My Most Disturbing Movie Experiences

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1974's Open Season



Shutter island's scene with the kids.



16.

Boys Don't Cry



This movie was disturbing to me but not for the reasons you might think. I wasn't disturbed by the fact that Teena Brandon (Oscar winner Hillary Swank) felt that she was a man trapped in a woman's body. What bothered me is that she tried to perpetrate a very dangerous fraud. She decided to try and live her life as a man and even a initiate a romance with a young woman (Chloe Sevigny) pretending to be a man. It's been awhile since I've watched this, but I don't remember the character even thinking about surgery to become a man and she blew up at a friend who called her a lesbian. She chose to live a very dangerous lie and paid a serious price for it.
You make Brandon sound like the villain here. The Brandon (and if we are going to be politically correct here, and respectful of the real Brandon Teena, he was not a she) we see in the film is a bit naive and risky in how she handles the situation. But imagine going through that confusion and terror of being caught, but still wanting to live your truth and at the same time trying to convince yourself in thinking you could keep it up forever. He literally had no one to confide in or rely upon except his own self, so he was left to his own devices. Trying to maneuver through his life, actually unable to avoid lying unless he wanted to face the viciousness he may, and ultimately (and tragically) did hit head on once he was "exposed". There's also a lot of fabrication in this film, especially with the Chloe Sevigny character who was not the sympathetic girlfriend portrayed in the film. In fact, it was so fabricated that the real woman whose Chloe's character was based was legitimately angry at the filmmakers and actors and spoke out against it. I believe even their relationship wasn't even true, at least what we see in the film.

Any way you look at it, Brandon was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Had he lived in this day and age he'd probably still be alive, but unfortunately due to various circumstances- the area which he lived, the society unwilling to even try to understand or be sympathetic, the crowd which he fell into- while still having the fact that he was keeping a secret must have been hell to go through.

He didn't deserve to be raped multiple times and brutally murdered no matter how you look at it. And the actions of those monsters who did it should not be justified, even in the slightest.

I'm sure you also don't think he deserved what he got, nor am I some social justice warrior who thinks your a rapist sympathizer. But when I read that I got a tad sense of insensitivity honestly. But you have your opinion and I have mine.
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Recent Views (out of 4)
Eighth Grade- (3.5/4)
Sicario 2- (3/4)

Assassination Nation- (3/4)
Mandy- (3.5/4)



Also some recommendations:
Angst
Spoorloos
Snowtown
Dogville
The Celebration
L.I.E.
Monster
Cure
Lilja 4-Ever
Queen of Earth
Funny Games
Ma Mere
Exhibit A

if any of those aren't already on your list definitely check them out.



Little Devil's Avatar
MC for the Great Underground Circus
2 movies:


In The Road, there's a scene that disturbed me in a positive way:

WARNING: "obvious spoilers" spoilers below
when the father teaches his son to kill himself the proper way if in risk of being caught


And when I say "positive way" I mean that the acting in that movie is superb, the general mood is fitting and it seems there are at least 3 instances in which it all comes together to pack a punch in the gut [and that scene is - for me - one of them] inside the motif of the characters in question.


There was this B campy movie [I'm sorry I don't know the name of it] I watched when I was 12 or 13; and I'm assuming the movie was early 80's that, despite being of obvious campy kind, did affect me for quite some time.

The movie depicts a group of college (?) dickheads who decide to pull a prank on a nerd with Acid from the school's laboratory where the nerd was doing his thing. This results in him getting terribly disfigured and the movie progresses with him getting his revenge on the idiots who did it.

Now, what upset me about it was the cheerful bullying and the end reveal [not much of a great reveal, but more of a full show of the consequences of that bullying upon the kid].

Nowadays I watch upon it with a more objective eye and can tell that even for a B campy movie the entire tone of it was rather effective in conveying the "twisted in the head due to bullying" message.

If anyone knows what movie I'm talking about, please do tell.
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You're more advanced than a cockroach, have you ever tried explaining yourself to one of them?



I'm sure you also don't think he deserved what he got, nor am I some social justice warrior who thinks your a rapist sympathizer. But when I read that I got a tad sense of insensitivity honestly. But you have your opinion and I have mine.
There was no way that I think Brandon got what he deserved and if what I wrote implies that, I'm sorry. Like you said, he was between a rock and a hard place and watching him try to live a life that someday somehow was going to explode in his face was disturbing and heartbreaking.



