8 Most Disturbing Horror Short Movies

By far the most intentionally disgusting movie on this list, 1994’s Aftermath follows a mortician slowly dissecting and… ‘interfering’ with a cadaver under his care. At thirty minutes long, the subject matter makes it feel like hours as the main character goes about his lurid ‘business’.

What makes the unsettling subject of Aftermath all the more disturbing is the humanisation we’re given to the cadaver herself, named Marta, moments before her death. The character dies swerving to avoid a dog in the road, signposting in big glowing letters that Marta, when alive, was a good person who certainly doesn’t deserve this vile treatment in death.

Conversely, we have the mortician, here displayed as so enthusiastic about the work that he chooses to film the acts he commits presumably to watch later. Compounding the stomach-churning visuals is the fact that the film goes to great lengths to be biologically accurate; if it had been released even a decade earlier it might well have been investigated as a genuine snuff film.

The film was actually praised by some upon release for its unflinching presentation and attention to detail. Amusingly, the biggest criticisms of the film were for those same reasons. Seeing this convincing depiction of violence displayed so matter-of-factly messes with your head as much as trying to work out the main character’s sick motivation. This is not a nice movie and is probably the only one on this list we recommend not watching, but if you want you can find it on YouTube.