10 Most Polarising Horror Movies Of All Time

10. A Serbian Film

There's little doubt that Srđan Spasojević's cinematic debut A Serbian Film is a disturbing and challenging watch. As horror films go it features some exceptionally graphic imagery, not least the notorious "newborn porn" scene, just one of several gross moments in a film which explores pedophilia and necrophilia through an unflinching lens.

The audience may have been on the same page when it comes to just how extreme the gore and violence is, but were notably split on whether or not it is actually a good horror movie. Spasojević claimed that the film was a metaphor for the war which raged in Serbia during the 1990s, at once a critique of the stagnated landscape of Serbian cinema and a "denouncement of the fascism of political correctness."

Fans of extreme cinema were happy to go along with his justification for the excessive sexual violence and sadism. But for others it was little more than repulsive filmmaking, with a flimsy justification tagged onto a crude exploitation movie for the sake of artistic credibility. Few contemporary horror films have generated such controversy while deserving every bit of it.