What makes a truly brutal, disturbing horror movie?

[Roderick Usher]

What makes a film disturbing is when you feel you are in the hands of an irresponsible filmmaker - one who takes a horrific situation (which most of us aficionados consider fun escapism) and pushes the pain/fear/suffering into extremely realistic territory.

And long, subjective takes, not quick loud edits, bring that sense of verite to life.

[Roderick Usher]

totally. unknown actors help a ton.

[Despare]

I think showing anything that makes people realize how depraved and disgusting their fellow man can be does the trick.

[gracie]

Atmosphere and mood are one of the biggest parts. The way high tension was filmed, the atmosphere was awesome. I was sitting on the edge of my chair. The music was perfect as well.
But also to be disturbing there has to be the element of reality. Thinking this could happen is the bit that disturbs you. This is what made the August Undergrounds and Irrevrsable disturbing.
Freddy v's Jason however doesnt bring this ;)

[Despare]

Originally Posted by urgeok

and ultimately it's when a film pushes your worst buttons ..

for example ... i'm sensitive when it comes to children .. any kind of harm ..

it makes me an easy target - i get disturbed by what i'm seeing, then i get the second wave of 'why the hell did they make that' (yes i know it was to invoke that reaction .. but it was a lazy no brainer ... most people would have that reaction - it was pointless)

so for me thats disturbing on 2 levels..

Killing children and cute animals are always big ones. I liked the way a kid was used in the original Assault on Preceinct 13 and animals in Equilibrium.

[Despare]

Originally Posted by urgeok

its kind of a cheap dig at this point though isnt it ..

like disney killing off a parent ... time to come up with some new angles..

Yeah but it really depends on what it's used for. In AoP13 it was used to create the story, to give the father a need for revenge so the gang could be incited to hunt him down. If it's a simple slasher flick and they show a kid get killed in a more dramatic way (the big eyes, the sappy music) than an adult then yeah, it's just the lack of good ideas. I think the problem with killing children (in movies) is that they treat it differently than the adults. If they showed true equality in the brutal slaughter of adults AND kids I think it would be more disturbing and less cheap emotional manipulation.

[Despare]

Originally Posted by urgeok

i think children are precious, helpless, dependant .. and love unconditionally ..

most are pure

That's why it has such an impact, it's the closest thing they can show comparable to killing an angel.

[Despare]

Originally Posted by urgeok

i guess like i said - if it serves the story ... its 'appropriate' for the film.

if its just there to provoke a strong reaction - thats just lazy filmmaking.. cheating..


like the 1 million horror films that have a cat projectile jumping from the top of a closed closet.

thats a stupid cheap-ass overused hand me down tired old jump out ...

drives me nuts

Yep, just using something proven to draw from the audience the emotion you want instead of trying to develop something new and powerful.

[Antym666]

I think that it needs to have a sense of reality, which is why Last House On The Left was disturbing...

[Necromancer]

unexpected twists