I thought Johnny Got His Gun was disturbing when I watched it in school. May have been because I was a kid though.
Dogville, and most of everything else by Lars von Trier (as others have mentioned).
this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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Some of the Black Mirror episodes give that existential dread. The one where a conciousness is imprisoned in a teddybear comes to mind.
Trainspotting
Requiem for a Dream
Both movies were good. Both movies were absolutely a one time watch and never again.
The first time I ever watched Trainspotting (like a decade or so ago) I had taken 2 tabs of acid and looked up online "movies that will change your life" or something along those lines.
One of the first ones listed was this one called Trainspotting and I had no idea what it was about I was expecting some drama about a special needs little boy who likes to look at trains or something.
Ohhh boy. That one scene was horrifying. But man I love that movie so much.
The 9th Gate.
I mean, other than it being kinda a crappy movie the whole "I ascend to power by literally banging the devil" just seemed ... wow.
Old Boy. The 2003 Korean one, at least.
Modern one is not much better. Same story.
Watership Down. It's animated. It's a kid's movie.
Also Plague Dogs.
I read Watership Down as a 10 year old. I loved to read but couldn't go out much, so id often pick up the fattest books at the library so they would last me a while. Book messed me up. I didn't know there was an animated movie. Seems like a bad choice.
They've both been mentioned below but mine are 'Grave of the Fireflies,' and 'When the Wind Blows.' They hit harder than 'horror' movies because they are, in a way, the real human horror for which a 'genre:horror' movie would be an abstraction.
I don't remember what it was called, but there was one I watched in theaters in 1st grade for a class field trip that would absolutely freak me out today. It was a documentary on bugs.
Edit:
I misread it as non-horror documentary.
I cannot think of any films right now that really scared me, but I might come back if any come to mind. Closest I can think of would be things from cartoons, like the moon spirit thing from Courage The Cowardly Dog or a Goosebumps commercial where they show a scene of a mummy rising and the kid banging on a door because they couldn't get out.
All great recommendations here
For a recent one I thought The Drama was quite tense and uncomfortable, worth a watch for sure.
A Serbian Film.
I guess it could qualify as horror so maybe not but... Only movie Ive ever regretted watching.
That movie is so badly fucked up.
Compliance might be cheating because it's based on a true story, but it's not s documentary despite being an almost exact retelling of the original events. Which just makes it more fucked up.
First one that came to mind is Grave of the Fireflies, a Studio Ghibli movie unlike any of the other movies they ever made.
Amour
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602620/
If you've never seen Michael Hanake movies then it's hard to describe. It's not like horror like any of the others just getting us to confront things were uncomfortable with.
The Wolf of Wall Street. That movie gave me nightmares.
At the risk of sounding prude, seeing so much excess and chaos crossed the line from being morbid to becoming genuinely unpleasant, like seeing drunks and drug addicts in real life. I hated DiCaprio’s character with a passion from start to finish, and that night after watching the movie, I had a nightmare where I was at one of those parties and they were abusing me and my friends.
Knowing that it’s based on real events, that the guy DiCaprio plays is free, and that there are people who admire him even after seeing the movie makes me feel dejected.
Yeah I fucking hate that movie. It feels like it made their horrendous behavior into a joke. None of it is funny in the context of reality. So glad to hear someone feels the same way about the movie.
And it's relatively tame compared to some billionaire's realities.
The Hunt (2012). Sweet guy gets accused by the child of his best friends to have abused her, thanks to suggestive questioning. Whole town turns against him, even though he's innocent. I couldn't finish watching it, because I was trembling and couldn't watch the hopelessness and unfair treatment. Even worse, it's based on a true story.
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The Prestige
I absolutely love that movie, but the first time watching, when that one moment hits. Such emotions I've seldomly had when watching a movie.
Maybe honerable mention for Seven?
Threads - UK based movie from 1984 which is a speculative fictional account of what would happen in the event of a nuclear war.
That's my pick as well
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Falling Down (1993). The main character attacking minorities, saying American conservative shit, and enablement of urban paranoia was pretty unsettling. The black comedy undertones did get me to chuckle once or twice, but overall just an upsetting thinking of some people sympathizing with the MC in a way that led conservatism to what it is today. The fact that he killed a neonazi does not balance it out.
Curiously, when I saw it, I picked up that the guy was crazy and violent, and saw it as a horror film following the monster.
Years later, I'd learn that it was popularly seen as a white-guy underdog movie set (and produced) during the Rodney King crisis and the police war on gangs.
Been a long time since I've seen this movie, but I always thought the point of the neonazi was specifically to point out how alike the two were. At the end of the scene where he kills him, the scene is shot in a reflection in a mirror. He kills the nazi, nazi drops out frame in the reflection, leaving just the MC, who then shoots and shatters the mirror itself.
Wasn't he also watching the neonazi through reflections in a store's security mirrors earlier? It's really been a long time.
I always assumed the point of the movie was to show how stupid the idea of the "White Man's Burden" and white persecution complex was, with some critique of American exceptionslism thrown in.
I shouldn't be surprised that some people took the exact opposite from the film and empathize with the MC. Kind of reminds me of Fight Club in that sense.
I always wished I had an eye for that kind of thing; no I haven't noticed that!
I always assumed the point of the movie was to show how stupid the idea of the “White Man’s Burden” and white persecution complex was, with some critique of American exceptionslism thrown
Throughout the movie, I wanted it to be satirical, and wanted to believe that it was exactly this because of how ridiculous and exploitative aspects of this movie are. But there so many moments where the film was intentionally trying to get me to sympathize for the character and made it feel very sincere.
I shouldn’t be surprised that some people took the exact opposite from the film and empathize with the MC. Kind of reminds me of Fight Club in that sense.
Absolutely this, and in more extreme cases with movies like American History X too. But American History X's message is obvious to me and I really believe you'd have to be pretty moronic, as neonazis usually are, to believe it's a pro-white supremacy movie and feel empowered by it. Fight Club is more subtle, but I believe it gives more opportunity for people not to identify with the opposite of the message, even for those that don't know or get it. I just didn't feel that way about Falling Down.
But I don't know man, you've actually inspired me to want to rewatch it; see if I feel any differently.
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Requiem for a Dream is likely to come up. maybe Leon as well. Poor Things might be too close to horror to count, The Girl Next Door definitely is. Watership Down is another common one, Plague Dogs is similar and potentially more uncomfortable. for other animations you could count Perfect Blue and Grave of the Fireflies
Gummo is mentioned elsewhere, the only other Korine film i've seen is Kids (1995) and it's fucking grim
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Requiem for a Dream
Happiness
happiness is unreal. fantastic film.
I added Gummo and Kids in another post.
Schizopolis is really good and weird but doesn't leave you as hollowed out as those others.
It's been a while but I remember Visioneers giving me a similar feeling of bleakness.
The Wrestler (2008)
Requiem For a Dream (2000)
Thank you Darren Aronofsky.
The Cell (2000)
Thank you Tarsem Dhandwar Singh
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Nightcrawler. To think there are real people like that.
Incendies. Messed up revelation. Also had my biggest non-horror/thriller jumpscare.
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