Back in the Early 90's Fangoria editor Stanley Wiater, Steven Bissette, and Phil Nutman (with special help from goremeister Chas Balun) compiled the now infamous Disturbo 13 list. There is no doubt that theses three writers indeed did compile the most comprehensive list for the time. Now almost 10 years later the list however needs some revisions.
Stanley Wiater wrote that these are thirteen films “that are just balls to the wall disturbing. So-called cult films that are so unrelentingly perverse that they make us regret having watched them. And, ultimately, make us disgusted to be one of the same species of animals portrayed in these motion pictures.”
[CUT! Horror Writers on Horror Films; Stanley Wiater; Berkley books 1992]
Here is the DISTURBO 13 list as the three compiled it:
(the following will contain brief excerpts from the above cited book)
1. SALO: 120 DAYS OF SODOM
“Pasolini seems to relish staging the obscene tableaus in all their loathsomeness far more that condemning them.”
2. MEN BEHIND THE SUN
“Watching this movie is very much like being taken on a guided tour of a factory designed to create hell on earth.”
3. I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
“Whatever I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is trying to say about rape, about the only conclusion that can be reached from viewing it is that both sexes are thoroughly violated and debased.”
4. BLOODSUCKING FREAKS
“The amoral filmmakers seem to be enjoying themselves far to much for BLOODSUCKING FREAKS to be anything more that a sadist's red wet dream”.
5. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
“This is one of the vilest films ever to retain respectability as a horror “classic:”
6. MANIAC
“This is a low budget gore film that is so completely devoid of any moral perspective”.
7. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST
“The unending scenes of cruelty are almost indescribable”.
8. HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
“The filmmakers were deadly serious in their endeavor to make us all react personally as voyeuristic accomplices to the most violent depths of sociopathic behavior”.
9. IN A GLASS CAGE
“any movie that opens with a man viciously whipping a naked boy hanging from the ceiling cannot be construed a anything but seriously disturbing”.
10. NEKROMANTIK
“a black hole of nihilism that if it weren't for the second rate special makeup effects, it would be impossible to sit through.”
11. ILSA, SHE WOLF OF THE SS
“well staged scenes of sexual perversion and torture to titillate the fantasies of any true sadist.”
12. COMBAT SHOCK
“Nearly unbearable in its raw intensity, COMBAT SHOCK makes the violence and nihilism in TAXI DRIVER seems like something produced by Walt Disney”.
13. ERASERHEAD
“you get the incomparable sensation of being awake in the center of a truly disturbing bad, bad dream”.
Now not to these highly qualified writers opinions but since the time that this list was compiled films have been released (or seen the light of day) that are more than worthy additions to the list. This however cannot be done with eliminating some of the films that have already been selected for this list. So in making my updated version of this list (no I do not have the illusions that I am as qualified as the aforementioned writers, although I most likely have seen as many movies as they have) I found that many of the titles that have been listed are overshadowed by even more disturbing titles. It is no surprise to those who are fans of “extreme” cinema that most of these new additions come from either Japan or Hong Kong, since it seems that eastern cinema has no reservations about pushing the limits and boundaries of good taste and decency.
So here is my updated version of the DISTURBO 13 list:
(Like Stanley Wiater's list the order of films is not preferential)
1. SALO: 120 DAYS OF SODOM
Pasolini's adaptation of the Marquis De Sade's classic novel 120 DAYS OF SODOM is the visual and emotional depiction of a society that operates without the moral boundaries that society normally operates with in. Set during the fascist occupation of Italy SALO is the tale of a group of “privileged” people who take residence in a castle in a remote part of Italy. With the participation of the castles servants and slaves the group slowly creates a realm of decadence and perversion as they progress deeper into the sadistic pleasures that dwell within them. With graphic depictions of all forms of brutality ranging from tongue piercing to feces feasting to numerous ways to execute anal rape SALO, and to even up the disgust quality most of these acts are performed on pre teen males). The serious tone of the atrocities presented is what makes SALO a truly unforgettable viewing experience.
