15 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever

Directed by the uber-prolific Japanese auteur Takashi Miike, Audition is a psychological thriller based on a novel by Ryu Murakami of Coin Locker Babies fame. However, where that novel infamously wastes not even a single sentence before delving into shocking territory, Audition takes the opposite approach and for the first half of the accomplished film, most viewers will think they’re watching a pretty tender romantic drama.

Then the viewer discovers that the lead’s love interest keeps a man she has mutilated in a sack and feeds him her vomit, and things take a turn from there. The film is among the more critically adored on this list, and Miike’s considerable directorial talents aren’t wasted on the slow-burn horror.

But the lengthy and horribly realistic torture of a paralysed protagonist via needles-in-the-eyeball and piano wire dismemberment ensure this flick—even moreso than Miike’s more violent but also less realistic Visitor Q and Ichi the Killer—is among the most gruelling viewing experiences in screen history.