What are movies for, after all? Isn’t it supposed to be fun? A story that moves you deeply and transports you to places you’ve never been? When it comes to movies, or for that matter, any kind of art, that definition is just too restricted. Humans are capable of experiencing a wide range of emotions. We can be joyful, sad, fearful, or angry, among other emotions. And what we usually desire from art is for it to make us feel something. But must they always be positive emotions that make us feel better about life, ourselves, and the world as a whole? Definitely not.
We want to experience all of the feelings that we may or may not have experienced in real life when it comes to art. We want to be scared, to die, to feel sad, afraid, and ashamed, since art is always a channel through which we may safely express our complete range of emotions. Everyone appreciates a good scare in a movie now and then. A horror film that successfully scares us is one that has accomplished its goal. Certain films have the ability to actually freak you out due to their subject matter, tone, or cinematography. These films wreak havoc on our sense of security, having a one-of-a-kind effect on our hearts and brains. Keeping all of this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of such films for you. Here’s a list of Netflix’s most messed-up movies that are currently available to watch.
Gerald’s Game (2017)
This is one of Netflix’s creepiest films, and it truly pushes the envelope in a lot of ways. Jessie and Gerald are a couple who decide to stay at their rural home for a while. The mansion is large, and there is no one nearby for miles. Gerald has a rape dream that he wants to fulfill, and despite his initial reluctance, Jesse accepts to be shackled to the bedposts. However, with Jesse still chained, the pair has a quarrel, and Gerald suffers a heart attack and dies as a result of his excitement. Jessie has no method of freeing herself because she is still bound to the bedpost, and the key is out of reach.
A dog enters the room after a while, and despite Jessie’s best efforts, the dog bites a portion of Gerald’s hand. Jesse gradually falls asleep, and we gradually realize the trauma she has had in the past and how it is influencing whatever is going on with her right now. The film is powerful, disturbing, and creepy, and it provides us a glimpse into Jessie’s horrible history in a flashback scene. The movie’s final parts show all of her inner issues emerging into what transpires in the movie. Critics have hailed ‘Gerard’s Game’ for its unique approach and Carla Gugino’s stunning performance as Jessie.
Hostel (2005)
‘Hostel’ is a gorefest in the best sense of the word. It starts with a group of friends who go to Amsterdam for a night out, but are quickly persuaded by a stranger to go to a hostel in Slovakia, where they would find plenty of prostitutes with whom to have fun. The hostel they visit turns out to be a really nasty and horrible place. They are quickly apprehended and their bodies are brutalized, with certain body parts being severed. The film is highly explicit and terrifying on many levels.
A clear caution would be that the movie is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of graphic violence in it. One of the executive producers of the picture is Quentin Tarantino, a self-professed fan of violence. Eli Roth, the filmmaker/actor who portrayed ‘Bear Jew’ in Quentin Tarantino’s World War II epic, ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ is the film’s director (2009). Critics have given the film mixed to good reviews.
Predestination (2014)
One of the most messed-up science fiction films ever made. The story revolves around a man and a bartender who meet in a bar. The bartender is a company’s time-traveling agent, and the customer is a transgender who reveals his life narrative. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the two are linked in a unique way. And they’re linked by something called the Predestination Paradox. It is a significant aspect in time travel since it has the potential to change reality and permanently destroy the spacetime continuum. The audience is taken aback by the film’s final act, which is utterly unexpected and equally hard-hitting. Fans of time travel films will enjoy it immensely. The two principal actors, Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook, were outstanding in their performances.
This film is as messed up as they come! ‘Raw’ is a film about two sisters studying at a veterinary school. Even their parents had gone there to study, meet, and fall in love. The protagonist is Justine, a younger sister who is encouraged to consume a raw rabbit kidney as part of a phasing rite by seniors. Her sister, too, pushes her to pursue this goal. Justine, on the other hand, is a vegetarian and refuses. Alexia’s sister reacts by forcing meat into her mouth.
Justine has had an odd hunger for meat since the next morning, something she has never tried before. She’ll go to any length to get some raw meat now. When the sisters spend a day together, Alexia accidentally slices off her finger, only to find her sister relishing the flavor. Justine’s taste switches to only human flesh after that. Justine does not hesitate to take a bite out of one of the deceased passengers when the sisters arrive at an accident scene with two bodies in a car. Justine’s desires quickly cause difficulties for the others, but she’s willing to go to any length for blood now. This film contains some truly bizarre situations that will undoubtedly frighten you out. Justine, for example, pukes out a clump of hair in one episode.
