When I was in eighth grade, my history class watched movies to gain a better understanding of each era we were learning about. Some were fun movies, such as Good Morning, Vietnam. Others were harder to watch, and based on true stories, such as Saving Private Ryan.
Out of all these movies, the darkest one was Not Without My Daughter, which we watched when we were learning about the Iran-Iraq War. The movie is about a couple and their daughter who go to Iran to visit the husband's family, only for him to keep his wife and daughter there against their will for nearly two years before they manage to escape.
Between the scary scenes of the husband physically attacking his wife, star Sally Field's incredible acting, and knowing this was based on a true story, made me cringe away at times. I covered my eyes at times as well, and had to be prompted by the girl sitting in front of me to watch.
To this day, it remains the darkest, most disturbing movie I've ever seen, despite the fact that I saw Schindler's List the very same year in that same class. Not to mention, when it comes to movies, I always end up thinking about what I would do if I were in the same situation as the characters.
Despite how dark it is, it was an amazing movie that was definitely worth the watch. Some dark movies are like that. Others are ones you never want to see again and hope to warn others away from.
Redditors have seen them all: dark movies they'd like to recommend and dark movies they wouldn't. They're eager to share those titles.
It all started when Redditor Affectionate_Cost498 asked:
"What was the darkest movie you’ve ever seen?"
Ouch
"American History X. That curb stomp is imprinted in my brain forever."
– Only_Protection_2565
"I've never seen the movie but just HEARING "curb stomp" makes me hurt inside because I can picture it."
– SurealGod
No Holding Back
"Definitely Requiem for a Dream. It's a cinematic roller coaster through the abyss of addiction that left me haunted and self-absorbed for days. A breathtaking masterpiece that pulls no punches."
– Blanklyplace
"Seeing that movie after nearly 5 years of sobriety really f**ks with you since it's where you were headed and many you know have gone and died."
– _OP_is_A_
"I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was about 13. Let's just say I never touched anything harder than weed/mushrooms."
– TonyClifton323
Too Much For Me
"The Road."
– kss1r
"I read the book because I wanted to watch the movie and compare them. After reading the book I skipped watching the movie because of how dark and depressing it is."
– Unlikely_Ad7194
Scare Them All
"No Country for Old Men. Just left me feeling empty inside."
– Hecc_hooman
"I heard Javier Bardem tell a truly hilarious story about that film. When it was first being released to select theaters, he went to several different showings. At the time he still had the distinctive haircut (maybe in case there were any required re-shoots? I can’t recall if he said that or not). He wanted to experience the film with different audiences to see how it was being received. And that’s when his bad boy emerged."
"He would always take a seat in the back and shortly before the film ended he would leave the theater and position himself near the exits so that the moviegoers would see him as they made the way out of the theater. He said he just couldn’t help himself because he got a kick out of how many people he was able to scare the crap out of just by standing there. Cracked me up just imagining it. I know if I’d been one of those people leaving the theater I would definitely have freaked out."
– Big-Summer-
Need A Chaser
"Martyrs."
– j_bone531
"Watched it once in a hotel room by myself, then watched baby goats playing on YouTube until my mood had recovered enough to call my wife."
– RonValhalla
On Drugs?
"A Clockwork Orange."
"F**king sick flick sick sick sick."
– Sneaky-er
"That's a one time watch ever movie."
– longswordsuperf**k
"After I saw it I called my friends to see if they had slipped me anything from the night before because I felt like I was literally on something."
– Sekrettrouble
Title Truth
"Melancholia is, well, melancholy, but that’s akin to dark."
– FieldUpbeat2174
"That whole movie and everything surrounding it is depressing."
– Totally_man
Burned In My Memory
"Hereditary."
"I have asthma so seeing the part in the car was horrifying. I've been in that position where you're clawing and gasping for breath while you suffocate. And then watching the poor little girl be decapitated by the pole, the brother just completely incapable of functioning because of the horror, and the raw grief and screams from the mom. That movie is like rubbing salt in a wound. Horror movies are all I watch but there are parts in that movie I'll never be able to forget."
– CannibalCapra
"Yeah, I have asthma and panic attacks so I was feeling the exact same thing when I was watching. That movie definitely f**ked me up. Just the gutteral screams.. Toni Collette is a great actor."
– invisible-bug
Based On A True Story
"That's an easy one. Schindler's List is the darkest, most horrifying movie I have ever seen. And it did not become less so when I as an adult traveled to many of the nazi camps in sentral Europe as a photographer to document them."
– Fenrisulfr1984
"Schindler's List because it is based on an all too true story. The others in these comments are dark for sure but not even a close second to this, IMHO."
– Factsaretheonlytruth
"Schindler's List."
"I could have saved one more."
– ferdfarkle
Unrecommended
"Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father."
"This is a documentary. I found people who were including it in their horror movie lists. I was curious so watched it. Darkest movie I've ever watched."
"I don't even recommend this movie to people because I don't want my friends to get upset. It was all so depressing."
– _flying_otter_
"This was awful. His parents went through so much."
– Thomk065
Never Again
"For me The Lovely Bones."
"Made the mistake watching whilst pregnant."
"That film is brutal and depressing I’d never watch again."
– UnicornsnRainbowz
"The Lovely Bones. My mother made me watch it as a kid to "make me more careful" because i was too friendly. Years down the line and I still feel sick remembering the plot."
– Toddy-co
"I've seen countless dark movies, however the one that kills me the most was The Lovely Bones. I've watched it once, and I can't bring myself to watch it again. Just hurts my heart."
– GlitteringWolf1540
Disaster After Disaster
"The Butterfly Effect is up there for me. Lenny, the mailbox scene, the basement, everything else. I was definitely too young when I saw that one..."
– xXBLITZxKRIEGXx
"Maybe The Butterfly Effect. I watched that as a kid and have the creepiest feeling nostalgia from it. Def need to rewatch it again though."
– acidbathe
Truly Dark
"The second Alien vs Predator. Multiple times I couldn't see who was the alien and who was the predator."
– KarlLagervet
"At first I thought it was our tv, but no, that movie is unwatchably dark."
– GuestCartographer
God, I hate movies that are so dark that you can't see a thing.
Filmmakers, take notes!