Top 10 Depressing Movies Of All Time

A film has succeeded if it can make you squirm, cry, or threaten to throw up your lunch. Even if a film is on the opposite end of the violent continuum, the films on this list demonstrate that it can still be considered artsy or important. Through their extended, realistic scenes of intense brutality, anxiety-inducing edits, torture, and utter disregard for human life, the horrific movie sub-genre, in particular, offers a wholly different kind of escape. The horrific films on this list are likely to leave mental scars and trigger years of nightmares, but believe me when I say that some people enjoy them. If you want to know what we mean when we say the most horrific horror movies, look at this list, choose wisely, and have some comedies ready to watch.

Dancer In The Dark (2000)

This film strikes a perfect balance between dramatic and musical theatre. Bjork, an Icelandic female phenom, plays Selma, a mother and factory worker in rural America, and she gives a stellar score. A genetic illness causes her vision to deteriorate. She saves up the money for an operation to save his life, determined to save his eyesight. Selma’s life spirals out of reach when a trusted neighbour does the unthinkable. This is, in my opinion, one of director Von Trier’s most amazing directing achievements. At the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, Dancer In The Dark took home the Palme d’Or for best picture as well as the award for best female performance. It is, in my judgement, one of the most heartbreaking and tear-jerking cinematic achievements in history.

Eraserhead (1977)

Most people’s nightmares are David Lynch’s dreams. I like how the filmmaker hasn’t yet heard anyone’s opinion about what this is really about. It’s about how, no matter how wonderful things are at times, life still manages to be both lasting and harsh. Human existence can be both compelling and contradictory at the same time. The visual themes are often distorted, as if man-made or manufactured. When you’ve seen it in one place, it all makes sense. If that’s possible, the cut Lynch originally showed would have made less sense. Based on his initial screenings, he went back in and trimmed the thing. It’s difficult for me to put my finger on something so fictitious.

Testament (1983)

Jane Alexander plays the mother of a family who survives a nuclear war. They aren’t near enough to ground zero to receive any blast effects, but the lingering radiation takes its toll quickly. The society they live in begins to work together to save energy, but even this effort is turned on its head when the people in their immediate vicinity begin to die and become ill. I think it is important to keep in mind that this is one of the films that those who now write all the dystopian futuristic novels that clutter the bookshelves were weaned on, and one can easily see where they got their dark ideas. This is not a pleasant story, but it is a tale of strength and dignity in the face of hopelessness that the whole family can watch, though it might be a good idea to wait until the very young have gone to bed, as there are some scenes that, while not violent or erotic, are quite disturbing.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

After the release of his other classics like ‘Dr. Strangelove’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ Stanley Kubrick was already a celebrity, but ‘A Clockwork Orange’ will go down in history as his most popular film, and for one reason and one reason only: it a depiction of gang violence inspired others to do the same. An assault on a Dutch girl occurred at one stage, during which the attackers chanted “Singin’ in the Rain.” Kubrick’s reputation was ruined, and he withdrew the film from British theatres. It was not released in the United Kingdom until July 4th, 2001. And the younger generation who saw it had a different reaction… Finally, it was deemed a masterpiece.

Schramm (1993)

Jörg Buttgereit’s Schramm is a look into the mind of a serial killer. After the Nekromantik films, another gory splatter film could be anticipated (be it quality gore or cheesy effects). However, Schramm’s film is more of an art film than his previous splatter films. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few gore scenes in the film, but they are put into an art movie. Anyone who is willing to pay attention to a movie and try to find out what some of the photos mean will enjoy the film. You must also be able to handle the disturbing and gory scenes, but you could look away if necessary and it would certainly not detract from the overall experience.

A Serbian Film (2010)

It’s unquestionably serious, and it’s extremely distressing to watch. That’s why it’s so divisive, and why I can’t recommend it to the majority of people. However, if you’re a fan of intense horror, it’s one of those films that you should see simply because of its reputation. The real question is whether it’s shocking for the sake of being shocking, or whether there’s any deeper significance or artistic value behind it. And I believe there is, but I also believe the film’s reputation muddles the message.

The Pianist (2002)

This compelling Holocaust drama shines from beginning to end, with excellent writing, astute direction, and an Oscar-winning performance by Adrien Brody as pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman. It is based on Szpilman’s memoir of surviving the persecution of Poland’s Jews by the Nazis. It’s a tear-jerking horror and death storey as well as a hair-raising adventure storey about clinging to life. In September 1939, Szpilman is seen playing the piano in a radio studio as German bombs fall. The next ten minutes carry us through the next two years of increasing restrictions on Jews, eventually leading to their enslavement and transportation to concentration camps. It transports you to the centre of the plot. The action is fast-paced, and I found myself cheering for Szpilman throughout.

Sophie’s Choice (1982)

The plot is set during WWII, but the “meat” of the storey is told by flashbacks to the Holocaust. Sophie (played by Streep) is plagued by a constant sense of disappointment and deception as a Holocaust survivor. Given that she had no influence over her condition in the death camp, this is completely unjust, but it is nevertheless poignant.

One of the most disturbing parts of the movie is where it shows the children of Nazi officers running around, laughing & playing and doing what children do. That in itself is not surprising, but it’s the fact that they do these things right in the shadow of the death camp that creates a shocking juxtaposition.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Schindler’s List is almost impossible to review because it is such a strong, well-researched, and historically accurate tale.

Commenting on this splendid evocation – no, harrowing memory – of the Holocaust feels almost presumptuous. Did you know that Spielberg lost relatives at Auschwitz, that he felt compelled to make the film, and that he took no money in exchange for his brilliance? Schindler’s List launched Spielberg’s filmmaking in a new direction, one that was more intense, poignant, and timely. There are some factual inaccuracies, but it’s a tremendous accomplishment in a film to keep the plot going for three hours.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Strictly speaking, this is a film that is piercingly beautiful. I was hesitant to watch it at first, because a “gay cowboy” film, as it was dubbed by others, is not my cup of tea. But I was cajoled into ordering the film, and I was so moved that I added it to my small selection. The acting is excellent, the scenery is stunning, the plot is tragically realistic, and the music is lovely. The absence of love in relationships is discussed in all of its complexities, which is made all the more poignant by the intensity of love depicted in the relationship between the two male leads. The fact that Heath Ledger, a brilliant actor, is no longer with us is perhaps the greatest tragedy of this beautiful film; his depiction of a confused and love-stricken man was so sensitive and convincing that it made me yearn to see his movies again.