10 Harrowing Movies You Can’t Watch Twice

Unlike most films on this list, Lee Daniels's Precious ends in triumph and optimism, rather than a crushing sense of depression, but the journey towards its ultimate conclusion is paved with crippling gut-punches and emotional torment.

The movie follows the eponymous teen Claireece 'Precious' Jones, played superbly by Gabourey Sidibe, who has been suffering through years of physical, mental and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother. As if that isn't bad enough, she's also pregnant for a second time as a result of being raped by her father.

Precious uses daydreams of an existence where she's loved and appreciated as a form of escapism, but this is a tactic that soon becomes ineffective, and the more she tries to escape the hell that is her home life, the more she's sucked into it.

Few films highlight the sheer horror of familial abuse like Precious, and the fact it's in virtually every shot makes it a challenging watch, especially that harrowing scene where an infant just days old is deliberately dropped to the floor.

While the film ends on an upbeat note, you won't want to go through it all over again.