20 'Controversial' Movies Everyone Completely Over-Reacted To

The Film:

Michael Powell's psychological horror film, which came before all the other serial killer horror movies. You could say this is the one that started it all.

The Controversy:

People were so disturbed and disgusted by the film that it basically finished off Michael Powell's career.

Why It Was Wrong:

This one has aged very badly. In all honesty, if released today it could probably get away with a 12 certificate since there is virtually no violence in the film at all. It is a work of psychology.

Even for the time, it shouldn't have been so shocking. There will have been plenty of works of fiction prior to that which dealt with disturbing subject matter. You'd have thought that people had understood that some fiction being disturbing is usually a mark of its skill and power.

The hyperbolic reviews at the time feel utterly ludicrous in hindsight. Surely critics could have understood that the serial killer stuff was actually very psychologically complex? It's a fascinating portrayal of voyeuristic psychology (Freud would've had a field day with this movie) and although it feels a little tame nowadays, it's so far from the terrible film people said it was at the time. It's well acted and directed, cleverly written and highly atmospheric, and the ending is fantastic.

Thankfully it only took until the next decade for the critical reappraisal to start, but still, it's tragic that Michael Powell's career was ruined just for making a powerful horror film.