An article I wrote for Empire film magazine last month during my work experience, which has not been published to date (and is unlikely to be). I did email the editor who okayed the article asking for feedback on it, and got no reply, so figured I might as well publish it on here..
Two things really disturb us humans – 1. The unknown, and 2. Our mortality (helplessness, addiction, hopelessness). Here are (most of) the disturbing moments in films, obvious choices from the horror genre aside.
8MM (1999) – The snuff film scene itself is hard to watch, but more so is the chilling realisation that the killer is just a ‘regular guy’. Joel Schumacher’s subject matter was disturbing enough to alter Nic Cage’s hairstyle forever.
A Clockwork Orange (1971) – One of Stanley Kubrick’s most controversial films (and that’s saying something). Several disturbing scenes include a tramp being beaten up, Alex’s re-education and the infamous rape scene.
American History X (1998) – ‘’I said put your mouth on the curb!’’ Suddenly the dentist doesn’t seem so bad. Tony Kaye’s film about racism is bleak, brutal and powerful.
Antichrist (2009) – The Tampax ad they couldn’t show. As if female genitalia wasn’t scary enough.
Lars Von Trier succeeds in depressing the hell (pardon) out of you.
Audition (1999) – Part drama, part horror, even part romance and mystery, Takashi Miike’s tale of a lonely widower gets stranger and stranger – and then out comes the piano wire.
Blue Velvet (1986) – Dennis Hopper and an oxygen mask. ‘’Mommy!’’
The Deer Hunter (1978) – Michael Cimino’s Academy Award winning masterpiece turned Russian roulette into a metaphor for the Vietnam War. Former POW Robert De Niro searches Vietnam for his disturbed friend and fellow POW Christopher Walken, and begs him to come home. One shot.
Deliverance (1972) – ‘’ I bet you can squeal like a pig.’’ The scene that traumatised poor Ned Beatty. John Boorman was responsible for a generation of people avoiding the woods, rednecks and weird kids with banjos.
The Departed (2006) – ‘’Where’s your boy?’’ – Cue Martin Sheen/Queenan’s Superman impression and a badly needed facewash for Leo DiCaprio’s Billy. In an increasingly desensitised society, this scene genuinely makes you jump. Martin Scorsese finally (and deservedly) won an Oscar for the Internal Affairs remake.
Eraserhead (1977) – Mutant baby, menstruating chickens, take your pick. World, meet David Lynch.
Goodfellas (1990) – As if the bar scene where Billy Batts gets stomped into unconsciousness isn’t disturbing enough, the still alive Batts is later revisited in a car boot, only to be stabbed to death.
Heavenly Creatures (1994) – Before Peter Jackson was taking over the world with his Lord of The Rings Adaptations, and Kate Winslet was getting her baps out for Jack/hogging doors mid-Atlantic, she was helping her Kiwi mate bash her mum to death with a brick. Incredibly dark and difficult to watch.
In The Bedroom (2001) – An argument between Nick Stahl’s Frank and his older girlfriend’s psycho ex (William Mapother) turns nasty, and pushes Todd Field’s drama into an increasingly harrowing direction.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – ‘’What, the PG Spielberg film,’’ you say?! Well, yes. I doubt many kids (and their parents) were expecting to see a Nazi horrifically age and wither after drinking from the wrong cup. At one point he literally turns into Doc Brown. Martyyyy!
Irreversible (2002) – A graphic 13 minute rape scene involving Monica Belucci in an underpass would be enough to cement any film in the history of cinema controversy, but Gaspar Noe’s harrowing French crime drama manages to add a second footnote with some brutal revenge courtesy of a fire extinguisher. Health and Safety would not be impressed.
Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Tim Robbins’ tormented Vietnam vet is nearly run over by a car. As he dives out of the way, he turns to see a demonic face shaking violently in the back of the car. 10 seconds of Adrian Lyne’s classic that is scarier than most horror films in their entirety.
Kids (1995) – Larry Clark did for teenagers what Jaws did for sharks. A brutal scene involving an attack with a skateboard is surpassed by Leo Fitzpatrick deflowering a nervous young virgin, which in turn is surpassed only by the rape scene where Justin Pierce’s Casper casually rapes Chloë Sevigny’s Jennie.
