35 Horror Movies So Positively Messed Up, People Either Walked Out Of The Theater Or Stopped Them Half-Way Through
We recently asked horror movie lovers in our BuzzFeed Community, "What's a horror movie so disturbing, you couldn't make it to the end?" and, whew buddy, did they come through with some positively messed-up answers! Frankly, we almost regret asking!
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So, with that in mind, we rounded up some of the most popular responses for your viewing...pleasure (???). Anyway, here are just a few of the movies people found too disturbing to finish:
Also, a quick WARNING: Given, ya know, absolutely everything about this post, there is DISTURBING CONTENT AHEAD in the form of descriptions and movie trailers for these films. There are also some light SPOILERS ahead within the descriptions. Please proceed with caution, and, as always, take care of yourself!
1.Hostel (2005)
"I couldn't do it. I saw the scene where they used wire cutters or something on someone's toes and they projectile vomit with a ball gag in their mouth. I had to turn it off."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
2.Terrifier (2016)
"I made it to the part where he turned someone's head into a jack-o'-lantern and noped out — which I'm glad I did, because I looked up what happened in the rest of the film, and it sounded horrific."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
3.Antebellum (2020)
"I turned it off after 10 minutes. Violence like that should NEVER be shown for entertainment purposes at all."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
4.The Descent (2005)
"It's one of the only ones I had to tap out of because of the claustrophobic cave scenes. I did eventually finish it after a few breaks, and it's very effective as a horror film."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
5.The Human Centipede (2009)
"After all of the victims were connected and the psycho took them outside, and that first guy needed a bathroom — that was the end. I was already horrified by the pool scene (secondhand claustrophobia), but I had to turn it off due to feeling physically ill after that."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
6.Insidious (2010)
"My boyfriend and I were watching it together, and he fell asleep, but I kept watching. As soon as I saw that creepy-ass mask, I had to turn it off and turn the lights on. I was SO freaked out!!"
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
7.Apostle (2018)
"The torture scene with the head drill got me. I was standing, watching that on the bus, and I almost fainted from how disturbing it was. I've watched a lot of horror movies, but that one was got me for some reason. Still haven't finished it."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
8.The Thing (1982)
"I noped out when the dogs started reacting in the kennel scene. I can't handle the sounds — fake or real — of an animal in distress for longer than a few seconds."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
9.Hereditary (2018)
"I love horror movies, but I knew very little about this — except that it was available on Amazon Prime video and I had a three-hour flight. I made the terrible mistake of trying to watch it on my flight. I got to *that scene*, and it totally took me by surprise. I had a window seat, so I was trying to angle my phone away from my neighbors, so they wouldn't be traumatized like I was, and I kept looking around to see if there were kids in the seats behind me. Luckily there weren't! I did end up finishing the movie, but I had to pause for five or six full minutes to have a miniature existential crisis."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
10.The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
"Not even 10 minutes into it, and I jumped up and turned it off. I wasn’t even at my house, LOL."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
11.The Ring (2002)
"I’m a horror movie super fan, but I have yet to be able to watch this to the end. I’ve tried multiple times. First time I walked out of the movie theater, crying. Second time, it was a sunny afternoon, and, 45 minutes in, it started storming like crazy, so I couldn’t finish it because I was too scared."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
12.Night of the Living Dead (1968)
"I really don’t like zombie movies because they seem too possible for me. I know this one's old school, but it’s just too frightening. I also had to stop 28 Days Later in the middle of the movie because it was too intense."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
13.The Girl Next Door (2007)
"On Netflix, they give you a warning saying, 'You'll feel worse knowing it's based on a true story.' It's about this aunt who abuses her nieces in front of a young group of guys. It first starts out as her having strict expectations, and then it gets worse with beatings, a torture scene, and threats of hurting one of the sisters. It made me so uncomfortable that I stopped watching it even though I kind of wanted to know how the situation was dealt with."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
14.Cujo (1983)
"It is, to this day, the only movie I'm still too scared to finish."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
15.The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
"As a kid, my dad rented this (it's a Disney movie), and told me it was mine to watch while he went to get pizza. Movie rentals were expensive, so I was laying on the couch terrified to watch, but also, terrified to turn it off. I made it to the creepy “Narek” scene before I gave up. I’m 42 now and still have not seen it."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
16.The Grudge (2004)
"The American version. I walked out of the theater 20 minutes before the ending. I still don’t know how it ends, and I’ll probably never find out. I don’t even want to think about the Japanese version. Usually I can watch scary movies without being bothered, but that one really fucked me up."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
17.Pet Sematary (1989)
"I dipped out as soon as Zelda came onscreen. It's been over 10 years, and she still haunts me in my dreams."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
18.Martyrs (2008)
"Do yourself a favor and DON’T watch it. Trust me. And for all of you looking it up right now...you’ll be sorrrrrrryyyyyyyy."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
19.Halloween (2007)
"This is going to sound so lame, I know, but when I was still in elementary school the Rob Zombie version came out, and I was absolutely terrified of it. My brother rented it at Blockbuster, and we watched the first hour or so of it, and I left the room crying. To this day, the theme music still freaks me out, and I’ve never finished the movie!"
