20 Movies And Documentaries So Brutal They Had To Turn Them Off
Reddit user u/Elixir_Jx posed the question, “What film is so brutal to watch, that you had to stop watching it?” The answers are what you’d expect, and some may surprise you.
1. The Last House on the Left (1972)
“A scene in that movie was way too brutal for me to get through it. I can still picture scenes from it for some reason; that’s how real and violent it felt. It didn’t help that it was a movie that my family decided to watch together, either. That said, we still tease my mom for picking that movie out as some weird shared trauma bonding experience all these years later. So, maybe it wasn’t a bad family movie after all?”
2. Inside (2007)
“I saw some French horror film about a nurse who went to some pregnant lady’s house, tormented her, tortured her, then proceeded to cut open her belly with scissors to get the baby out.”
3. Watership Down (1978)
“My mother was a kid when she saw that movie in theaters, and she had her parents and her leave because she was so disturbed. Now she can’t stand looking at rabbits, and literally shudders if she sees a scene from it or thinks about it too much. She saw it when she was like 4, so it’s not like it scared her as a teen and she would get over it.”
4. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (2020)
“It’s a documentary. As a 32-year-old man, I sobbed like a baby for poor Gabriel. I first heard his story when I was in the military, and have followed it since. When the documentary came out, I knew it was going to be hard. Sure enough, it was one of the most despicable horrors ever.”
5. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
“One of the only movies I’ve ever stopped watching partway through.”
6. The Road (2009)
“I was out sick from work and feeling a bit sorry for myself. I was searching for a movie to divert my attention and came across this. I knew nothing about it, but I thought it looked like a decent action movie. After watching it, not only was I sick, but I was absolutely devastated emotionally. I was a recent dad, and that movie ripped my heart out.”
7. I Spit on Your Grave (1978)
“I already knew the movie scene by scene because of an internet review I’d read, but the entirety of the second third was too much and I had to take a pause.”
8. Funny Games (1997)
“My husband turned it on, and I started watching it not knowing what it was about. I was like, ‘Oh, this is interesting…he’s so annoying! Just leave her alone… Wait, what?! … Oh shit…I can’t watch, but I can’t turn away…’”
9. American Murder: The Family Next Door (2018)
“It’s about a dad who killed his wife and two daughters in Colorado. He disposed of his two daughters in an oil tank. I watched the entire thing up until he started to describe what he did. I hit pause, started crying, and held my daughter tight. I don’t know what drives a person not only to kill, but to kill his own children. To this day, Netflix always asks me if I want to continue watching, even though there’s just a few minutes left. I can’t.”
10. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
“My history class wanted us to watch it in 10th grade. I made it through one part, and begged my mom to call the school to get me out of watching the rest. Turns out, more than half the class was unable to finish watching it, and our history teacher let us know how ‘disappointed’ she was that we stopped, since we all signed release forms and had parents sign permission slips. We thought we could handle it, but nothing prepares you for the horrors those people had to suffer.”
11. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
“I stopped it after the broken bottle scene.”
12. Earthlings (2005)
“It’s the documentary about animal abuse produced by Joaquin Phoenix. I never finished the film, but I went vegan after seeing it (six years ago).”
13. I Saw the Devil (2010)
“It’s a Korean horror movie about a serial killer. I saw it at an indie theater several years ago, and even though I didn’t stop watching it, I thought about it.”
14. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
“I did eventually finish it, though it was nonstop tears from the beginning to end.”
15. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
“Holy fuck. You have to stop midway to have a cigarette and gather yourself.”
16. August Underground’s Mordum (2003)
“Only movie I had to stop. I did finish it, but I took a break. One of the most vicious movies I’ve ever seen. Makes A Serbian Film look like a Marvel movie.”
17. The Girl Next Door (2007)
“It was based on a true story, and I couldn’t even get through the first half hour.”
18. Green Room (2015)
“Me and my girlfriend watch some pretty appalling movies, and I’ve never seen her flinch. She shut off this movie within 30 minutes. That movie is intense.”
19. The Invisible Man (2020)
“The one with Elisabeth Moss. Even knowing how it ends, the abuse was so real and gave me so much anxiety that I couldn’t finish it.”
20. Nightcrawler (2014)
“Great performance of a ‘creepy’ character. I actually stopped watching before the really fucked-up things started happening, simply because Jake Gyllenhaal’s performance as a ‘creepy person’ was so good.”
