What was my friend's "most disturbing movie ever seen?"

January 29, 2006 7:14 AM

What was my friend's "most disturbing movie ever seen?"

Sometime back I asked a group of friends what the most disturbing movie they'd ever seen was. One of them refused to answer (perhaps because the answer is too shocking?) but dropped quite few hints. This is what we know:

It's almost certainly pornographic.
My friend isn't a prude, so she wouldn't be disturbed by a run-of-the-mill porn flick.
We established it wasn't in one of the obvious disturbing categories like child porn, bestiality or snuff films.
She thought it was black & white, but isn't sure.
The main character was either on Melrose Place or looked a lot like an actress from that show.
The title is four words long: "The ______ of ______" (she's quite definite about this part).

posted by justkevin to media & arts (37 comments total)

In that case, my answer probably isn't right, given that the most disturbing movie I've seen that instantly comes to mind in this category is Requiem For A Dream, but hey, you never know. It isn't black and white but it certainly has elements of pornography to it.
posted by Jubey at 7:37 AM on January 29, 2006

Jubey: that was my exact first thought.
Honestly, when I read the question, and it said "most disturbing movie ever", the only thing that works is Requiem for a Dream. (And it fits all those points you mentioned.)
posted by ruwan at 7:39 AM on January 29, 2006

The Story of O?
posted by 31d1 at 7:43 AM on January 29, 2006

The Devil in Miss Jones?
posted by punkfloyd at 7:45 AM on January 29, 2006

The House of No?
posted by tinaguppie at 7:46 AM on January 29, 2006

"The Story of O" was the first thing to come to mind. Isn't that based on a book too?
posted by oddman at 7:50 AM on January 29, 2006

Requiem for a Dream isn't a movie someone would be so coy about seeing, I'd think. Was it a Richard Kern flick?
posted by fleacircus at 7:56 AM on January 29, 2006

The main character was either on Melrose Place or looked a lot like an actress from that show.

This criteria does not really narrow down the realm of pornographic possibilities.

If you were sure it were black and white, that would help a little, but otherwise there's nothing besides the structure of the title to go on in your questions.

The obvious film with that sort of title would be The Story of O, which was filmed in the 70's and recently re-released, so there could be a particular quality to the image that would lead your friend to remember it as black and white (but not sure).

I can't imagine someone seeing that film and being so shocked they would refuse to repeat the name, but then, I might not have the best sense of what porn disturbs other people.
posted by crabintheocean at 7:57 AM on January 29, 2006

The House of Yes isn't porn, but it is disturbing. The main plot line has to do with incest and mental illness.

And it's not Melrose Place, but Tori Spelling from 90210 is in it.
posted by SassHat at 7:58 AM on January 29, 2006

The 2005 remake of Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with Lauren Birkell from Six Feet Under?
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:02 AM on January 29, 2006

Was Monica Belluci in Melrose Place?
posted by fire&wings at 8:04 AM on January 29, 2006

A couple of ideas that kind of fit the criteria:

Replusion is black and white and stars a woman, is very repulsive (though perhaps not distrubing), though the title doesn't fit the structure.

Salo or 'The 120 Days of Sodom' is probably the most distrubing movie I've ever seen. Though no melrose place lookalikes, not too many women even. Lots of sex, though I would not call it porn. Not B/W, but it is old.

The Story of Ricky: not black and white, main charachter is male, not porn. Very very gory.

Do you know anything at all more about the film, any events or anything?
posted by MetaMonkey at 8:13 AM on January 29, 2006

Well, Traci Lords was on Melrose Place for awhile, so it could be any one of her porn flicks.
posted by statolith at 8:17 AM on January 29, 2006

Yeah, but Traci would disqualify it from being one of the most disturbing movies EVAR.

You sure it was B&W? The only quasi-porno "fucked up" flicks I can think of are 120 Days of Soddom (Salo) or maybe Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. Both were made in the 70s, which is about the time most of the cast of Melrose were learning to walk (except Heather Locklear, who was already driving by then).

