Top 20 Movies Way Too Upsetting to Watch Twice

Parent-child bonds will always be a source of strong emotion - especially when the relationship is plagued by trauma. “Changeling” is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Angelina Jolie as Christine Collins. Collins is a historical figure and a focal point of the Wineville Chicken Coop killings of the late ‘20s. Her son Walter went missing and was later found to be among the victims. In the film, Collins is reunited with a random boy and told that it’s her missing son. When she denies this, she is thrown into an institution. The film deals with many troubling themes, including gaslighting from corrupt authorities, a complete loss of personal agency, and rather disturbing violence. It doesn’t help that it’s all based on a true story.

A heavy film from director Harmony Korine, “Gummo” is very experimental in nature. The movie follows the residents of a small, tornado-stricken town in Ohio called Xenia, although both the structure and narrative are non-traditional. It takes a provocative approach to dark topics, which include the likes of homophobia, racism, and mental illness. The imagery throughout is very surreal and almost nightmarish, and it contains many disturbing scenes. The main characters aren’t quite meant to be likable, as they often act as juveniles and aren’t above committing serious crimes. It’s a unique movie, but given the often disconcerting atmosphere it creates, it’s not generally one to revisit.

Cormac McCarthy is known as one of the greatest writers of all time, but his novels don’t make for light reading and passive entertainment. Arguably his most mainstream work, the Pulitzer-winning “The Road” is about an unnamed father and son traversing a post-apocalyptic world and battling the cold, starvation, sickness, and complete hopelessness. If that sounds like a lot to handle, rest assured that it is. The novel was adapted into film in 2009, and it makes for an unrelentingly bleak affair. Even the photography mirrors the story’s dour tone, being full of lifeless grays and browns. There’s a touching father-son story to be found here, but it’s buried under a lot of heavy material.

This is a movie that deserves to be seen for a slew of reasons. It touches on many troubling aspects of society, primarily racism, far-right atrocities, and the continued belief in Nazi ideology. In fact, human rights organization Amnesty International actually used it as an educational tool on numerous occasions. It also deserves to be seen based purely on a filmmaking perspective, as it features a fantastic lead performance from Edward Norton. All that being said, it’s definitely not a movie that you’ll feel like watching repeatedly. It’s simply too difficult, with its unlikable characters and traumatic themes making for two very sordid hours.

The late director John Cassavetes was considered a leading figure in the art of independent filmmaking. He not only helped popularize the concept, but he mastered it with some stellar movies. “A Woman Under the Influence,” which earned two Oscar nominations, is certainly one of them. This is a fascinating if deeply troubling movie about a woman who gets committed to an institution for mental instability and her husband. It features some spectacular acting and is superbly directed, but the subject matter is also painfully depressing. This is the type of film that you admire based on artistic merit more than you actively enjoy — and there’s nothing wrong with that!

A staggering film with the scope of a great novel, “Threads” concerns itself with the literal fallout of a nuclear war. Most of the action is focused on the English city of Sheffield, although it uses this specific place as a lens through which to deliver its anti-war message. It depicts one of the most terrifying things that humanity could experience, and this terror is on full display throughout “Threads.” It explores not only the human aspect of a post-apocalypse, but also expounds on its implications for the economy, the environment, and the world stage. While undoubtedly a great movie, watching “Threads” is a grim exercise, to be sure.

Countless movies have been made about tragic break-ups and the dissolutions of marriages, but “Blue Valentine” is especially raw and realistic. The story follows lovers Dean and Cindy as their relationship slowly fractures. Director Derek Cianfrance does interesting things with the structure of the film, portraying it in a nonlinear fashion. This only makes the emotional gut punch all the more powerful, as the film alternates between the good times and the bad, the start of their love and the erosion of it. Both Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are wonderful, and their acting really helps sell the bond that the characters share. Watching a doomed relationship has never been so heartbreaking.

It’s movies like this that prove Nicolas Cage’s incredible talent. In fact, this project earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. He plays Ben Sanderson, a depressed man who travels to Las Vegas with a morose plan - he’s going to drink a lot, and he’s going to die. While there, he begins a relationship with a woman named Sera. Viewers are forced to watch Ben as he spirals downward and ultimately passes away. Making this film even harder to digest is the fact that it’s based on a semi-autobiographical novel. Author John O'Brien reportedly wrote the book as a goodbye and took his own life on April 10, 1994 at the age of 33.

This movie’s reputation certainly precedes it. One of the most divisive films ever made, “Cannibal Holocaust” is a found footage movie about a small group of documentary filmmakers encountering cannibal tribes in the Amazon rainforest. It’s notorious for its gratuitous violence. Director Ruggero Deodato was even accused of homicide, as some believed that the movie was a genuine snuff film — it wasn’t, and he was cleared. Still, there are visuals in this movie that can never be unseen, including footage of real violence against animals. The film was banned in numerous countries, and it’s not hard to see why.

A brutal thriller from director David Slade, “Hard Candy” is intense, to put it mildly. Elliot Page stars as Hayley Stark, who tortures a seemingly sadistic predator, Jeff Kohlver. The film is relentlessly gloomy from opening to closing credits. Jeff appears to be a monster who preys on girls, and he’s fantastically played by Patrick Wilson. Hayley is also not a fully innocent protagonist, gleefully tormenting Jeff using both physical and psychological methods. The violence is relentless, and the themes of grooming and predation are horrific. In other words, “Hard Candy” makes for a seriously hard watch.