There was no way that I think Brandon got what he deserved and if what I wrote implies that, I'm sorry. Like you said, he was between a rock and a hard place and watching him try to live a life that someday somehow was going to explode in his face was disturbing and heartbreaking.
I figured you were a decent human being. As for the film it's one of only a few I can never sit through again. I think it's a great one, and should be seen at least once, but the last hour or so is just scene after scene of unspeakable violence, degradation (that sheriff probing him with inappropriate questions made me so angry), rape, etc. I just can't handle it. It weighs down on me and knowing that at least [spoiler] the rape, beating, and murder [/rape] actually did happen makes it so hard to view. Which is weird because Irreversible, The Accused, Mysterious Skin, Dogville, and other films with similar themes I also think are great but can still watch them. Something about BDC just makes me sick.



I figured you were a decent human being. As for the film it's one of only a few I can never sit through again. I think it's a great one, and should be seen at least once, but the last hour or so is just scene after scene of unspeakable violence, degradation (that sheriff probing him with inappropriate questions made me so angry), rape, etc. I just can't handle it. It weighs down on me and knowing that at least [spoiler] the rape, beating, and murder [/rape] actually did happen makes it so hard to view. Which is weird because Irreversible, The Accused, Mysterious Skin, Dogville, and other films with similar themes I also think are great but can still watch them. Something about BDC just makes me sick.
Why am I now not a decent human being?



This movie was disturbing to me but not for the reasons you might think. I wasn't disturbed by the fact that Teena Brandon (Oscar winner Hillary Swank) felt that she was a man trapped in a woman's body. What bothered me is that she tried to perpetrate a very dangerous fraud. She decided to try and live her life as a man and even a initiate a romance with a young woman (Chloe Sevigny) pretending to be a man. It's been awhile since I've watched this, but I don't remember the character even thinking about surgery to become a man and she blew up at a friend who called her a lesbian. She chose to live a very dangerous lie and paid a serious price for it.
It's been awhile since I saw Boys Don't Cry, too. Cricket got me to watch it. I forgot most of what happened until I read this.... I agree with this, though. From what I remember. Wasn't Brandon Teena lying to his girlfriend, pretending to be a guy, when.... he actually wasn't. You know what I mean. I didn't like that, either. LostonMulholland made good points, but, I felt the same way Gideon felt. Brandon Teena did something dangerous and stupid, and no, Brandon Teena didn't deserve to be killed, but Brandon Teena still did something she/he really shouldn't have done.

While some people weep at what happened to Brandon Teena.... I also see it as a warning to basically the LGBT crowd that.... they gotta watch out for themselves and not do stupid things that could get them killed by people who won't understand their feelings. Yes, it would be nice if these horrible crimes didn't happen, but there are people out there who will commit them against LGBT people. I didn't like Brandon Teena's actions, either, but the film showed us that for some people like Brandon Teena, they may be driven to take risks for their own personal happiness... and then they may suffer consequences for taking those risks, as well. Both parties did something they shouldn't have done. It would be nice if LGBT people didn't get treated like crap, didn't get killed for being who they are... but Brandon Teena was playing with fire. He made a tragic mistake trying to make his dreams come true.



Why am I now not a decent human being?
I just meant I figured you were a decent human being who didn't justify the rape and murder. I never never said you weren't a decent human being.. ?



Boys Don't Cry is one of my favorites. One of the most important aspects of the movie is not portraying the character as a saint. He/she was very flawed, and even a criminal, but this has to be shown to buy into the movie. That is not at all why I find the movie so disturbing though, but rather its conclusion. It is brutally upsetting.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
Boys Don't Cry is one of my favorites. One of the most important aspects of the movie is not portraying the character as a saint. He/she was very flawed, and even a criminal, but this has to be shown to buy into the movie. That is not at all why I find the movie so disturbing though, but rather its conclusion. It is brutally upsetting.
I havent seen that but for the same reason as you I found the ending of Brokeback Mountain very difficult to watch.

Hotel Rwanda is another I found extremely upsetting, and The Hunt wrecked me for days.



For me "disturbing" is just one of the basic ways to praise a movie. I hope a movie will be disturbing if I start watching.

I will include here 2 movies however than I wish I had not seen.

Downfall: I knew what would happen. I knew the history but even that didn't stop this movie getting under my skin. It's mostly just passable historical drama but the thing with the Goebbels kids and the things that were said to justify it...it took my a long time to get over it and stop myself from mentally arguing about everyday.

The other is Knock Knock: this movie is tragic because it was so close to being a real 10/10 but the ending is just an absolute troll. That is the perfect word and one I don't use lightly. It was clearly not done for money, for art or for some agenda. I can forgive a boring or confusing or stupid or plagiarized ending but this was blatantly just the writer's vindictive desire to to punish anyone who had invested any emotion in his art.



Boys don't cry you say? I found it to be pretty uneventful and then ends with a bang (no pun intended).

But it takes more than just a rape and murder to make a movie disturbing for me. Just relying on violence is what slashers do.



I don't know if this had been mentioned, but I find Repulsion to be pretty disturbing, especially because of the implication at the end.