There was a more mainstream, "big-budget" movie made about snuff films called 8mm starring Nicolas Cage... it wasn't that, was it? There's a big difference between a bad movie and a disturbing movie.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:30 AM on January 29, 2006

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover ?
posted by odinsdream at 8:35 AM on January 29, 2006

I bet it was "The 120 Days of Sodom"... I saw it a long ago and I also remember it as a b&w movie...
I do not recommend this movie, point blank.
posted by ruelle at 8:41 AM on January 29, 2006

Incidentally, drive-in-movie reviewer Joe Bob Briggs knows from disturbing movies. His choice is Doris Wishman's documentary Let Me Die a Woman; I gather for its footage of sex-change operations.
posted by Aknaton at 8:53 AM on January 29, 2006

Yeah, but Traci would disqualify it from being one of the most disturbing movies EVAR.

Actually, you know, given that most of her porn career qualifies as child pornography - she was under the age of 18 for all but mumble (1?) of her porn movies - it probably wouldn't disqualify it at all.

As a policeman friend of mine once said, "It's an easy bust if we're looking for something else and happen to find a Tracy Lords video in your possession."
posted by planetthoughtful at 9:01 AM on January 29, 2006

"The Story of O" fits the title pattern, but after reading the description, it doesn't sound like it would be that disturbing (also see the note re: Amazon below)

Other clues:

It's at least six years old, probably older.

Recently she tried to buy the movie as a gag gift. It wasn't listed on Amazon, but she found it on Ebay. This would rule out a lot of mainstream movies.

The title is definitely "The ____ of _____"

She wasn't positive about the BW aspect.

I'm pretty sure she said it would be considered porn/fetish.
posted by justkevin at 9:35 AM on January 29, 2006

Man, I thought the most disturbing movie ever was Cannibal Apocalypse, which doesn't fit at all, but you may want to use it to trump your friend. Sex, gore, cannibalism...
posted by klangklangston at 9:57 AM on January 29, 2006

The fact that there was a main character probably means that there was a plot which rules out Faces of Death, but you never know...
posted by mikeh at 10:20 AM on January 29, 2006

Seconding Pasolini's The 120 Days of Sodom.

As an aside, I don't really get how Requiem for a Dream is disturbing at all. At least, any more disturbing than Reefer Madness, or any other piece of hysterical anti-drug propaganda (Cocaine Fiends?). There's no comparison with films like Ichi The Killer, I Spit on Your Grave, or Cannibal Holocaust (which is the movie I assume klangklangston was referring to).
posted by Jairus at 10:53 AM on January 29, 2006

I believe this may be what you are looking for. Someone showed it to me in high school. Not BW. Not specifically porn because I do not remember any penetration. I thought it was funny because the violence is so over the top but I could see where some people woould be quite disturbed by it.
posted by Justin Case at 10:53 AM on January 29, 2006

Another vote for Day of the Women/I Spit on Your Grave. I got through about 10 minutes of it in high school before my boyfriend and I had to turn it off and return it immediately to the store, because it was so awful we didn't even want to have to look at the tape sitting on the coffee table.
posted by scody at 11:24 AM on January 29, 2006

Requiem for a Dream was boring and stupid, though I really liked the cinematography. But yeah, by the end you're like "Duh, I won't shoot up. I get your point. Ok."
And yeah, Cannibal Holocaust was the movie I was thinking of. Hell, even Eraserhead is more disturbing than RfaD. (When I worked at a video store, Cannibal Holocaust was one of the psuedo-hazing films that would be recommended and then new hires were cajoled into watching, while everyone else watched the new hires... There were a couple others along those lines, but I've forgotten them... El Boxeo maybe? A bunch of Italian zombie shit?)
posted by klangklangston at 12:19 PM on January 29, 2006

justkevin: just ask your friend and tell us : )
posted by suni at 12:41 PM on January 29, 2006

One more vote for Day of the Women/I Spit on Your Grave as others have said. There are several different versions of this- some are heavily edited, but others might be considered pornographic. Camille Keaton looks like a couple of the actresses on Melrose Place.

