7. Salo, Or The 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
One of the silver screen's most visceral depictions of torture, violence and sexual depravity, Salo is probably one of the best-known films on the list. I have actually read the 120 Days of Sodom and it was quite a traumatic experience. The filmic version Salo is also quite an ordeal to sit through. A bunch of Godzilla sized perverts kidnap young kids and bring prostitutes and other dubious types to an isolated mansion in Italy. There, they enact their foulest, most transgressive, most depraved sexual whims. The delights include: enforced and consensual poop eating, black mass ceremonies, scalping, branding, eye gouging, tongue evisceration, urination into mouth, nipple burning by candle. I honestly believe that Pasolini had political or social commentary motives in shooting this film. The Marquis de Sade's 120 Days of Sodom is repulsive, but it is a work of grotesque art. I honestly believe that Pasolini was trying to recreate the book on celluloid. It would take a greater mind than me to make sense of any political or social subtexts - I am not trained in reading films/film journalism. I can only offer up my humble opinions. Salo is not a film that you are going to watch regularly. You might just about be able to stomach it once in your life. Its depravity will leave a major imprint on your mind.