Movies about massacres will never be easy to process. “Hotel Rwanda” takes place during the Rwandan genocide of 1994, in which local ethnic groups were targeted and killed in enormous numbers. Though the exact number of victims is debated, it’s believed that at least half a million people were killed in about three months. “Hotel Rwanda” tells the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager who housed over 1,000 refugees inside. Rusesabagina’s story is largely a positive and uplifting one. But the context and surrounding events of the film make it extremely hard to return to.

Mel Gibson’s biblical epic depicts the last hours of Jesus’s life. Unfortunately, these hours are filled with unbearable suffering, so it doesn’t make for the most welcoming of stories. Of course, the brutality is likely the point, as the movie works to create a visceral experience for audiences. And while it’s very well made, it’s also anything but light and airy. It’s essentially two hours of a man being tormented, and that includes limbs being nailed to a cross. Despite the film’s enormous religious significance, it resulted in some controversy owing to its extreme violence.

“Dancer in the Dark” won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The project’s quality is undisputable, but it’s not something that one wishes to ever revisit. Björk plays Selma Ježková, a woman with a degenerative disease that’s causing her to go blind. That alone is heavy enough, as it’s a realistic and touchy subject that garners enormous sympathy not only for Selma, but for those who share her prognosis. But the story also goes down a very dark and unexpected path, and it gets more and more disturbing as it goes on. Featuring some frightening visuals and a haunting ending, “Dancer in the Dark” is an unforgettable — and deeply devastating — film.

Roger Ebert said that “most people will find [Irréversible] unwatchable.” He was right. Gaspar Noé’s film is stylistically daring, as it unfolds in reverse chronological order. But it’s hard to admire the style when the story is so upsetting. It follows Marcus and Pierre, two men who hope to get justice after Marcus’s girlfriend Alex becomes the victim of a horrific crime. The entire storyline is quite difficult to stomach, containing themes of sexual harassment and revenge. But the thing that makes this film extra rough is the realism of its violence. The scenes depicting Alex’s mistreatment are absolutely horrifying to witness, and one death involving a fire extinguisher is infamously grotesque. Few movies depict on-screen violence so maliciously.

The Holocaust is one of the worst injustices in human history, and countless films have been made about it. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” is especially upsetting, as its protagonists are children. Taking place in and around a concentration camp, the story spotlights the relationship between German boy Bruno and Jewish prisoner Shmuel. The film depicts the sheer nightmarish terror of the Second World War, and it does so through the eyes of young boys. This could make already disturbing material even harder to handle for some. But what’s nearly impossible to take is the movie’s ending, which has the power to leave viewers emotionally devastated.

Made by first-time director Srđan Spasojević, “A Serbian Film” is seen by many as one of the most sickening movies ever made. Spasojević reportedly made the film intentionally disturbing to serve as an allegory about Serbian politics and people. However, some struggle to see past its overt violence, troubling story, and graphic visuals. The story follows a man who is forced into making a snuff film involving a whole lot of really unsettling stuff. A lot is shown in explicit detail, and it’s all very gross. The movie is almost impossible to get through once, let alone twice.

Darren Aronofsky’s drama is all about the horrors of addiction. The story follows four separate people, all of whom are facing this illness, and all of whom slowly meet tragic fates. The film doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to depicting the horrors of such situations. These characters are both delusional and hopeless, and watching their descents makes for uncomfortable but necessary viewing. Thanks to the substances, they lose their minds and control over their bodies. The whole thing is shot in a haunting manner by Matthew Libatique, who gives it a visually gloomy atmosphere. There’s no fun to be had here. It’s just 100 minutes of pure misery.

This film has high artistic aspirations. It draws inspiration from a Marquis de Sade novel, and it takes cues from the likes of Dante and Friedrich Nietzsche. However, it has long carried a reputation for being unwatchable. In fact, some serious film critics, including Roger Ebert, have refused to watch it, and many academic scholars have noted its extreme depravity. The entire story revolves around the physical and mental mistreatment of teenagers, and it’s simply way too much. Some people see artistic merit in its themes, while others simply see it as a provocative movie that dares people to press play. Even if you do though, you’re certainly not watching it a second time.

While required viewing in terms of American history and the sordid past of the country, “12 Years a Slave” isn’t particularly welcoming. The film is extraordinarily well made and was nominated for nine Academy Awards. But its insight into slavery rightfully requires viewers to think and do the work. The movie is based on the personal experiences of the historical slave Solomon Northup, and his story is just one of many. It doesn’t shy away from displaying the horrors of slavery, and it’s all filmed through a realistic lens. It’s filled with overt racism, violence, and the complete degradation of human beings, and it’s a lot to watch more than once.

While undoubtedly one of the greatest movies of all time, “Schindler’s List” is also one of the most horrifying, and it can prove unbearably emotional. It tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a Nazi industrialist who hired Jews to work in his factories, and in the process, saved over 1,000 from extermination. His personal story is used as a lens to tell the wider story of the Holocaust in general, and Spielberg doesn’t sugarcoat things. While his filmmaking is extraordinary, it’s explicit and graphic. The movie is filled with unforgettable imagery that burns itself into the viewer’s memory. “Schindler's List” powerfully brings the Holocaust to life, and it’s not something we wish to ever experience again.