IndieWire’s 35 Disturbing Foreign Films to Watch
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World cinema has given us plenty of auteurs hell-bent on creating the most disturbing experience possible, from Pier Paolo Pasolini to Catherine Breillat, Gaspar Noe, and Takashi Miike. Below, IndieWire highlights a selection of foreign-language films likely to keep you up at night terrified, or thinking, or both.
Leave it to any country except the U.S. to render the worst possible horrors, psychological, physical, and otherwise, onscreen in unflinching detail. While some of these films listed below are, in fact, outright horror films, others take a more psychic or spiritual approach to peeling back on society’s, and humankind’s, worst tendencies — or while querying war, faith, or sexuality.
While many of the directors highlighted here made a personal brand out of pushing the limits of extreme storytelling, consider the below just a selection (or starter kit, if you will) to prime you for further viewing.
Pssst, want to check out the IndieWire’s 35 Disturbing Foreign Films to Watch list in our new look?
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1 -
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
1975 — a.k.a. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, in 14 top lists Check -
2 -
Irréversible
2002 — a.k.a. Irreversible, in 10 top lists Check -
3 -
Ang-ma-reul bo-at-da
2010 — a.k.a. I Saw the Devil, in 3 top lists Check -
4 -
Pahanhautoja
2022 — a.k.a. Hatching, in 0 top lists -
5 -
Sombre
1998, in 0 top lists Check -
6 -
Titane
2021, in 4 top lists -
7 -
Gurotesuku
2009 — a.k.a. Grotesque, in 0 top lists Check -
8 -
Idi i smotri
1985 — a.k.a. Come and See, in 27 top lists Check -
9 -
Kynodontas
2009 — a.k.a. Dogtooth, in 8 top lists Check -
10 -
Tenebre
1982 — a.k.a. Tenebrae, in 4 top lists Check -
11 -
Batoru rowaiaru
2000 — a.k.a. Battle Royale, in 9 top lists Check -
12 -
Marebito
2004 — a.k.a. The Stranger from Afar, in 1 top list Check -
13 -
Después de Lucía
2012 — a.k.a. After Lucia, in 2 top lists Check -
14 -
De uskyldige
2021 — a.k.a. The Innocents, in 1 top list -
15 -
Ôdishon
1999 — a.k.a. Audition, in 11 top lists Check -
16 -
You Won't Be Alone
2022, in 0 top lists -
17 -
Cure
1997 — a.k.a. The Cure, in 7 top lists Check -
18 -
Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol
1964 — a.k.a. Black God, White Devil, in 10 top lists Check -
19 -
Calvaire
2004, in 2 top lists Check -
20 -
Festen
1998 — a.k.a. The Celebration, in 18 top lists Check -
21 -
Viskningar och rop
1972 — a.k.a. Cries and Whispers, in 17 top lists Check -
22 -
La caduta degli dei (Götterdämmerung)
1969 — a.k.a. The Damned, in 7 top lists Check -
23 -
À ma soeur!
2001 — a.k.a. Fat Girl, in 4 top lists Check -
24 -
Ich seh, Ich seh
2014 — a.k.a. Goodnight Mommy, in 1 top list Check -
25 -
Trudno byt bogom
2013 — a.k.a. Hard to Be a God, in 3 top lists Check -
26 -
Haute tension
2003 — a.k.a. High Tension, in 2 top lists Check -
27 -
Dans ma peau
2002 — a.k.a. In My Skin, in 2 top lists Check -
28 -
À l'intérieur
2007 — a.k.a. Inside, in 3 top lists Check -
29 -
C'est arrivé près de chez vous
1992 — a.k.a. Man Bites Dog, in 12 top lists Check -
30 -
Suna no onna
1964 — a.k.a. Woman in the Dunes, in 22 top lists Check -
31 -
Martyrs
2008, in 7 top lists Check -
32 -
Grave
2016 — a.k.a. Raw, in 4 top lists Check -
33 -
Der siebente Kontinent
1989 — a.k.a. The Seventh Continent, in 5 top lists Check -
34 -
Trouble Every Day
2001, in 6 top lists Check -
35 -
Bijitâ Q
2001 — a.k.a. Visitor Q, in 4 top lists Check
Last updated on Aug 31, 2022 by mcmakattack; source