Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Most Disturbing Films Based On A True Story

People Break Down The Most Disturbing Films Based On A True Story
Photo by Corina Rainer on Unsplash

Warning: Some sensitive content ahead.

I consider myself quite the film buff and I have a thing for disturbing films. Perhaps it's the way they've challenged me intellectually and emotionally. Some of the darkest subject matter is the most engaging, revealing truths about the world and the society we live in.

A lot of disturbing films take inspiration from reality. There have been some truly excellent ones, as we were so kindly reminded after Redditor JarJarBinks asked the online community,

"What disturbing films are based on true stories?"

Wolf Creek (2005)

"Wolf Creek.

It's based on the Backpacker Murders in the 90s. What happened was that a guy called Ivan Milat (basis for Mick Taylor) would pick up backpackers hitchhiking on the Hume Highway between Melbourne and Sydney. Instead of taking them to where they wanted to go, he'd tie them up, take them out to the Belanglo State Forest and torture them before killing them. He succeeded in killing at least 7 people (that we know of), but failed to abduct another chap, who ended up being the person who identified him."

RedWestern

A truly unnerving film. The "head on a stick" scene––you know the one––is probably the most unnerving.

Conspiracy (2001)

"Conspiracy. A group of intelligent, high-ranking, sophisticated individuals meet for a conference to catch up, share a laugh, and calmly debate the merits of industrial scale genocide."

BigCountry1182

Spotlight (2015)

"Spotlight.

The true story of the newspaper that managed to uncover how far the pedophilia went in the Catholic Church."

Ripperfish

An unsettling, if quiet film. It grabs you and doesn't let go. The journalists who handled this are heroes.

Come and See (1985)

"While not based on any one individual's experiences, Elem Klimov and Ales Adamovich based the movie on the real experiences of the civilians who lived on the Eastern Front during WW2. Klimov drew on his experiences as a refugee surviving the Battle of Stalingrad while Adamovich drew on his experiences as a Belorussian partisan. It gives an unflinching look at the reality of the Holocaust by bullets and partisan warfare."

TheDankinator

Probably one of the most disturbing films that I've ever seen. Not for the faint of heart. The barn scene alone is the stuff of nightmares.

The Sacrament (2013)

"The Sacrament. It's this found footage film based on the story of Jonestown. It's about this camera crew that travels to Guyana to find one crew member's sister. They act out the lectures Jim would give, the suicide, the shooting, etc. It's one thing to read about the massacre or watch documentaries but to actually watch the massacre acted out is another kind of disturbing."

ItStillIsntLupus

Jonestown was the largest loss of American life until September 11. The gravity of the event cannot be underestimated.

The Snowtown Murders (2011)

"Snowtown Murders. I couldn't finish it. That bathtub scene.....f***.

I did listen to an interview today with the guy who played the main psycho. He seemed really pleasant and said that, yeah, that scene was brutal to shoot."

TheNightBench

The Best "Give The Hardest Job To the Laziest Person" Success Stories | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

The director, Justin Kurzel, is known for making subversive and engaging films. His latest, Nitram, is based on the Port Arthur shooting. Sure to be unsettlling.

Changeling (2008)

"Changeling is about the mother of one of the victims of the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders. She really was committed to a psych ward because she insisted the 'Changeling' (the boy who claimed to be her son) was not her son, the LAPD was trying to use an uplifting story to distract from the fact they were garbage."

Iseasong

This film gutted me. Christine Collins never got a break.

Downfall (2004)

"Downfall / Das Untergang

What really was disturbing was the fact that, after all was said and done, Trudle Jung never really seemed ashamed or even sorry for what happened during the war."

krajerino

Bully (2001)

"Bully. Directed by Larry Clarke. A group of teenagers plots how they're going to murder a friend. So real and so raw. The whole time watching it I thought, "This is exactly how it'd play out in real life." Got to the credits and they start showing photos of the actual people."

cruisefrommottowa

Few films feel as much a slice of life as this one. It's graphic, it's cutting, it's disgusting––and it's also unforgettable. The performances are great.

Room (2015)

"Room was a movie made in 2015 and took inspiration, if that's the right word, from several real-life cases where young girls were kidnapped and kept prisoner for years or decades and had children with their abductor."

stitchmidda2

If you have a strong stomach, it's worth checking out these films, because they're all exceptional. If nothing else, they're worth a conversation. And who knows, you might introduce others to films they might appreciate (if not necessarily enjoy).

Have some recommendations of your own? Feel free to tell us in the comments below!

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Tourists visit Rome's iconic ancient amphitheater, the Colosseum
Martin Lelievre/AFP/Getty Images

Selfie attempt ends in injury

Someone took “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” a little too seriously.

That someone is a 47-year-old American tourist who found himself impaled on the spiked fencing at the Colosseum after a failed attempt at taking a photo. The incident occurred last Friday when the tourist, who is also a resident of Taiwan, climbed onto the railing at the historic landmark’s Piazza del Colosseo before slipping and falling onto the iron spikes below.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from Megan Thee Stallion's Instagram video at the Met Gala
@theestallion/Instagram

Megan Thee Stallion Snuck Her Phone Into The Met Gala—And Bluntly Reviewed The Food

The Met Gala has a few rules in place, including themes, dress codes, and of course, their coveted "no cell phones" rule—which celebrities manage to break every year.

For the 2025 Met Gala "Tailored for You" theme, rapper Megan Thee Stallion appeared in a form-fitting Michael Kors Collection gown, long white fur throw with a train, and with her hair styled by celebrity stylist Kellon Deryck.

Keep ReadingShow less
Katy Perry
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Katy Perry

Katy Perry Reacts After AI Image of Her At The Met Gala Fools The Internet Once Again

Katy Perry didn’t attend the 2025 Met Gala, but that didn’t stop a fake photo of her from going viral—again.

An AI-generated image showed the pop star in a dramatic gown, and a parody account on X claimed she was wearing a new kind of fabric called “Lustratex,” made by Mugler. They even posted a fake sketch of the dress and said Vogue had reported on it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Randy Rainbow and Pete Hegseth from "Incompetent" parody
@RandyRainbow/X

Randy Rainbow Hilariously Skewers Trump's 'Incompetent' Cabinet In 'Cinderella'-Inspired Parody Video

Political satirist and YouTube star Randy Rainbow is at it again, this time channeling the fairy godmother from Cinderella in a biting new musical parody video that mocks President Donald Trump's "incompetent" Cabinet officials.

Rainbow opens his latest video not with a mock interview of Trump, as is his usual style, but with Trump’s Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and immediately presses Hegseth about his reported use of multiple Signal group chats to discuss sensitive military matters:

Keep ReadingShow less
Elizabeth Warren; Linda McMahon
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Elizabeth Warren Rips Education Secretary's Mind-Numbing Video For 'Teacher Appreciation Week'

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren criticized Education Secretary Linda McMahon for paying tribute to educators during "Teacher Appreciation Week," noting the hypocrisy of McMahon's actions as she honors teachers on one hand and works to dismantle the Department of Education on the other.

In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order empowering McMahon “to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

Keep ReadingShow less