The Bar (2017)
This Spanish thriller does an excellent job of demonstrating how humans are fundamentally carnal animals that only require the right circumstances to reveal their most primitive, animalistic nature. It’s about a bunch of people who find themselves stuck inside a pub. They can’t get out, though, because anyone who leaves the building risks being shot by a sniper.
The group gradually realizes that one of them is to blame for the situation they have found themselves in. They also learn that they have been subjected to a government operation against their will. This causes each of the confined men and women to begin blaming and fighting with one another. Is there anyone who will make it to the end? Surprisingly, the premise of a group of individuals locked within a room with no way out is a well-known notion that can be traced back to George Orwell’s novel “1984.” Viewers interested in surreal films should examine Luis Bunuel’s ‘The Exterminating Angel’ (1962), which has a similar plot but takes place in an entirely different setting.
The Platform (2019)
The story of a spectacular multi-story correctional facility with two inmates on each floor is told in this Spanish sci-fi horror film. Food is served by an elevator-like platform that stops on each floor for a fixed amount of time, during which inmates are required to consume whatever they can. They can’t put anything away for later. If they do, the prison authorities will modify the temperature in their cell to either boil or freeze them to death. Netflix makes ‘The Platform’ available to its global audience after its premiere at the 44th Annual Toronto International Film Festival.
The Invitation (2015)
This is a film that, although being nearly exclusively set within a house, manages to play with our thoughts quite a bit. It’s about a former couple who run into each other at a party hosted by Eden’s ex-husband, David. Will, the ex husband, is present, along with his girlfriend. There are also more visitors in addition to the four. Will suspects that something is awry with the newlywed couple when they begin talking about a new spiritual group that they have joined. As the night progresses, it becomes evident that the pair is members of a sect that believes humans should be provided eternal joy at the earliest possible time by granting them death. The film’s tone shifts from dramatic to horrible and violent near the end, and this transition is handled deftly. Furthermore, the acting was the glue that held the film together – the performances were outstanding.
The Ritual (2017)
‘The Ritual’ is one of Netflix’s scariest and strangest films right now. It’s about a group of pals who embark on a hiking excursion in Sweden. Their track leads them to a dense forest, which they explore, but they quickly realize something is wrong when they find symbols etched on tree trunks. As the company settles up for the night, the odd and horrifying creatures of the forest begin to sneak up on them. They don’t have anyone to call for help. They eventually come into a monster that is chasing them and intends to kill them. The pals had nowhere to go in this situation.
The film is quite powerful, and the idea of being stranded in a forest surrounded by malevolent animals is terrifying in and of itself. The film could be interpreted as a metaphor for how humans have begun to encroach into woods, which are also home to a variety of animals. It could be seen as a caution to people to keep their distance.
The Void (2016)
This is a f***ed up movie of a different kind, written and directed by Steven Kostanski. Body horror is a sort of fear used by the creator in this video. A police officer discovers a man named James crawling on the road and transports him to an almost-abandoned hospital with a few employees and two patients named Maggie and Cliff. Suddenly, Beverly, a nurse, is discovered murdering Cliff. When Beverly attempts to hurt Daniel, the police officer, he kills her. However, Beverly’s body transforms into a massive beast with several tentacles that attacks everyone in the hospital. When Daniel rushes outside to call for aid, he encounters a bunch of robed cultists who are stationed all over the hospital.
People have nowhere to go because there are risks both inside and outdoors. To establish a sense of horror, the film employs a variety of fascinating clichés. We are afraid of what we don’t understand, and when that unknown takes the form of a physical manifestation that we can’t explain, our terror grows exponentially. The idea of a human morphing into another creature and being perceived as a major danger to the natural order of things was prominently exploited in Franz Kafka’s novella ‘The Metamorphosis.’ David Cronenberg’s body horror films, for example, heavily employ this notion. If you want to learn more about this subgenre, watch Cronenberg’s films ‘Videodrome’ (1983) and ‘The Fly’ (1986).
The Wailing (2016)
This film is directed by Na Hong-jin, who previously helmed the well-known film ‘The Chaser.’ The plot revolves around a small mountain village in South Korea. After the entrance of a Japanese stranger, everything in this calm place go wild. The stranger does not speak to anybody and lives alone, and as soon as he arrives, the village begins to suffer from a mysterious disease that spreads among its residents. They first get rashes all over their bodies, then become enraged before finally dying.
When the villagers investigate the stranger, they realize that their suspicions were correct, as many items of individuals who had died from this unknown ailment have been located in the Japanese man’s home. However, the villagers soon realize that they are facing a greater threat and that the stranger is not the only one to be concerned about. Acting, cinematography, and director have all won awards for the film. It has also garnered positive reviews from critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%.
