10 Films You Probably Shouldn't Watch On A First Date

Warning: Not to be read by the faint of heart. Hearts will bleed.

Let€™s say that there are only 2 kinds of movies, and for the sake of argument let€™s call them €œHollywood€ films and €œexploitation€ pictures. The former includes movies with a cosy, rose-tinted worldview €“ Pretty Woman, Shakespeare In Love etc €“ while the latter is not interested in the audience€™s comfort so much. Hollywood movies seek to reassure viewers by telling them universally accepted truths or falsehoods that most of us would like to believe in. They establish a world where everything is as it should be, and if by some oversight something is not quite right, then the love of the right person will make everything wonderful again. Exploitation movies aren€™t having any of that €“ their job is to unsettle, to tell us the things we don€™t want to hear. In these kinds of pictures, the family unit is either failing or dysfunctional, and Julia Roberts€™ smile sure won€™t be able to fix it. As dangerous as family ties are, though, there€™s always a bigger threat lurking outside the family home. When it comes to choosing the all-important movie for your first date, most of us would exercise caution by sticking with the Hollywood formula, regardless of how bland and predictable it may be. But if you want to test the waters or just like to live dangerously, here are 10 movies with a slightly sinister agenda.

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Ian Watson is the author of 'Midnight Movie Madness', a 600+ page guide to "bad" movies from 'Reefer Madness' to 'Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead.'