Top 20 Hardest to Watch Documentaries

This documentary sets a serious tone right out of the gate. “Restrepo” is named after Juan Sebastián Restrepo, a medic who was killed in the Afghan War. It follows the American soldiers tasked with defending the military outpost named after him. The film is shot by journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, and it forgoes typical documentary tropes to give viewers a raw glimpse into the realities of war. Rather than follow a narrative structure, the directors simply set the camera and let the subjects do the talking. With incredibly visceral violence, we watch the soldiers deal with the psychological ramifications of death, isolation, and relentless danger. The Afghan War may have occurred “over there,” but “Restrepo” brought it home with startling clarity.

Make no mistake - Jesus Camp isn’t a place for learning about the moral values of the Bible. Instead, it’s a film centered around Kids on Fire School of Ministry, a Pentecostal summer camp formerly located in North Dakota. Capturing the daily goings-on of the church, directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady portray how it employed various methods to indoctrinate youths and utilize them for political purposes. As such, there are many difficult scenes, with some featuring the camp attendees speaking in tongues and having their mouths covered with duct tape. The documentary garnered so much controversy that the camp was relentlessly harassed and vandalized by angry individuals. This ultimately led to its closure.

In the late 1970s, Cambodia was under the rule of the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime, and was officially known as Democratic Kampuchea. Led by Pol Pot, the state persecuted Cambodian citizens, resulting in the deaths of up to two million people. During this time, an old high school was converted into a torture and execution center called Security Prison 21, where roughly 20,000 individuals were held. In this harrowing documentary, survivor Rithy Panh walks through the former prison, now known as the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Through interviews with captors and fellow survivors, Panh delves into the regime’s actions and recounts firsthand experiences from the detention center. It’s an incredibly disturbing film that sheds light on one of history’s darkest chapters.

Violence against animals is always a difficult subject to digest. Unfortunately, it’s at the very heart of Netflix’s “The Ivory Game.” As the title suggests, this documentary chronicles elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade conducted by vast criminal networks. It explores, in great and ultimately disturbing detail, how the trade works, what people do to elephants to get the ivory, and the driving forces behind its lucrative demand. And while the documentary is primarily centered on the illegal trade, it fundamentally studies how humans corrupt nature for their own selfish ends. It’s not a pleasing thesis, to be sure, but then again, that’s what makes “The Ivory Game” so powerful.

When it comes to captivating true crime stories, it doesn’t get much bigger than Jonestown. This was a remote settlement in the jungles of Guyana that housed a cult called the Peoples Temple. While the Temple started with good intentions, it eventually fell down a sadistic path thanks to the machinations and smooth-talking of its charismatic leader, Jim Jones. The documentary features interviews with Jonestown survivors and former members. Through their accounts, it explores how the cult regressed into violence, culminating in one of the most shocking events in modern history. Bringing new footage from that period to light, this film underscores how unchecked power and blind devotion can ultimately lead to great tragedy.

A widely beloved documentary, “Silverlake Life” won both a Peabody Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It follows the journey of Tom Joslin and Mark Massi, a gay couple slowly dying of AIDS. As you can imagine, witnessing two people relentlessly battle with their inescapable demise makes for a deeply unsettling watch. Joslin and Massi not only get progressively weaker, they also deal with the psychological ramifications that come with the knowledge of impending and certain death. Through its powerful storytelling, this documentary helped shed light on the AIDS epidemic, providing a human face to those who were marginalized and alienated by it.

The Oscar-nominated “Waltz with Bashir” is a unique cinematic experience from Israeli director Ari Folman. Going beyond a typical documentary, the film is presented as an animated docudrama whose events are based on real people and their personal experiences. Those interviewed recount tragic memories from the Lebanon War, which occurred throughout the early ‘80s. The stories are devastating, as the narrative revolves around the Sabra and Shatila massacre that saw up to 3,500 people lose their lives. Furthermore, the film utilizes a compelling animation style that helps add a surreal and nightmarish quality to the soldiers’ stories. It’s intriguing, gorgeous, and mysterious, but at the same time, undeniably difficult.

Director Bart Layton spins a masterful yarn with “The Imposter,” which tells an almost impossibly captivating real-life story. The titular subject is a French man named Frédéric Bourdin, who pretended to be missing American teenager Nicholas Barclay. Despite looking nothing like the young man, Bourdin was happily “accepted back” into the lives of the Barclay family. Once the truth eventually comes to light, it proves just as crushing as the initial disappearance. So why did the ruse work so well? That’s the question at the heart of “The Imposter”. The universally acclaimed film explores difficult concepts like grief, delusion, and being so desperate for relief that you’re willing to accept obvious falsities.

We talked about human manipulation of nature with “The Ivory Game.” While that film focused exclusively on elephants, “Earthlings” takes a broader perspective of the subject, addressing the exploitation of the entire animal kingdom. Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, the documentary delves deep into how humanity exploits animals for various purposes including food, fashion, research, and entertainment. Through the use of hidden cameras, the film presents an uncomfortably intimate glimpse into these industries, often utilizing incredibly graphic imagery to get its point across. Viewers are confronted with the harsh maltreatment and slaying of animals. Trust us when we say the camera doesn’t shy away from any of it. It’s 95 minutes of near-relentless misery.

German director Werner Herzog is known for his challenging films, which pioneered the New German Cinema movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s. However, he turns to nonfiction with “Grizzly Man,” a documentary about the life and death of bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell had a deep affection for grizzly bears and even lived among them in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. Tragically, on October 5, 2003, he and his girlfriend fell victim to a fatal attack by one of those very same creatures. “Grizzly Man” is an upsetting portrayal of a life ultimately marked by tragedy. It argues that there’s a fine line between passionate and fanatical, highlighting the need for humans to respect the boundaries of nature.

