Some of the most riveting and terrifying horror movies in history can only be watched by those brave enough to see them. The goal of any great horror film is to scare viewers from beginning to end, filling them with so much fear and excitement that it becomes near-unbearable. But some of these movies went above and beyond trying to scare people, and they’re remembered today for being totally extreme.
We all enjoy a good scare every once in a while, but the following horror movies are too extreme and best-suited for hardcore fans. These are legendarily terrifying, shocking, and especially brutal. They’ve stunned the world with their violence and heavy subject matter, and some have even become some of the most controversial movies in history. From exploitation cult classics to some of the scariest movies of all time, these ten horror entries are definitely not for the weak of heart.
10
‘Cannibal Holocaust’ (1980)
Shooting a documentary in the Amazon goes horribly, horribly wrong in the 1980 cult classic Cannibal Holocaust. An intense shocker that pioneered found footage horror, it’s an unforgettable plot that follows a rescue party as they make the disturbing discovery of what happened to a lost documentary film crew that disappeared while studying an indigenous rainforest tribe.
Cannibal Holocaust is an absolute nightmare fuel that feels frighteningly realistic. It has the feel of watching a snuff film, with shocking imagery, explicit gore, and shot in an eerie handheld style. It was so believable upon release that it led to its director, Ruggero Deodato, being accused of murder. Only the charges were later dropped, but he was then found guilty of obscenity and animal cruelty. Overall, Cannibal Holocaust is intense and easily gets under the skin. It’s simply too disturbing to ever forget.
9
‘Funny Games’ (1997)
Funny Games is a haunting and heartbreaking psychological horror thriller from the 1990s that takes a deep look into the darkest parts of human nature. With intense suspense and unforgettable moments, it’s about a family of three as their peaceful vacation getaway at their lakeside cabin turns into a nightmare when two disturbed young men subject them to sadistic games for their own amusement.
Funny Games explores the desensitization of violence in the media, showing its senselessness and how even the audience can get swept up in its control. While it doesn’t show that much blood and cuts away from some violent acts, it’s a devastating experience that truly hammers in the message of how cruel we can be sometimes. By the end, Funny Games will have viewers feeling completely drained.
8
‘I Spit on Your Grave’ (1978)
Unflinching and without holding anything back, Meir Zarchi‘s 1978 exploration classic, I Spit on Your Grave, is one of the most controversial horror movies in history. A tale of intense violence and ruthlessness, it follows a young woman (Camille Keaton) who systematically hunts down each of the men responsible for sexually assaulting her and leaving her for dead.
Unlike other graphic horror films, this one doesn’t cut away or downplay the violence and disturbing acts. It’s mostly shown in horrific detail, proving that the filmmaker was unafraid to go bigger and bolder with its subject matter. It resulted in I Spit on Your Grave being banned for years in several countries, and it remains one of the most infamous films today. Overall, it’s shocking and explicit, featuring some of the most disturbing imagery that can’t be unseen.
7
‘The Descent’ (2005)
Neil Marshall‘s The Descent proves there’s more to fear in the dark. This tense, claustrophobic survival horror flick is an inescapable nightmare, following a grieving woman as she accompanies her friends to go cave exploring in the Appalachian Mountains to overcome a recent tragedy. But, after a cave-in, she struggles for survival as the cave they are stuck in is home to flesh-hungry monsters that pick off the women one by one.
It’s a story full of intense suspense, graphic imagery, and plenty of blood. The Decent has epic scares so startling that they’ll have viewers leaping out of their seats and drawn in until the very end. Coupled with its cramped, uncomfortable setting and eerie dark tone, The Descent is truly a pulse-pounding experience that might be too much to watch for some people.
6
‘Hostel’ (2005)
From a filmmaker no stranger to showing over-the-top violence in his works, Eli Roth, comes one of his standout cult classics, Hostel, a 2005 splatter flick that will leave audiences’ stomachs churned. This brutal torture/revenge story follows two American tourists venturing to Europe for pleasure, but they get more than they bargained for as they’re kidnapped by an underground crime syndicate specializing in sadistic torment.
