8. Mermaid In A Manhole (1988)
A film in the infamous Guinea Pig series, Mermaid in a Manhole positively oozes pustulance and pongy bodily fluids. A painter finds - guess what - a mermaid in a manhole. He is fascinated by her and brings her home and sticks her in the bath. Unfortunately the mermaid is not very well. She sports oozing boils which the painter uses to paint her portrait with. She decays further and further - vomiting up worms and slime - until the painter cracks up and mutilates her body. The film is very bizarre indeed. It is fascinating, yet repellant. You can practically smell the rotting mermaid from your screen, and her decline is painful yet compelling to watch. This is a major piece of transgressive cinema which is (paradoxically) beautifully filmed despite its grotesque special effects. It is an excellent film for fans of transgressive cinema, but as is the case for many of the films in this list, it would be a disgusting chore for most to sit through.