)

The Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini was known for controversial material and the last film he directed was easily his most vile. Salo is a modern adaptation of the works of the Marquis de Sade. Set in Fascist Italy during World War II, Salo is the story of a group of perverted fascists who indulge in their own demented desires and pray upon a group of adolescents. They are stripped, dehumanized and told to not pray or engage in normal sexual urges. Violations to the rules result in swift and painful punishment followed by a cruel and prolonged execution. Pasolini has made this movie more of an homage to Sadism then he has in trying to condemn it, as if he is trying to show us visually how disgusting de Sade was in print. The Fascists engage in every perverted and disgusting manner that their imagination can bring forth. If Pasolini was trying to show us the sick parallel between de Sade and these fascists, he is relishing in their depravity then he is in trying to condemn them. The film is full of sodomy and rape, both heterosexual and homosexual. The audience is also subjected to such disgusting scenes as people being forced to eat cooked feces, razor blades and urinating on one another. We also see the prisoners praying on one another as each transgression leads them to their ultimate and final act of punishment. Whatever Pasolini is trying to say about fascists and de Sade is not clear but Salo is so deep in its filth that we are forced to almost choke over its gross content. It is well filmed and each scene of torture is shown in full color and shocking detail. It is hard to imagine the utter shock of this film without realizing that the adolescents were probably underage. Universally voted by many e-mail responses as the most disgusting movie ever made. Ciao!
To think that Pasolini was murdered shortly after, gee I wonder.....

Nekromantik-(1989)

Necrophelia is universally seen to be unacceptable and grotesque. This might help to explain why so few movies have been made on this subject. The German film Nekromantik by Jorg Buttgeheit is considered by many to be the most repulsive and disgusting movie ever made. The plot alone is enough to turn off most horror fans. In the beginning we see a young couple brutally killed in a car crash, it is here we are introduced to Rob the ambulance driver. It seems that Rob has a habit of collecting body parts and corpses from accident scenes to show off to his wife. It seems the young couple has a boring sex life and to put new spice into it they use these body parts in their sex act. Well Rob brings home a corpse and the couple goes crazy over it, having a gruesome threesome. The corpse is so decayed that the penis withers off and Rob cuts a broom handle to replace it. Well would you believe that the young woman decides to leave Rob, taking the corpse with her. The remaining scenes show Rob unsuccessfully trying to find sexual pleasure in other woman, he even resorts to prostitutes. Yet poor Rob cannot reach proper climax, he then murders these women to become sexually aroused. Ultimately this leads to his suicide, an ironic ode to necrophelia. This film is so utterly vile it is a literal abyss of nihilism with little to please the veiwer except for some decent special effects which make the film even more unwatchable. A must see for those who dare as this is pretty intense stuff and is not intended for your average horror audience. An equally vile sequel was released 1991.
Some guys just can't get laid the old fashioned way....

Man Behind the Sun-(1988)

War was never free of cruelty and in many ways shows just how inhumane we can be towards one another. Many know of the cruel and brutal crimes committed by the Nazis but very few are aware of similar atrocities committed by the Japanese. The exploits of one particular hell camp are the focus of this obscure Chinese film. Man Behind the Sun lists very few credits save the director and producer, not that anyone would care to have their name soiled by this sick film. The film centers on the Japanese medical Squadron 731 based in Manchu. The scientists of 731 used prisoners in hideous experiments designed to test human limits in the fields of pain and human endurance. The plot of the movie offers little outside portraying these cruel and shocking experiments, all in very graphic and exploitive form, in a documentary style. By showcasing these acts one is lead down a cruel man made Hell on Earth. Almost none the characters are given any sympathy or shown pity, one in particular a young boy, the only person you are allowed to develop sympathy for is injected with a plague and before your eyes dies a fast and painful death. The next scene shows his poor body being cut open and his organs being put in jars. The camera never seems to ignore any gory detail and being that this is based on a true story one wonders just how much of this sick display is accurate. The fact that anyone would want to remind us of this cruelty only shows that almost anything is fair game in the movie industry.

Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer-(1986)

This sick little number came into the scene rather quietly, made in 1986 but released on video in 1990 where it received a very strong following in the horror audience. The MPAA had tried to slap the movie with an X rating which was used mainly for pornos but may have been done to stigmatize this intense and shocking film. Michael Rooker plays a man loosely similar to famed serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Henry seems to be an average looking guy and except for the occasional dead body he may have left behind. Working with a scumy partner named Otis, the two enjoy kidnapping and brutalizing woman, often raping and mutilating their bodies. It seems that Henry can only reach sexual climax by killing these woman. Well Henry and Otis find a camera and decide to tape their exploits, an unfortunate family being the subject of the duos murderous deeds. A little change occurs when his partner's sister comes in live with them. Becky is a sweet girl but was the victim of an abusive husband. Henry shows some uncommon compasion and seems to be taken by her. Unfortunately Otis seems to display some perverted urges towards his sister. Henry is quickly offended by this and eventualy murders the sicko pervert. Becky takes this as a sign of love and decides to run off with Henry, yet being the predator he is we soon see Henry driving to a road side and dropping off a suitcase which seems to be dripping in blood. What makes Henry unique is that for such a low budget and graphic plot we have a well made and well acted film. The producers have stymied the viewers by delivering a great film with wonderful direction. Yet what comes across even greater is that by showing the viewers the life and feelings of a sociopath we find ourselves looking into a dark mirror and staring at a sad reflection of ourselves. I strongly recommend this film but must warn you to be cautious as this is pretty strong stuff.

I Spit on Your Grave-(1980)

We find many horror movies that use rape as part of the abuse against woman, yet this movie goes beyond what we may call normal. Originally known as Day of the Woman, this sick film would have been buried under the abyss of porno/horror schlocks if it were not for the wonderful lambast given by some notable film critics. Directed by Meir Zarchi, and filmed somewhere in rural New York. The story is about a young woman who moves into a rented house by the lake where she hopes to write a novel. In town she meets some of the local creetins who harass and pester her, nothing too bad at first. Later they go to her place and harass her even more, OK not too bad . Yet for the next 30-40 minutes we are subjected to the brutal beating and rape of the woman by four different men, one of whom being a mental defective. When she recovers from her attack she pulls herself together and seeks out these creetins and disposes of them in most unique and cruel manners imaginable. With the last death done the movie just ends. This film is seen by many as a feminist revenge fantasy in that the victim turns on her attackers and gives them what they deserve. Fair enough, but what we see is the young woman using her beauty to seduce and encourage these men as she gives each one his due. It is hard to say what this movie says about rape but we the viewer must ask ourselves what is acceptable punishment and when is it necessary to take the law into our hands. This is one of those films that makes you feel dirty and violated, where is that shower when you really need it....

Eraserhead-(1978)

David Lynch is well known for such classic movies as Blue Velvet and the strangely addictive Twin Peaks. Yet his first film will be remembered as being one of the most twisted. Made in 1978 and shown mostly in film festivals and art houses, Eraserhead is such a creepy movie that the viewer will find it hard to forget. In many ways watching Eraserhead is like watching a waking nightmare, the characters are bleak, the sets are dark and dirty and we are shown images that defy normal logic. The title character is an odd man who spends his nights watching a small woman dancing in his radiator. We then meet his girlfriend and her family and are witness to a rather uncomfortable meal which may still be alive. Well it seems the love birds have conceived a child which when born resembles a little penis. With this misery at hand the girl runs away, leaving the poor sickly child to Eraserhead. Surprisingly he does a good job at caring for the little one. The movie is 90 minutes long but I swear it seems like 3 hours, the pacing for the last 10 minutes seems to take an hour. Shot in black and white, the movie shows one shocking scene after another and continues to do so until the very end. Like no other film, Eraserhead is the type of film that reminds us that no matter how bleak life may seem all you need to do is pop in this tape and go for a ride in this nihilistic living nightmare.