Hostel is intense and spectacularly graphic, featuring horrifying moments of prolonged torture and shocking bodily harm. Limbs are cut off, eyes are ripped out, and there are so many bloody, horrific killings that it becomes nauseating by the conclusion. It’s because it’s incredibly gory and disturbing that Hostel has its long-lasting legacy as one of Roth’s best films. It’s certainly not for everyone’s taste, but it’ll amaze anyone who dares to watch it.
5
‘Audition’ (1999)
Takashi Miike‘s Audition is a compelling body horror film from the 1990s. As one of Japan’s notable horror standouts, it remains an enduring classic thanks to its incredible acting, brilliant storytelling, and, of course, its horrific violence. Starring Ryô Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina, it follows a widowed father as he stages a mock audition for a fake film to find his soul mate. But, when he sparks a relationship with a mysterious applicant, he later realizes too late that the woman is not as sweet and loving as she claims to be.
Audition is perhaps most remembered for its intense and stomach-churning torture scene near the end. The now-infamous sequence is painfully drawn out and explicit, and just watching it once might reinforce some or many viewers’ fears of needles. Besides this infamous moment, the story is easy to get under the skin as it builds up suspense in preparation for this bleak finale.
4
‘Martyrs’ (2008)
Image via Wild Bunch
One of the darkest horror movies ever made, 2008’s Martyrs is a bleak, unrelentingly brutal torture horror thriller. It’s about two orphaned friends as they serve their form of justice against the despicable, shadowy organization that abused them as children. But, as they edge closer to the reason why they were subjected to so much torment, they realize they’re being used as test subjects to explore what happens to life after death.
Martys truly gets too hard to watch at times. From its appalling torture scenes to the shocking and depressing deaths, it’s a distressing tale that only gets more disturbing and heartwrenching with each passing moment. It’s full of unflinching violence and torment, and watching it even once will never make the audience forget it. Many have condemned it as exploitative and cruel for the sake of it, and that might be the point.
3
‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
Image via Warner Bros.
A defining classic of the horror genre, William Friedkin‘s The Exorcist is a film no hardcore horror fan can go on without knowing. It’s unrelentingly intense, featuring iconic scares, legendary performances, and a story that still causes nightmares. It follows two priests as they battle a vicious demon that’s trying to take over the body of a young girl named Regan (Linda Blair).
From its disturbing imagery to Linda Blair’s iconic and unsettling performance, The Exorcist is often seen as too intense and disturbing for some audience members. Its terrifying content, along with the controversy it caused among religious groups, led the film to be banned in some countries for years, but this only increased its popularity. Overall, The Exorcist is shocking, nightmarish, and truly one of the scariest movies of all time.
2
‘The Evil Dead’ (1981)
From one of horror’s greatest visionary filmmakers, Sam Raimi, comes his 1981 B-movie splatter masterpiece, The Evil Dead. Starring the always enjoyable Bruce Campbell, it follows five college friends as a weekend getaway to a cabin in the woods turns into a bloodbath when they find and read from an ancient book that unleashes flesh-possessing demons.
The Evil Dead is one of the bloodiest, most spectacularly gory horror movies of all time. Despite its low budget, Raimi created a classic that’s full of shocking, disgusting deaths and plenty of blood-soaked imagery. The effects, although showing their age today, are still quite intense and, for some, might be too much to bear. The Evil Dead not only put Raimi on the map, but it also spawned one of horror’s greatest franchises, which is still talked about today.
1
‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ (1974)
Image via Bryanston Distributing Company
Taking the top spot, the late Tobe Hooper‘s legendary The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is one of the most shocking, terrifying, and controversial horror movies ever made. It follows a group of friends as they arrive in a remote part of the Texas countryside. But it soon turns deadly for them as they encounter a deranged cannibalistic serial killer who doesn’t like trespassers on his territory.
This groundbreaking slasher classic has become significant to the genre, breaking new barriers for horror thanks to its shocking violence and gritty tone. Hooper’s competent direction and Daniel Pearl’s Oscar-worthy cinematography helped capture a dirty, grimy style for the film that made it unique and enhanced the terror, as it looked frighteningly realistic. Though it’s not insanely graphic compared to some films today, it’s still deeply disturbing and nerve-racking to watch. Truly, this is an extreme horror film that’s never for the faint of heart.