Man Bites Dog (1992) – Belvaux, Bonzel and Poelvoorde’s Belgian black comedy/mockumentary followed a serial killer around as he randomly shoots people and recites poetry. Despite a horrible scene in which an old lady is actually scared to death, the one that attracted controversy was actually only an insinuation at the murder of a baby.
Marathon Man (1976) – Dustin Hoffman is treated to some impromptu dental work by Laurence Olivier’s Nazi dentist. John Schlesinger’s acclaimed adaptation of the William Goldman novel is overshadowed by this one scene. Brush, wash and floss.
Mr. Brooks (2007) – Kevin Costner’s wise decision to play against type as a serial killer helped revive his career. In Bruce Evans’ psychological thriller, Mr. Brooks dreams about the possibility that his daughter has inherited his naughty gene – and then the scissors come out as she amorally watches him bleed to death, fascinated.
Mystic River (2003) – Sean Penn’s vengeful gangster puts childhood friend Tim Robbins in an impossible position as he seeks the murderer of his daughter. Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel is not the happiest film from the start to the end, but this scene is heartbreakingly tragic.
Oldboy (2003) – In Chan-wook Park’s mystery thriller, a man is imprisoned for 15 years and psychologically tortured by a mysterious antagonist. Released as randomly as he was captured, he rebuilds his life with the love of a young woman. And then the antagonist reveals himself, and the girl’s identity. Truly jaw-dropping.
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – Heartless fascist Captain Vidal questions a peasant before smashing his face in as his helpless father watches. Genuine hatred is invoked towards a character in a matter of seconds in Guillermo Del Toro’s haunting fantasy.
Pink Flamingos (1972) – John Waters set out to shock in his cult comedy, and shock he did. One of the most bizarre films ever made, culminating in Divine picking up a pile of fresh, real dog faces and eating it.
Requiem For A Dream (2000) – Darren Aronofsky’s brilliant follow-up to Pi climaxes in an emotional montage chronicling the decline of every character in the film plays out to Clint Mansell’s ‘Aux Laterna’. Probably the most powerful anti-drugs message to be shown on screen, if a little far-fetched.
Salò aka 120 Days of Sodom (1975) – Arguably one of the original ‘torture-porn’ movies, Pier Paolo Pasolini’s political critique encompasses much of this list with extreme violence, rape AND poo-eating. Take your pick.
Schindler’s List (1993) – The most disturbing thing about Spielberg’s finest hour (or three) is that it is mostly based on factual history – and he made some of the soul destroying scenes less graphic in order to be believable. One that haunts your memory is encapsulated by a little girl in a red coat.
The Sixth Sense (1999) – The film that launched M. Night Shyamalan and revitalised Bruce Willis. The ending has become infamous, but more disturbing than Hayley Joel Osment being tormented by ghosts is the scene in which a grieving father finds out just why his deceased daughter was always sick.
Taxi Driver (1976) – A Vietnam vet and Martin Scorsese feature again as Robert De Niro’s unstable taxi driver Travis Bickle talks about washing the scum off the streets. Unfortunately for ‘the scum’, Bickle’s deterioration worsens until he gives himself a haircut and pays Harvey Keitel’s pimp a lesson. Raw, gritty and controversial to this day, Bickle’s ‘last’ stand is as violent as it is powerful.
Un Chien Andalou (1929) – Luis Buñuel’s short is only 16 minutes long, but contains the enduring image of a woman’s eye being slit open. And this was almost 80 years before Hostel.
Trainspotting (1996) – Danny Boyle and Ewan McGregor earned international recognition for this bleak drugs drama set in Edinburgh, as did the controversial scene of a dead baby crawling along the ceiling.
Transformers 1, 2 or 3 (2007-2011) – all of it.
Unbreakable (2001) – ‘’I like your house. Can I come in?’’ Before the decline of M Night Shymalan, this dark comic-inspired drama perfectly captured the banality of evil in one simple flashback as Bruce Willis finds one of the many bad guys he went looking for.
