10 Sci-Fi Movies Too Scary To Finish

Directed by cult horror helmer Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989’s Tetsuo: The Iron Man is nothing if not unique, and forget the slow-burn tension of The Thing or the tragedy of Cronenberg’s best character work—this flick is just straight up disturbing from the jump, disregarding more subtle routes to horror and going straight for the audience’s collective stomach.

Maybe it’ll be the sight of a man jamming a metal rod into an open wound on purpose that sees you drop out—that one is about five minutes into the flick, for the record. Maybe it’ll be a minute later, when we see said wound crawling with maggots.

Or the many metallic phalluses which protrude from the torn flesh of this film’s unfortunate characters in what must be the most explicit and upsetting piece of cyberpunk ever filmed. More than earning its formidable reputation amongst extreme cinema enthusiasts, this black and white nightmare must be commended for overcoming a limited budget by, like David Lynch’s early Eraserhead, valuing sheer shock value and unforgettable imagery over narrative coherence and cohesion.

After all, who needs a sensible story when no one will be left in the audience by the end?