15 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever

Of all the names to appear on this list, Guardians of the Galaxy’s substitute father figure and eventual heroic sacrifice Yondu is probably a bit unexpected. But before he was Yondu, Michael Rooker first wowed audiences in John McNaughton’s gritty, hopelessly bleak Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer in 1986.

It’s hard to imagine the actor ever appearing in a family friendly film when watching this grainy, gruesome peek into the existence of a murderer, but it’s also hard to imagine that director McNaughton would go on to shoot anything as cheesy as 1998’s Wild Things.

There are gorier looks into the lives of killers (hello, August Underground), but Rooker and McNaughton’s talent behind and in front of the camera ensure that this film is unforgettably disturbing.

The film eschews tacky faux-snuff aesthetic tricks in favour of a slow meditation on the psychological damage of its star, dwelling on murder sequences, incest, rape, and a home invasion scene wherein an entire family are killed onscreen, with believability making it a harder film to shake than most on this list.