I always see articles talking about 'feel good' films, films that warm your heart and all that stuff, but what about the polar opposite of that? What about those films that make you sit there for hours after the credits finished rolling feeling dead inside? I've managed to put together a list of what I feel are the ten best 'feel bad' films, the ones that I've seen anyways, from grizzly torture porn to films that are simply depressing, there are a fair mix of genres here. Also be warned, THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD.
10. Se7en
David Fincher's films are known for being quite bleak and at times nihilistic, and there is no better example of this than his comeback hit, Se7en. Set in a nameless gloomy city, the film follows veteran detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and rookie Mills (Brad Pitt) as they attempt to stop a mysterious killer who bases his murders off the seven deadly sins. Visually this film is bleak enough as it is, it rains for the majority and all of the crime scenes are devilishly grizzly in their own unique way, like most of Fincher's films this one is really dark. But gruesome crime scenes and excessive precipitation is only the beginning and it is not until the films chilling climax that things get really dark. As Mills and Somerset confront the villainous John Doe (Kevin Spacey) in the desert, it is revealed that his most recent victim was Mills' loving wife Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow) whose severed head is inside a box. It's a big shocker and a highly unsettling scene and if that wasn't enough it is also revealed that Doe had been watching Mills and his wife right from the beginning, creepy stuff. It's quite a grim ending to a grim film, but that's just the tip of the iceberg on this list.
9. Eraserhead
Before Blue Velvet or Twin Peaks, David Lynch broke onto the scene with his bizarre sci-fi film Eraserhead. Set in a dystopian future, the film follows the timid Henry (Jack Nance) who begins to lose his mind while trying to raise his mutated newborn baby. Like the aforementioned Se7en, this film has a very bleak environment only this time it is set in a run down council estate in some dystopian society, it's also shot in black and white which accentuates the gloomy atmosphere. As it is a David Lynch film it's got some very surreal moments such as the dream sequence where Henry's head is used to make erasers and a bizarre moment with a twitchy chicken. But again, it's not really that bad until the ending where things all get too much for Henry and he stabs his mutant baby to death. It's a rather unsettling scene due to the visuals and the distorted crying from the baby, if it wasn't so inhuman looking it would probably be extremely upsetting. Thankfully however, the bizarre Lynchian visuals manage to keep us distracted from the dismal ending which makes this film much less upsetting than it probably should be.
8. Antichrist
While a lot of films aren't really bleak until the very end, Antichrist gets us from the very start as a young child falls to his death from a very high window, it is part of Lars von Trier's 'depression trilogy' after all. Things only get worse from there on as the rest of the film deals with the mother's (Charlotte Gainsbourg) descent into violent insanity. A lot of the film is Gainsbourg's character crying and mourning while her husband played by Willem Dafoe attempts to act as her therapist. There is so much crying and burts of rage in this film that it's very hard to watch at times and that's before it even gets to the violent bits. Aside from all of the emotional trauma, there are some very gruesome scenes in this film which aren't frequent, but when they do happen they're definitely quite..eh..ballsy to say the least. Antichrist is literally 108 minutes of misery right from the beginning, there isn't a single moment of happiness or humour in this, not even a sliver. But sure what do you expect from a director who compared himself to Hitler before.
7. Eden Lake
Sounds like a lovey romance film eh? Nope. Eden Lake sees couple Jenny (Kelly Reilly) and Steve (Michael Fassbender) heading for a romantic getaway to the seemingly idyllic town of Eden Lake, but things don't go to plan when they encounter a gang of ultraviolent teenagers lead by the psychopathic Brett (Jack O'Connell). I had no idea how utterly joyless this film would be, there's this constant atmosphere of hopelessness throughout as Jenny desperately attempts to find safety but fails every time. Being lost in a vast forest is bad enough on its own but being pursued by violent teenagers in said forest is even worse. If that all wasn't bad, poor Fassbender doesn't even make it to the last half hour as he is burned to death by those evil little shits. Not to mention it that it was before his character could propose to his fiance Jenny. Why kill Fassy? It's just one of those films where you fear so much for the protagonist yet you know deep down there's no hope for them and unfortunately for poor Jenny, that is exactly the case. As for the ending, well, out of the frying pan into the fire as they say.
6. Blue Valentine
Ryan Gosling? Michelle Williams? The word 'valentine'? Surely this is a wholesome romance film right? Wrong. The film follows a couple at the beginning and the end of their relationship and shifts back and forward through time showing how they got from A to B. It's really disheartening watching the decline of their once happy relationship, especially considering how much Goslings character wants things to work for the sake of their daughter. Sad Gosling equals sad audience after all. One minute we're watching them falling in love and the next they're getting divorced, it's pretty harrowing stuff and feels all too realistic for a romance film. We really root for Gosling here, we want him to win back Williams' character, but in the end things aren't that easy and that final scene where he walks away from his wife and daughter really pulls on the ol' heart strings. Superbly acted with an equally emotional soundtrack, Blue Valentine is without a doubt the most desolate romance film ever made.