Blood Sucking Freaks-(1977)

There are those films which are so outrageous that they are considered camp, yet this is not one of them. Also known as The Incredible TortureShow, this title seems more appropriate for this really sick film. The setting for this movie is an off-off broadway Grand Guignol style show. The wicked magician Sardu creeps people with his realistic torture scenes which are not only genuine but live. The theatre is a cover for his group of sadists who enjoy kidnapping and torturing young naked women. Behind the scenes his assistant Ralphus keeps a number of caged women canninbals for their evil deeds. Sardu also enjoys using these woman as human dart boards and urinals. Whether it is meant as a joke is debatable as these scenes are played on and taken for granted, talk about pure exploitation. The real joke is that the special effects are some of the worst on screen, the blood looks purple and is very glue like (Klingon blood?). The scenes of torture and dismemberment are so fake a nine year old could do better. Either way Blood Sucking Freaks is a sad attempt to attain camp status, and since the movie was made with a really low budget it shows. Try sitting through this one more then once.....
It seems the director of this movie got wind of my review and threatened to sue me if I did not remove or rephrase the review, Ok but I would not be proud of a film that is VERY similar to Herschell Gordon Lewis's Wizard of Gore.

Natural Born Killers-(1994)

Oliver Stone has embelished such controversial topics as JFK, Vietnam, Wallstreet and the life of Jim Morrison. His play on the media is one of his most unique and twisted of the bunch. Natural Born Killers is on one hand a satire on the media and how it turns sicko killers into heros and on another a disgustingly sick attempt to find humor in senseless murder. Woody Harrelson plays the murderous Mickey who is in love with the equally vicious Malory played by Juliette Lewis. At times the movie uses sitcom metaphors to poke fun at sick issues like child molesting and spousal abuse. Later we see a whirlwind chase of these criminals as the media shows their carnage and the attempt to apprehend these vile killers. The violence is at times cartoonish while too often enough brutally graphic. We see little guilt or redemption from the murderous duo and are subjected to their love story. Some find this movie to be quite funny and satirical in nature, I found it to be immoral and a bad attempt at satire. Not once do we see any motivation towards redemption and we find that people who grew up in dysfunctional families will be dysfunctional. The only relief I found was the death of the tabloid reporter who deserved what he got. Being a more mainstream movie then the rest, Natural Born Killers is still just as depraved in its moral tone then any film in this list, except maybe for Salo. Let us hope the media does not fall into the trap of making a vile killer into a hero, oops too late!!!!

Jacob's Ladder-(1990)

One of the most mainstream movies in the list yet I found it too be one of the most disturbing and creative films in recent history. Jacob Singer is a postal worker (Sic!), who is haunted by what may or may not be drug induced nightmares, the result of a bizarre experiment during the Vietnam War. The only relief in his sad, wasted life is the comfort in his co-worker/mistress played by the lovely Elizabeth Pena and his chiropractor friend played by Danny Aiello. Jacob Singer is confronting sick visions which make him feel as if he is turning into a madman, at the same time we witness flashbacks of a more happy and very different life prior to his wartime experience. Jacob has indeed lived two very different lives and one wonders what makes him live the way he does, he is an intelligent and well educated man working for the post office. In time Jacob discovers that his war buddies are being killed off and that they all were receiving chilling visions as well. He encounters a chemist who tells him they were part of a plot to increase their efficiency as soldiers by drugging them with a super LSD. Meanwhile, Jacob is experiencing some truly nightmarish visions, one of the most notable being a mad hospital with deformed souls and equally deformed doctors. Somewhat confusing in its eerie nightmare vision and gory visuals, Jacob's Ladder delivers a most unique trip into the world of a man who may or may not be living. The finale is very creepy and has An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge style twist ending. Having watched this movie many times I still find myself wondering just what the hell is going on in his life, about the only logical conclusion being that he is dead and is in hell. What is certain is that Jacob's Ladder is neither mild nor passive in its nature, it is shocking and brilliant in its use of gory visuals and nightmarish visions which will leave the viewer reeling in their own sanity.....