I have seen it referred to as "The Day of Woman" as well.
posted by Yorrick at 12:58 PM on January 29, 2006

justkevin: just ask your friend and tell us

Uh, yeah, that seems like the obvious solution. I have nothing against "what was this book/movie" questions in general, but there's so little to go on here—plus you wouldn't even know if the answer was right, because it's your friend who saw the movie—it seems pretty pointless to post it here. I'm sure everyone's having fun listing shocking movies, but it's not really going anywhere.
posted by languagehat at 1:25 PM on January 29, 2006

Another vote for "The Story of O".

An aside: If you think that "Requiem for a Dream" was about drugs, or an anti-drug message, or not shooting smack, you've missed the entire point of the movie. A point brutally (and perhaps tiresomely) driven home by the juxtaposition of themes and talismans of fame, fortune, glamour, vanity, greed and more.

It's about the inherently un-nameable, unspeakable and unsatiable hunger that resides in each of us, how it drives us, how it drives us apart. Metaphysical hunger or otherwise.
posted by loquacious at 2:05 PM on January 29, 2006

Requiem for a Dream is hardly "disturbing". After reading your further clues, it's probably not Un chien andalou, but it IS in B&W, and it is possibly the most intentionally disturbing movie ever made.
posted by muddgirl at 2:22 PM on January 29, 2006

Hi all, thanks for all the suggestions. She has, so far, refused to divulge the title of the movie. I think at this point she enjoys torturing us with the secret. If I had a likely candidate title, I could ask her "Is it X?" and gauge her reaction.
posted by justkevin at 3:51 PM on January 29, 2006

Tell your friend that at this point, she's not just annoying you, but hundreds of people on the Internet. We just want to know what the damn movie is.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:57 PM on January 29, 2006

Seriously, this is annoying. Tell you what, I won't inflict my annoying friends on you and you do the same for me, OK?
posted by languagehat at 5:39 PM on January 29, 2006

Rather than pull out the MetaTalk card, I'll concede the film's title is irrelevant, as the thread is pretty much lost any effectiveness at this point. An attempt to assist someone outside the community, however well-intentioned at the start, has now devolved into a parlor game, largely for justkevin's "friend's" amusement. Ladies an' gents, you have been trolled. Perhaps not intentionally, but we all played our parts beautifully.
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:51 PM on January 29, 2006

Hm, my wild thought that doesn't fit alll the criteria is The Night Porter. Freaked me out when I was 15, it did.

Hm, and I found The Witches of Eastwick disturbing, but mainly of my opinion of Jack Nicholson.

And In the Realm of the Senses has quite a reputation. I can also recommend, from recent Korean cinema, the twisted revenge flick Oldboy, about which the less known in advance the better.

What else? Devil in the Flesh? Delta of Venus? I"m wondering if the "The" isn't actually optional, if your friend doesn't have the case in front of her.

Alyssa Milano was on MP and made a (bad) Italian movie called Embrace of the Vampire, but it doesn't sound exceptionally disturbing. Hm, what about Luis Bunuel's L'Age d'Or [The Age of Gold]? Or [The] Diary of a Chambermaid?
posted by dhartung at 9:21 PM on January 29, 2006

Dalek & LanguageHat:

I won't apologize for posting the question. I recognize that it's hard given the limited information, but MeFi-ers have identified films and songs with even less to go on. I figured someone would read the description who'd seen the film and nail it. The question is one I really want an answer to and is perfectly suited for AskMeFi.
posted by justkevin at 5:55 AM on January 30, 2006

Sorry, not the same at all. This isn't about identifying a movie you saw years ago and half-remember, which is perfectly suited for AskMeFi; it's about your friend jerking you around and you passing it on to us. Unlike those other "what's this movie?" posters, who genuinely have no other recourse, you have the answer right in front of you in the person of your friend and would rather pester us about it. "But my friend won't tell me!" Well, that's between you and your friend, isn't it?

What guarantee is there that if someone here happens to come up with the right answer, your "friend" will admit it? Looks to me like she might well rather play it coy and keep you on the hook. Fun for her and maybe for you, but not what AskMe is for.
posted by languagehat at 7:08 AM on January 30, 2006