10 Emotionally Gutting Films That Wrecked Their Audiences

If you're looking for a deeply messed up film, look no further than Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, which celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year. The master of truly horrifying films smashed his way into the mainstream in 2000 with one of the most grim and horrific portrayals of drug addiction and the destruction it causes ever created.

The film's plot concerns four main characters: Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn), her son Harry (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly) and friend Tyrone (Marlon Wayans) as they slowly and agonisingly destroy their lives. It was so intense that audiences ended up walking out during screenings.

Each of the characters' fall from grace is conveyed through visceral and terrifying consequences, emphasised even further by the film's presentational techniques and brutal imagery. Finally, the film's main theme is one of the most bleak and depressing accompaniments ever composed, complementing the character's race to the bottom. The film is often labelled by audiences as one of the best films ever made that they'll never watch again. Films like Requiem for a Dream are now a rare breed in their unapologetic depictions. If you have the stomach to sit through it, be prepared for a truly frightful cinematic work.