Films tend to mean different things to different people. For example, you've probably seen a movie that you hated but your friends loved, or vice versa. However, here's another thing that can mean different things depending on the circumstance: "disturbing." Sure, the first film culture association to come to mind is likely along the lines of The Human Centipede or the continuation of horrendous shows like Glee. The term can apply to several contexts with different implications and different justifications for its association. "Disturbing" is not all blood, guts, and poor acting attempts. With that range of application in mind, here are the ten most disturbing films of 2012.
10. The Three Stooges
I grew up with The Three Stooges not, of course, because of any new episodes from this 1934-1959 series premiering on television during my lifetime, but because of my dad frequently playing Stooges tapes for my family to watch together. Once I developed to be almost as much of a fan of the series' classic humour as my dad is, the mutual dream was indeed that the series would sometime return as a modern revival. However, I would have never wished for the Three Stooges movie that came out in 2012. The reason that this film makes the list of most disturbing films of the past year is because it is a disappointing, yes, disturbing misrepresentation of a classic. Instead of embodying the physical, silly humour of the original series, the movie takes a wrong turn by seeming to make a joke out of the humour style itself -- not the desired kind of joke we would hope for. The movie insults the source material by turning the original series' genuine entertainment into poor imitation that emits blatant disrespect. The disrespect comes not from portraying light-hearted humour, but from treating the foundation of the humour itself like an infantile idea. The film should be keeping the humour within its plot as Moe puts down Larry and Curly as usual, not extending this behaviour by insolently teasing itself and putting down its legacy. I would not call this film a tribute, but a taunt. It's enough that this film is bad by failing to add to or bring back the charm of its legacy (which is the point of making a film like this in the first place), but for biting the hand that fed its concept, this film goes beyond misrepresenting its predecessor to mock it. Such an embarrassing and even offensive portrayal makes this film disturbing, not just unsatisfactory.