Combat Shock-(1984)

There are few films that are so nihilistic and bleak we are glad to not occupy the world in which it is set. Combat Shock, also known as as American Nightmares, is a notorious exploitation piece set in a ghetto slum with characters that are even more depressing then those in real life slums. Combat Shock is the sad story of a Vietnam vet living in poverty in the Bronx with his wife and child. Each day is a struggle to survive in a world populated with killer pimps, prostitutes, and drug addicts. To make things worse the child is not quite human, having been altered by the effects of Agent Orange on the father. In this sad life we see little if any comfort. The film makers have made no attempt to show any compassion or relief for the characters. They lead such a bleak end existence that death is a welcome salvation from the horrors of reality. The only outlet for these poor souls is the world of drugs and violence. Even with all this bleakness the man's life gets worse, leading to his extended murder-suicide of his family and himself. This is one of those movies that is so raw in its intensity that it makes the nihilism and violence of Taxi Driver look like a Disney film. Remember this next time you feel a little bummed out.

Maniac-(1980)

Being that many movies have used this title I must explain that this one is not only the real deal but the most vile of the pack. A low budget gore flick with no moral perspective that its own makeup artist wanted to be removed from its credits. Tom Savini would later become famous for his award winning FX as well as acting and directing many later horror films yet his realistic FX are the only saving grace in this gutter film. Like many horror films we have a loner with no social grace or personality, in this case a real mama's boy who enjoys murdering women and using their scalps to adorn his mannequins. The nature of this habit is for nothing more then his perverse sexual pleasure. He is suffering from the torment of an abusive mother and longs for her love. Pity, because the audience is treated to little more then the graphic scenes of murder and of the mutilation of the victims shown in bloody red detail. Like many other slasher films this one displays strong anti-woman feelings and the attitude that woman are only good for killing and raping. Displaying little if any value this film only seems to sink into the abyss of cheap slasher flicks, yet its overt immoral tone and downright negative feelings towards woman in general place it in the hall of the disturbed. Carolyn Munro appears very much against type as a woman who is actually drawn to this sicko, will he do her in.... Who cares!!! Luckily the producer/writer/star Joe Spinell died before making Maniac 2.

Last House on the Left-(1972)

Wes Craven has made a name for himself as a leading director in the horror genre with such notable films as A Nightmare on Elm Street, and The Serpent and the Rainbow. Yet his directorial debut will always remain one of the most perverse and vile films to be seen as a horror classic. Joined by Sean Cunningham (Friday the 13th), Craven used Ingmar Bergman's Virgin Spring as a loose guide in this film which has two young girls out for a good time meeting up with a trio of murderers. The gang brutalizes, rapes and murders both girls. Afterwards the trio somehow find their way back at the house of one of the girls and when caught face a wrath far worse then anything committed by the trio. This film is a powerful look at revenge and the day-to-day violence with which we have become blind to. What also adds to the films shock value is that it was a shoe string budget with a cast of unknown actors, making it feel more like a documentary then an exploitation slasher flick. The film also features a cruel murder at the hands of the mother who uses the Lorena Bobbit technique of felatio (Ouch!!!). Normally a piece of cheap exploitation like this would be hidden away or fall into the abyss of rental hell, yet with Craven's reputation and a surprisingly positive review by none other then Roger Ebert (I kid you not, this is a personal favorite of the critic), The Last House on the Left has found itself to be a milestone of spatter flicks and as one of the most disturbing revenge films made. We'll leave the porch light on!

Cannibal Holocaust-(1979)

Like the spaghetti westerns of the sixties, cheap Italian cannibal films were the rage in the seventies. Although we can't really figure out why there was a market for them anyway. Yet like many of the westerns these films had similar plots and very identical conclusions. A group of white explorers would enter the dense jungle of the Amazon rain forests and meet up with very friendly cannibals who were only looking to have these guests as their next meal. With the many films made one wonders why no one noticed the very similar techniques and stories. We see woman gang-raped, and men getting their nuts cut off or having their skulls opened up for a nice dessert of fresh brain. Everyone seemed to be a potential meal for each other. Yet with all this, Cannibal Holocaust presents the viewers with very real looking and often cruel animal deaths committed by the Westerners. It may have been put in to suspend our belief but little can divert the fact that this is still a cannibal movie. The film makers revel in showing us that the explorers are often time just as cruel and brutal as the savages they are visiting. As a sign of the human condition this film gets bloodier, darker and more vile. It seems that we can enjoy the fact that none of these people will get out alive and who cares anyway, after all it is rather sad to be reminded of our primitive rages and cruelty toward man.

