10 Horror Movies Audiences Walked Out On

10. Freaks

In 1932, a film that came along shocked the world not through its violence or gore, but by portraying ordinary human beings with disabilities.

Freaks, directed by Tod Browning, is about a woman who joins a troupe of sideshow circus performers in an attempt to seduce and murder a man with dwarfism to claim his inheritance.

The film's cast was full of people with real-life disabilities portraying all manner of traditional "freak show" performers; a bearded lady, conjoined twins, a strongman etc.

However, despite being the main focus of the picture, a lot of the actors were made to stay away from the able-bodied cast and crew members on set. Some were also banned from viewing the film in cinemas owing to staff members feeling "uncomfortable".

This discomfort was also present in the film's test audiences, many of whom couldn't finish the original version because it was too "grotesque". As a result, half an hour of footage was cut from the theatrical release without the director's consent.

Reading people's reactions to Freaks sheds light on the stigmas disabled people faced at the time, which is ironically far more frightening than anything in the actual film.