10 Disturbing Movie Moments You Never Noticed

These deeply unsettling moments passed us all by.

Equilibrium Christian Bale
Miramax

Generally speaking, filmmakers absolutely want you to notice the disturbing content in their movies, because what would be the point of including it otherwise?

They want to get a visceral reaction out of moviegoers by placing the most shocking and unsettling material right in front of your eyes. But that's not always true, and sometimes the most unnerving moment of all is actually concealed secretly in plain sight, for only the most eagle-eyed of observers to catch without assistance. And that's absolutely true of these 10 films, each of which features something wildly uneasy hidden in the frame, enough that you've almost certainly missed it.

From grim implications about popular characters to low-key brutality hidden in "family-friendly" fare, and creepy stylistic tricks concealed just below the surface, you've probably never noticed these creepy and deeply WTF movie moments before.

One can easily picture all the filmmakers in question getting a kick out of sneaking these bizarre, bleak flourishes into their films, even as many of them have only been discovered years, even decades after the fact.

The lesson here? There's always something new to find in your favourite movies...

10. Jack Sparrow Has Syphilis - Pirates Of The Caribbean

Equilibrium Christian Bale
Disney

It's obvious that Johnny Depp brought much of his own creative spirit to Pirates of the Caribbean's Jack Sparrow, modelling him after The Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards and even insisting upon a curious visual detail you've likely never noticed.

Throughout the franchise, check out Sparrow's face during any close-up shots and you'll spot a peculiar red mark on the right-hand side of said mug.

While at first glance you might assume it to be a mere scuff or graze from his hard-going adventuring, it's actually a detail that Depp and the film's make-up crew agreed upon to subtly suggest that Jack was suffering from syphilis, with a facial rash being one of the STD's primary symptoms.

Given that Sparrow isn't exactly shown to be a stickler for hygiene and certainly has a healthy appetite for the ladies, it's nothing if not on-brand for the character, if also something quite gnarly to sneak into a swashbuckling Disney adventure film aimed at family audiences.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.