5. Martyrs
Okay back to the blood and gore now, this time it's the extremely violent French-Canadian horror film Martyrs. Starting off as a revenge story of sorts, the film begins with childhood friends Anna (Morjana Alaoui) and Lucie (Myléne Jampanoi) seeking vengeance on the people who kidnapped the latter as a child. However things soon take a dark turn and not everything is as it seems in this ultraviolent descent into terror. Essentially, half the film is the protagonist getting brutally tortured and if you don't think that's a bit grim then you're probably a hardcore sadist. She is tortured relentlessly to the point where she is skinned alive and incapable of even moving, it's very difficult to watch even for the more extreme fans of the genre. Again, there is this constant feeling of hopelessness throughout and as much as we want the heroine to escape we really can't see how it would be possible. Brutally violent and unrelenting, Martyrs is enough to turn even the strongest of stomachs.
4. Funny Games
Despite the ironic title, there is nothing funny about these games. This Austrian thriller from director Michael Haneke sees a family heading to their lakehouse for a fun getaway only to become terrorised by a duo of strange young men clad in white. This film goes against the conventions of your usual thriller, turning the genre on its head and having a great time in doing so. It is a very self aware film and the main antagonist Paul (Arno Frisch) frequently breaks the fourth wall and shows signs that he is aware of the fact he's in a film. I found it to be very clever but it's also incredibly dark and dismal. The dog dies, the young kid dies, basically everyone dies. It does it's best to not conform to the conventions of cinema and therefore takes many directions that the audience generally would not expect, i.e. killing the young child. All of the acts of violence are done so nonchalantly and without hesitation in this film which makes the death scenes particularly bleak, once again there is no hope for the protagonists. It's a clever little film but it's very heavy at times and will leave you sitting there with a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach afterwards.
3. A Serbian Film
Yes it's that film. That controversial film you've probably heard about but still haven't brought yourself to watch because of what you've heard. If you know nothing about this film, basically it's generally considered to be the most depraved and disgusting film ever made, this is arguable but it's definitely up there with the big ones. Whether it is or not one thing is for certain, it is incredibly depressing. It follows a a retired Serbian pornstar who goes back into the industry for one last job in order to help with his families financial issues, big mistake. What follows is a disturbing journey filled with horrific acts of sex and violence that you'll have to see to believe. But that's not really what makes this film so cheerless. The protagonist and his family are all likeable characters, well-written, good onscreen chemistry, we like them all right from the beginning. It is this emotional connection to the characters that sets us up for the kill, making the final impact much more severe. It's quite an ominous film and it takes a while for stuff to actually happen, but as it reaches its cathartic climax we realise why it has such a bad reputation. I don't want to spoil the ending of this one as it's way too messed up for me to ruin, just don't expect things to end well for our loveable Serbian family.
2. Leaving Las Vegas
Nick Cage! He's funny right? Shouting about bees, stealing the declaration of independence and such, well not in this film. Believe it or not, this film actually got Cage an Oscar for best actor, I swear it. The film sees Cage as Ben, a struggling alcoholic drinking himself to death in Las Vegas. It is here where he meets Sera (Elizabeth Shue), a troubled prostitute and the two form a strange relationship together. It's not a story of two starcrossed lovers finding each other though, if that's what your thinking, it's about how their destructive relationship effects their lives and themselves. Cage gives a fantastic performance and we genuinely do feel sorry for him, his character has gotten to the stage where he feels as though he has nothing to live for and therefore wants to drink himself to death. Meanwhile Shue's character is very much in love with him but knows that there is nothing she can do to stop his addiction. It's a tragic love story destined for destruction and the two leads share a wonderful chemistry onscreen, unfortunately their love cannot conquer Ben's addiction. There are some very harrowing scenes such as the infamous rape scene and many of Cage's scenes, the realism of it all only makes it more distressing to watch. Definitely Cage's greatest performance.
1. Requiem For A Dream
I distinctly remember going to bed after this feeling like somebody close to me had just died. Yes number one on this list is Darren Aronofksy's psychological drama Requiem for a Dream that follows for people with drug addictions and how those addictions effect their lives. This film is just one big downward spiral, we are initially introduced to the four protagonists who all seem to be leading relatively happy lives despite their drug problem. However, things slowly go downhill and their addictions get worse, ultimately culminating in one of the most disturbing climaxes in any film ever. One of the films stories involves widow Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) as she takes an excessive amount of pills in order to lose weight so that she can appear on a gameshow. However her addiction becomes too much and she gradually begins to lose her mind. It got Burstyn an Oscar nomination and a well deserved one at that, her character's story was definitely the most harrowing for me. Ominous and incredibly bleak, Requiem for a Dream is 100% guaranteed to make you feel like absolute shit.
So those are my choices for the 10 bleakest feel bad films, I'm sure you all have opinions and such so if you have a feel bad film not on this list then let me know in the comments! Until next time, readers.
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