10 Harrowing Movies That Will Crush Your Soul

And finally, Come and See. Some might be unfamiliar with it, yet Come and See is arguably the best film ever made about World War II, not to mention the definitive anti-war film. It's also, without question, one of the most shattering movies ever produced. Director Elem Klimov never made another picture after this, which is understandable, as there is no topping Come and See. 

Set in Belarus during WWII, the film follows Flyora (Aleksei Kravchenko), a teenager conscripted into the militia resisting the occupying German force. He starts the movie as an easy-going youngster eager to do his part in the war, and by the end, his entire family has been massacred and he's witnessed the very worst of humanity - including an entire village being forced into a barn and burned alive in an almost-unwatchable sequence.

Featuring note-perfect directing from Klimov, who mounts the movie with ferocious intensity and a haunting mix of naturalistic and surrealist visuals, Come and See is a terrifying cinematic nightmare that takes viewers right to the bottom of the abyss. As if all of that wasn't enough, it also features what could be the best child actor performance of all time - few actors have ever captured the trauma of war better than Aleksei Kravchenko does here. 

As the film concludes and Mozart's Requiem hauntingly sounds over the images of death and despair, Flyora has been changed forever - and the same goes for anyone who watches this transformative, soul-crushing, unbearably powerful masterpiece.