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
20.The Exorcist (1973)
"When I was about 14, I tried to watch it. I couldn't finish it then, and still haven't finished it to this day."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
21.V/H/S/2 (2013)
"I've never been so disturbed my whole life! I got pretty far, but couldn't finish it! It's too much!"
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22.Silent Hill (2006)
"I wish I could unsee that. Pyramid Head is burned into my nightmares, as are the ladders and barbed wire. My eyes were closed for the last 30 minutes of that movie."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
23.10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)
"It gave me such bad secondhand anxiety that I still can’t watch the whole thing. It’s a great movie, but the thought of being held captive and not knowing what’s going on in the outside world gives me such bad anxiety."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
24.Alien (1979)
"I know it’s not really that scary, and I was able to finish it recently, but the first time I started watching it I was 11 and at a sleepover with some friends. We were all in the basement with the lights on, and — just as a suspenseful part was about to happen, the lady was flipping a switch of some sort — the power in the basement went out, and we were all thrown into pitch black. Scariest moment of my life!"
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
25.Krampus (2015)
"First time I saw it, I couldn’t make it past the attic scene."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
26.The Shining (1980)
"Those twins, man. It wasn't until my 20s that I finally finished it, and boy am I glad I did! Scary stuff."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
27.Sinister 2 (2015)
"The first one traumatized me, but, for some reason, my dumb ass decided to watch the second one anyway. I ended up crying halfway through."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
28.30 Days of Night (2007)
"It took me probably six tries before I actually finished it."
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29.REC (2007)
"The Spanish version. I remember it was very late at night at the theater, and my (now ex) boyfriend and me were the only ones there. After a bit, we started feeling like someone was watching us from within the room. All we could do was run toward the exit almost as fast as we could."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
30.The Nun (2018)
"My friend and I were spending the day together and decided to watch this. When it started, we noticed most of the theatre was empty. Right off the bat, we were both very jumpy. We spent most of the movie covering our eyes until I finally suggested we just leave and get tacos instead, so that’s what we did."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
31.Mirrors (2008)
"The one with Keifer Sutherland. I made it maybe 15 minutes in before telling the friend who wanted to watch it that we needed to turn it off."
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32.The Orphanage (2007)
"When she finds her son dead in the basement, I thought of my niece being left alone like that and puked. I never saw the ending."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
33.The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014)
"I can't watch things where people hurt themselves, and had to duck out when she started clawing at her arm."
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34.The House That Jack Built (2018)
"The only movie I’ve ever turned off for being too disturbing. It wasn’t even that it was scary compared to other films, but there is something so unsettling about the depiction of a serial killer and his victims when told in such a matter-of-fact way. It was too real, and just made me feel bad inside."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
35.And finally: The Strangers (2008)
"It scared me so badly that I made my wife stop it halfway, take it out of the DVD player, put it back in the case, and take it out to the car because I wouldn't even sleep with it in the house. It was very 'Joey keeping Cujo in the freezer' energy."
Watch the trailer...if you dare:
All right, you've read theirs, but now it's your turn! What's one horror movie so disturbing, you couldn't finish it? And what was the scene that made you turn it off? Share all of your thoughts in the comments below!
Some entries were edited for length and/or clarity.