Pink Flamingos-(1973)

Never let it be said that John Waters made what you might call mainstream movies. After all the man that brought you Serial Mom, Crybaby and Hairspray could never justify any film unless it had some bit of controversy. That is why Pink Flamingos will always be the most bizarre and perverted of the pack. Pink Flamingos like many of his other movies is set in his hometown of Baltimore and stars his gang of regulars who all seem to have been found at the local dive on the corner. The most famous of the pack was the late Devine, a crossdresser with whom Waters would see everyday as a student, Devine was more then just an actor, he was the very embodiment of what John Waters wanted to portray. As in other films, Devine plays a large woman who is trying to find her identity, in this film it is the title of "Most Filthy Person in the World". Well it seems the trailer park dwelling Devine is up against new competition, the Marbles feel they are the most filthy people and aim to prove it. In the course of the film we witness kidnapping, rape, sodomy, white slavery, baby selling, furniture rubbing, drug dealing and just about every other form of depravity, all in the attempt to gain the coveted title of Most Filthy. When we reach the final deadly confrontation Devine eats a turd and proclaims herself the most filthy person in the world. Pink Flamingos shocks its viewers with a collection of very gross people doing even grosser things, all of this in an attempt to make the audience wretch in their seats. As with many Waters films we find the all out shock to be upsetting and unpleasant, yet what separates this film from many of the above is that this is pure satire and in no way is designed to scare the audience, what we do see is every attempt to gross out an audience and make them feel sick about the film. Pink Flamingos will never be the family classic that Serial Mom is but as an all out cult film it will forever reign at the top.

In a Glass Cage-(1986)

This Spanish made film deals with a perverted love between a man and those he had brutalized during the war. Sometime in the early 1950's a former Nazi commandant is forced to live in an iron lung after an accident. Unable to care for him, his wife hires a young man to look after him. Ironically the man is a former prisoner of the commandant whom he had sexually abused and tortured as a child. Even in his sad state he continues to revel in the memories of the past. This suddenly awakens a passion in the young man who brings in young boys to torture, much to the delight of the commandant. Their exists some sort of sick homosexual love/hate relationship between them. The fine production values and compelling acting seem to draw the viewers closer instead of turning them of. Yet this film does rely heavily on pediphilia and homosexual desires to make its point. Not what you would call light and easy viewing.

Love Me Deadly-(1972)

Mary Wilcox is a very beautiful woman who has a strange habit, she loves kissing corpses. Although not as strongly intense as the more vile Nekromantik, Love Me Deadly is still a sick film. In the course of her merriment Wilcox encounters a mortician who invites her into his cult of necropheliacs. We are then witness to scenes of corpse groping and all out orgies with the dead. Yet it is the mortician who is the real sicko, inviting prostitutes of both sexes over so he can embalm them alive. Wilcox eventually pursues and kills the mortician by stabbing him. The film has all the look and feel of the standard slasher flick yet it has some unique touches that set it apart from the slasher flicks. A really sick film in content and nature we must appreciate that necrophelia films are rare and not too common.
Maybe Wilcox should meet Rob from Nekromantik and they could live happily ever after.

Sleepaway Camp-(1983)

I included this evil little film not because it is unique in the slasher genre, actually it is a typical cookie-cutter slasher flick and very similar to Friday the 13th. Then again most of these films were, often trying to cash in on this exploitation horror cliché. What makes Sleepaway Camp different is that the ending is one of the most shocking conclusions ever filmed. I will not give it away but let us just say that it left me in a freaky state for the next few days. So go out and rent it, fast forward if you wish but watch it and try not to freak out when they show the last scene.......
I swear that this film shocked the hell out of me


Don't Forget to Checkout MORE DISTURBING MOVIES!!!!


**THE LOSMAN'S OTHER PAGES**

*Losman's Lair of Horror * Losman's Horror History * The Best Horror Movies *

* Really Bad Horror Movies * More Disturbing Movies * Lair of The Losman *

* Horror Movie Clichés * Movie Index*


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Changes last made on: Fri Oct 18 1996