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What really floats around the water cooler is debate about pics like Human Centipede, Night of the Living Dead and Oldboy.
The pictures that leave us perplexed and disgusted are the pictures that command heated debate, not necessarily the safe bets. So, today it’s away with safety, open arms to the cinematically taboo.
Cannibal Holocaust: In a world as savage as this, where tourists are kidnapped, tortured and beheaded; where extremists deem it necessary to enter highly trafficked public establishments with loads of explosives strapped to their chests; where murderers can exit imprisonment inside of a half-decade, it’s tough to swallow, but the cold-blooded killing of animals still forces a figurative dagger right into the human heart. Cannibal Holocaust features a whole hell of a lot of controversial content, but nothing resonates with genre followers like the true-to-life onscreen animal slayings. Disturbing stuff here that’s damn near impossible to shake, long after initial viewings.
The Exorcist: The Exorcist did things that just weren’t done in 1973, and those cinematic maneuvers elicited some stunning responses from audiences. Viewers were have said to faint, vomit, and – believe it or not – go into cardiac arrest and eventually keel over dead after screening this monster. A handful of Canadians reportedly earned tickets to the psych ward after an Exorcist screening. That’s powerful, powerful stuff. If (that’s a big if, and given the decades now behind us, it’s tough to track down reliable reports) viewers truly did die as a direct result of The Exorcist… well, that’s just unheard of and completely baffling. When a film is killing crowds, literally, you know it’s inevitable that controversy will follow in close pursuit.
A Serbian Film: Whether utterly unnerved by the content or fully dismissive of the hyperbole, when it comes to A Serbian Film, horror hounds feel compelled to talk. This one stirs up conversation like few others out there, and there’s valid reason for that. It’s rather repulsive in nature, boasting a climax that – assuming you haven’t predicted the twist by the midway point – will knock you right off your feet. It is a disgusting story, honestly. However, it’s a well-shot piece of work, and there’s a lot of emotion invested in the project. Expect genre fans to toss this one about social circles for decades to come, all the while critics are prone to continue their negative banter.
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom: Director Pier Paolo Pasolini built a career on controversy and anti-Fascist statements (okay, he was quite established prior to entering the field, but he’ll definitely be remembered for the feathers he ruffled). Salo, the late Italian’s most controversial piece, features loads of both, and anyone not fully prepared for a strange journey through extreme debasement and awkward sexual torment is likely to be taken aback by this insanely controversial flick. There isn’t a moment of this feature that I’d deem as dull, and viewers are sure to be left guessing at each inevitable act of degradation. On some primal level, the flick is very successful; on another, it’s simply repulsive. Regardless of how you construe the feature’s message, or if you even see it, Salo is wildly provocative. There’s simply no debating that.
Last House on the Left: An extreme revenge tale shot in gritty fashion, Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left was met with fury back in 1972. Audiences and critics alike were ill-prepared to embrace such an overt piece of exploitation. And make no mistake; this is definitely exploitation, with very little in the way of a deeper underlying message. In fact, there isn’t much of any message at all here, other than a vicious reminder that payback is a bitch. I suppose if Craven hammered home anything with this piece, it was a cautionary note to the psychopaths of the world: Be careful where you look to take shelter after you’ve raped and tortured a few teenage girls; you may end up getting your just desserts.
The Bunny Game: I’m guessing this is the least known film to make the cut. Don’t sweat it if you aren’t familiar with the pic; to be honest, you’re not missing much. The Bunny Game is about very little more than torture and sadistic thrills. Personally, I don’t find that shit all too thrilling. If there’s nothing to take away from a motion picture, then there’s no need to shoot that motion picture, let alone unleash it on the world. In my mind there’s absolutely nothing to take away from this one. It’s about a prostitute who opts to turn the wrong trick, quickly finding herself on the receiving end of grueling sessions of extreme torture. The sad thing is this may be the most realistic feature in this article, as this seems more likely to happen than most scenarios introduced by the other entrants on this list. I suppose if you’re after nothing more than raw visuals, The Bunny Game may somehow leave you feeling fulfilled. It’s got that craziness in spades.
Inside: For my buck, Inside is quite possibly the most unnerving addition to the cinematic history books. Finding a picture as revolting as this isn’t easy. Unlike many of the more controversial films of our time, Inside isn’t all about sexual sadism and over-the-top torture sequences. Make no mistake; there’s certainly some torture to behold, but it isn’t directionless. While it is unbelievably disquieting, there’s believable motivation behind one strange woman’s attacks on the unsuspecting mother-to-be, Sarah. And, for the record, Sarah is already enduring something of a living hell, having recently lost her husband in a car accident. Now she’s come face to face with a lunatic who wants to carve the unborn baby right out of her belly. Disgusting, thought-provoking and truly jarring, simultaneously!
Antichrist: What helped propel Antichrist forward as an effectively provocative attention grabber wasn’t unrivaled visuals or content alone, but the fact that successful international director Lars von Trier sat in the director’s chair for filming tasks while American ace Willem Dafoe fronts the movie. But make no mistake; there’s more than just a few marquee names behind this strangely engrossing picture. Antichrist sports tons of insane symbolism and an array of dark undertones. There are moments in the film – which, for the record is about a couple dealing with the accidental death of their young son – that are so magnetic you simply cannot turn away. In truth, for all of its insanity Antichrist is a compelling piece of film that works as a remarkably challenging character study.
I Spit on Your Grave: Often labeled as nothing more than misogynistic, I Spit on Your Grave falls into the same exact realm occupied by Last House on the Left. It’s a revenge piece with a whole lot of extreme violence and (really) drawn out rape sequences. Much like Last House on the Left, I don’t personally see anything in the way of commentary, either. It’s disconcerting but almost (emphasis on almost) laughable because it’s so insanely outrageous. Is it worth a viewing? No, probably not, in all honesty.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Remember when Tobe Hooper brought insane ultra-violence to the mass American market? It happened back in 1974, and whether you believe it or not, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre wasn’t half as violent as audiences did and still do make it out to be. Instead, Hooper is a wizard with the power of suggestion, creating taut structures far more often than overly violent shots. And yet, still the film feels hair-raising and profane, as disgusting as it is frightening. We may never see another film this controversial and this commercially successful; it’s a rarity, to say the very least.