15 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever

15. Martyrs

Pascal Laugier’s name was always going to make it onto this list, and initially this entry was going to spotlight the director’s underseen 2016 effort Incident in a Ghostland, a flick noteworthy for its brutal unexpected mid-film plot twist. However the controversial director was sued by one of the cast member’s upon the film’s release, meaning it may break our “no real-life injuries” rule.

Moreover, nothing in Ghostland can hope to compare to the New French Extremity helmer’s 2008 horror.

As Martyrs progresses, the film moves from a supernatural horror to a violent home invasion slasher to an altogether more complicated and disturbing conspiracy thriller, eventually culminating in a stomach-turning, unbelievably long flaying scene which will leave even the most hardened gore fiends retching.

It’s all in aid of a pseudo-intellectual, very French meditation on death, but the image you’ll remember is a skinned heroine making The Passion of The Christ look subtle.