By Chris Kavan - 02/11/10 at 10:32 AM CT
I am constantly trying to find the next film that will make my guts churn, my eyes avert, my jaw drop at sheer sight of what I'm witnessing. Is it out of morbid curiosity that I seek out these films? Am I so desensitized that only the most extreme cases can now have an impact?
I don't know the reasons - maybe it's best not to dwell on them, all I know is, it's getting harder and harder to shake me up but some films, and they're not all modern, will have that impact.
There are two types of films that fall into this category: you have your truly depraved films - usually with a cult following - and you have your based-on-true-events (or events that could potentially happen) films.
In the latter category, the first film that is there is Schindler's List. No one can doubt this is a great film. Yet it's also not a film I would readily want to sit and watch for entertainment. I can still see that little girl in the red coat and it's still chilling after all this time.
Other films that fall into this category for me: the ultimate Say-No-to-Drugs film, Requiem for a Dream; the heartbreaking animated film Grave of the Fireflies and the ultra-violent Clockwork Orange.
On the other end of the spectrum are the more visceral films - films that make Hostel look like Bambi. Audition remains my top in this category. In fact, Takashi Miike pretty much specializes in making you feel weird: Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, Happiness of the Katakuras - the man is a twisted genius.
Surprisingly, the French have created a whole new level of horror. It started with High Tension, upped the ante with Inside and then came Martyrs. I can honestly say that Martyrs was the first horror film since, well since Audition, that truly raised the bar with me. It wasn't just the violence and blood, of which there was plenty, but each time I thought I had the story figured out, it took a deeper, darker twist with a truly disturbing ending.
One film I haven't tested out: Salo. I own the film, I just haven't watched it. There's so much hype surrounding this lurid piece of cinema, I want to wait for just the right time.
So what do you think people? If you have the time look thought my lists and suggest something! In the immortal words of Tom Atkins (as Ray Cameron) "Thrill me."
