Beware: This 100% Disturbing Thriller Has Haunted Me For Years and Now It’s Streaming
There’s a lot of talk around town about disturbing horror movies. I’m not talking cineplex scares, either, the kind you can snag a $10 ticket for and watch with a popcorn and cherry, vanilla Coke. I’m talking about the deep cuts, the movies whispered about online, the ones a friend of a friend saw that scarred them for life. Disturbing an audience isn’t as easy as it sounds, either. Even the most disturbing movies ever made are operating with a thematic heft that far exceeds mere exploitation. A movie is just a movie, after all, so to accomplish that necessary suspension of disbelief and really get an audience feeling all icky and disturbed, a filmmaker’s got to bring their A-game.
Here at Dread Central, we’re always doing our best to revisit and recommend the best disturbing movies around. Recently, I’ve spotlighted The Rule of Jenny Pen on Shudder, Kurosawa’s Chime, and The Poughkeepsie Tapes on Tubi. If, you know, you need something to watch this weekend. One of the best, however, and arguably the film that’s stuck with me the longest, is now streaming on Shudder. I know you’ve heard it all before, but this is seriously disturbing stuff, and I don’t recommend it lightly. If you think it’s something you can manage, learn more about Hans Herbot’s The Treatment below:
Per Shudder: A detective (Geert Van Rampelberg) is drawn into a horrific case of murder and child abduction that may be connected to the disappearance of his young brother as a child. Who or what is “The Troll”, who kidnaps families and forces the parents to do terrible things to their kids before slaying them all? As Nick gets drawn deeper into the case, he uncovers unspeakable horrors that threaten to consume him, too. Hans Hoberts’ gripping crime thriller is definitely not for the faint of heart, easily triggered, or anyone hoping for a good night’s sleep in the near future. In Flemish with English Subtitles.
In one of my earliest ever editorials for Dread Central, I wrote about just how badly The Treatment messed me up. I said, “Cinema operates in many forms. Sometimes for laughs and jumps, and other times to interrogate our darkest sins. The Treatment is thoroughly disturbing and exceptionally well made. A filmic banshee screech, its power endures long after the lights are back on.” I haven’t rewatched the film since that time, and I’m not sure I ever intend to.
If you’re a new viewer and can manage the many, many trigger warnings The Treatment comes with, I encourage you to give Herbot’s film a shot. There’s power in the disturbing, and for as upsetting as The Treatment is, it’s not shock value for shock value’s sake. There’s something meaningful going on there, even if I never want to think about it again.
What do you think? Any plans to check out what’s arguably the most disturbing movie ever made? If you’ve already seen The Treatment, what did you think? Let me know your thoughts over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
Categorized:News