Among the many remarkable Holocaust documentaries, the 1956 short “Night and Fog” stands out. However, one that truly commands attention is “Shoah”. This film is as dense and expansive as any nonfiction book on the same harrowing subject. Crafted over a period of eleven years, “Shoah” boasts a runtime of over nine hours and explores many facets of the Nazi occupation of Poland. The film’s scope is extensive and it features poignant interviews with survivors, Polish soldiers, and even a few Nazis. With unfiltered testimonies and a very deliberate pace, “Shoah” asks its viewers to engage with the Holocaust, its victims, and its perpetrators for nearly ten hours. It’s a very tall order - one that might prove daunting for many.

Not only is Netflix putting out some fantastic television, they also released one of the best documentaries in recent years. “13th” was directed by “Selma” director Ava DuVernay, and it tackles similar issues of race and oppression. “13th” is ironically named after the 13th amendment, as the documentary argues that slavery continued after the passing of the amendment in the form of convict leasing and disenfranchisement. It maintains that it continues to this day with the war on drugs and mass incarceration targeting people of color. It’s a horrifying look at America’s troubles with racism and offers a compelling argument that we need to do better to ensure future equality.

“Tarnation” is certainly a unique documentary. It chronicles the lives of Jonathan Caouette and his mother with mental health issues, and its story is told through 20 years’ worth of film footage, answering machine messages, and video diaries that were filmed and collected throughout Caouette’s upbringing. It’s one of the most original yet heartbreaking documentaries ever made, and its subject matter regarding mental illness and mother-son love is both extremely challenging to watch and deeply touching. It makes for a unique viewing experience, but its disturbing content will leave you breathless and emotional.

Hospitals have come a long way since the 1960s. “Titicut Follies” is a brutally depressing look at the inmates of Massachusetts’ Bridgewater State Hospital, a hospital for criminals with mental health issues. The documentary harrowingly depicts the hospital’s patients living in squalor and facing harassment by the staff. It was so controversial that it was banned from the public after a Massachusetts Superior Court judge claimed that it violated the patients’ privacy rights. However, the filmmaker, Frederick Wiseman, believes that it was banned to protect the reputation of the state. When it was finally made available in the early 90s, an amendment was added, stating that quality-of-life had improved at the hospital since the documentary was filmed.

This documentary began after Kurt Kuenne’s friend, Andrew Bagby, was murdered by his partner, Shirley Turner. After murdering Bagby, Turner announced that she was pregnant. The documentary centers around interviews with Andrew’s friends and family members, and was meant to serve as a scrapbook for his son Zachary. However, the documentary soon veers into true crime territory and becomes a scathing indictment of the Canadian justice system, complete with a harrowing outcome that will leave you emotionally distraught. The film allows us to shake our heads in outrage and blot our eyes in equal measure, and it serves as both a shocking family drama and a beautiful tribute to a great man.

There certainly have been many difficult and challenging documentaries surrounding sea life. 2009’s “The Cove” was a mesmerizing documentary about dolphin hunting, and 2013’s “Blackfish” concerns the practice of keeping killer whales captive as entertainment. It unflinchingly depicts the disgusting treatment of these whales. To be fair, many people in the industry have denied the film’s authenticity, claiming that it was exploitative and sensationalized for drama. Regardless, the film was a success, as it helped raise awareness and resulted in many changes. These include a drop in SeaWorld’s revenue and the passing of California’s Orca Welfare and Safety Act, which will help to phase out captivity of killer whales.

Andrew Jarecki has made a name for himself in recent years with his stellar HBO documentary “The Jinx,” but in 2003, he released another impressive piece of work called “Capturing the Friedmans.” This documentary details the lives of Arnold and Jesse Friedman, a father and son who were accused of inappropriate contact with minors. Jarecki raises some doubts regarding the validity of their guilt and the possibility of police coercion before leaving us without any concrete answers. It’s a difficult movie not only due to the disgusting charges, but also because it shows a possibly manipulative law enforcement that may be more concerned with a guilty plea than uncovering the truth.

Following in a similar vein, “Paradise Lost” follows the trials of the West Memphis Three, teenagers who were accused of murdering three victims. These teenagers lived in a fiercely religious community, the residents of which believed that the murders were part of a Satanic ritual. The movie then highlights the biases that the community has towards the West Memphis Three. Like “Capturing the Friedmans,” it tells a difficult story about lurid subject matter while raising tantalizing questions regarding the subjects’ innocence. They were all sentenced to life, although they were released in 2011 under a plea which sees defendants personally adhere to their innocence while acknowledging the existence of evidence that could convict them.

The subject of people taking their own lives has always carried immense weight. The 2006 British documentary “The Bridge” takes a deep dive into the minds of individuals who took that route. And it makes for supremely uncomfortable and taxing viewing. Inspired by a New Yorker article, the filmmakers recorded for thousands of hours at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, capturing multiple people in the act on camera. They also filmed interviews with the deceased’s family members to get an idea of the stories behind their lives. Whether you view the movie as well-intentioned or voyeuristic, there’s no denying that the footage it captures and the stories it tells are hauntingly tragic and painfully real.

“The Act of Killing,” and its companion piece “The Look of Silence” are some of the most heartbreaking and morose viewing experiences a person could have. The film recounts, through present day interviews and artful re-enactments with the real perpetrators, the mass killings that plagued Indonesia from 1965 to 1966. Also known as the Indonesian genocide, this massacre primarily targeted Communist sympathizers and left over one million dead. It makes for horrendous viewing, and it offers us a glimpse into the minds of mass murderers, particularly that of Anwar Congo. Needless to say, it is not a safe or comforting place to be.