Top 30 controversial and disturbing films
...in order of emotional impact. This list covers rather unconventional films that critically depict sociological aberrations and taboos which in turn may memorably sharpen our ability for dealing with them. Films from the horror and war genre are NOT included in this list.
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31 titles
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPaolo BonacelliGiorgio CataldiUberto Paolo QuintavalleIn World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.
- DirectorGaspar NoéStarsMonica BellucciVincent CasselAlbert DupontelEvents over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJack NanceCharlotte StewartAllen JosephHenry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsMaria HofstätterChristine JirkuViktor HennemannIn the tomb-like quiet of their ranch-style purgatory, a divorced husband and wife fight a wordless war while mourning an unspeakable mutual loss. A sadistic lover's ritual humiliation spawns both tenderness and revenge.
- DirectorSrdjan SpasojevicStarsSrdjan 'Zika' TodorovicSergej TrifunovicJelena GavrilovicAn aging porn star agrees to participate in an "art film" in order to make a clean break from the business, only to discover that he has been drafted into making a pedophilia and necrophilia themed snuff film.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsElle FanningChristina HendricksKeanu ReevesAn aspiring model, Jesse, is new to Los Angeles. However, her beauty and youth, which generate intense fascination and jealousy within the fashion industry, may prove themselves sinister.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsNaomi WattsTim RothMichael PittTwo psychopathic young men take a family hostage in their cabin.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsCharlotte GainsbourgStellan SkarsgårdStacy MartinA self-diagnosed nymphomaniac recounts her erotic experiences to the man who saved her after a beating.
- DirectorVeiko ÕunpuuStarsTaavi EelmaaRavshana KurkovaTiina TauraiteA mid-level manager who develops an aversion to being "good" finds himself confronting the mysteries of middle-age and morality as he loses grasp of what was once his quiet life.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJeff BridgesJennifer TillyJodelle FerlandBecause of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsIsabelle HuppertAnnie GirardotBenoît MagimelA young man romantically pursues his masochistic piano teacher.
- DirectorFrauke FinsterwalderStarsGisela AderholdChristoph BachMargit CarstensenA number of individuals in Germany whose lives are connected in some ways, and all of them have dark sides which may shock us to the core.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsMalcolm McDowellPatrick MageeMichael BatesIn the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsOksana AkinshinaArtyom BogucharskiyPavel PonomaryovSixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPierre ClémentiJean-Pierre LéaudAlberto LionelloA man wandering in a volcanic desert forms a band of murderous cannibals. A post-war German industrialist learns that his son is unable to make decisions or form relationships.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsMoritz BleibtreuChristian BerkelOliver StokowskiFor two weeks, 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards in a prison. The "prisoners" have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the "guards" are told to retain order without using physical violence.
- DirectorUlrich SeidlStarsEkateryna RakLidiya Oleksandrivna SavkaOksana Ivanivna SklyarenkoA nurse from Ukraine searches for a better life in Central Europe, while an unemployed security guard from Austria heads East for the same reason.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsAntonio BanderasElena AnayaJan CornetA brilliant plastic surgeon, haunted by past tragedies, creates a type of synthetic skin that withstands any kind of damage. His guinea pig: a mysterious and volatile woman who holds the key to his obsession.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorLarry ClarkStarsLeo FitzpatrickJustin PierceChloë SevignyA day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsMichael FassbenderCarey MulliganJames Badge DaleA sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsEllen BurstynJared LetoJennifer ConnellyThe drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.
- DirectorHarmony KorineStarsRachel KorineBrian KotzurTravis NicholsonFollows the lives of a small group of sociopathic elderly people in Nashville, Tennessee.
- DirectorBenny SafdieJosh SafdieStarsArielle HolmesCaleb Landry JonesBuddy DuressA young woman struggles to reconcile her love for her boyfriend and for heroin, as she finds out that suicide is the only way for her boyfriend to forgive her for her misdeed.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsColin FarrellRachel WeiszJessica BardenIn a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
- DirectorMarco FerreriStarsMarcello MastroianniMichel PiccoliPhilippe NoiretA group of men go to a villa in the French countryside where they resolve to eat themselves to death.
- DirectorLukas MoodyssonStarsThorsten FlinckBjörn AlmrothSanna BrådingIn a decript apartment, a young man watches as his father and a friend shoot an amateur porn film. Issues of morality, reality TV and friendship are explored.
- DirectorYorgos LanthimosStarsEmma StoneMark RuffaloWillem DafoeAn account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.