2. MEN BEHIND THE SUN
When we look back at the horrors of WWII we immediately think of the horrible acts of genocide and torture that were committed during the holocaust. It comes to a surprise to most when they discover that Japan, like Germany, was practicing there own form of racial elimination on the Chinese prisoners captured during the siege of China. Director T.S. Mous was not scared to inform the world about Japanese atrocities when he made MEN BEHIND THE SUN. Set in a concentration camp in China this is a tale of UNIT 731 and their experiments on Chinese prisoners on hopes to create highly effective biological weapons. If you have ever wondered what happens when throw a cat into a pit of ravenous rats, see an autopsy of a little boy (with the aid of a real corpse courtesy of the local morgue), marvel at the sight of a person shoot his bowels out of his ass and much, much more that MEN BEHIND THE SUN is the movie for you. Don't be mislead into thinking that this is a movie that is all about gore in contrast it is as serious as it can be. This is a film intend to portray these horrific acts as brutally realistic as possible in the hopes that attention will finally be given to these acts (oh yeah did I mention that every act performed in the film was based on real experiments). This film is only for those who have a high tolerance for graphic portrayal of brutality executed in a manner that only mankind could imagine.
3. IN A GLASS CAGE
Revenge seems to be commonplace in films that contain high levels of on screen brutality even to the point that the average viewer of these films finds themselves desensitized to what unfold before them. One can only see so many LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT's or I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVES (not to dismiss either film especially since they themselves are on this very list) before the intensity dwindles. Well if fans of “extreme” cinema are lucky they might find their hands on a copy of the Spanish film IN A GLASS CAGE (The film itself is quite a rarity since it only received limited VHS release in the US back in the early nineties). To put it simply IN A GLASS CAGE redefines ones expectations of what a revenge film is. Sometime after WWII a former Nazi officer find that he no longer can deal with his memories of the atrocities he enacted upon a group of young boys during the war decides to commit suicide. Unfortunately for him his attempt fails and he finds himself confined to an iron lung and his wife no longer feels able to care for him. A young college student is hired to care for the man and all seems to be going better that is until the boy reveals that he was one of the young boys that fell victim to the mans perverse pleasures. Now the man finds himself victim to the boys dark immoral fantasies as vengeance is enacting in its most excruciating way. This is torture in the most perversely erotic manner, no the film itself is not erotic instead most of the acts are presented in an erotic manner. What also makes this film so effectively chilling is that fact that the utmost care was taken in the making, this film like SALO is an art film that explores deep into the perversions that lie within us all.
4. CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST
What is considered by many to be the ultimate cannibal film, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST pulls all the punches and makes no apologies. The story here is two fold and in both cases rather simple; the first half is about a professor who travel to the Amazon to locate a missing documentary film crew, the second half is the documentary footage that missing film crew shot. The movie long lasting effect comes not from it story however, it comes from the sheer audacity the film has in presenting a world that lack all morals. There are many ways the viewer can find themselves squeaming in their seat while watching this film whether it be watching the numerous and brutal real animal killings to watching the atrocious acts of rape and cannibalism in the most realistic and convincing presentations that could possibly be made. This is a film that most are offend and even the most dire hard gore fan can find themselves turning away and wondering why the even started to watch something so sick. This is not to say CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is a film to avoid, it has a purpose and a message not matter how convoluted it seems. This is simply a tale of darkness and rage that lies within the mind of civilized man and what happens when it is unleashed against the innocent and unsuspecting.
5. UNTOLD STORY
Before I saw UNTOLD STORY there was only one film that I have ever seen that made me want to take a shower afterwards and that was William Lustig's MANIAC (also on this list) then I saw THE UNTOLD STORY. Dirty, that is how this film make the viewer feel, truly dirty, the grime seems to jump from the screen onto the unsuspecting audience as we delve into the world of a serial killer. This is the tale of a man who while fleeing the law after murdering a man takes a job at a small restaurant. Doesn't sound like it is that shocking right, well this man (Played wonderfully by Anthony Wong) decides that he just doesn't want to work at the restaurant he wants to own it and slowly but steadily kills the family that owns it. With the want not to waste anything the man uses that meat from the family in the pork buns served at the restaurant. Before long the man is caught and the true UNTOLD STORY is revealed. Based on a true event that occurred in 1978 this is a dark film (riddled with off beat humor that helps lighten the tone of an extremely bleak film) that takes the viewer into a world without conscience without a soul.
6. NECROMANTIK
Director Jorge Buttgeriet coined the term “corpse fucking art” and this is the perfect example of the phrase. Why is it that whenever an ambulance driver or morgue attendant is portrayed in a film there is something serious fucked up about them (KISSED, AFTERMATH, BRINGING OUT THE DEAD, ect). Well this film makes no exceptions when it main character is an ambulance driver who likes to bring home spare parts of the victims he sees in his daily work. When he finds that he no longer gets the satisfaction from the body parts that he once did he decides only a whole corpse can satisfy him and along with his girlfriend he discovers completely new ways to use and enjoy a dead body. Okay even the basic story is sick, only a truly depraved mind can think up of some of the shit in this movie. Thank god for the cheapy effects because if this looked real it would be that much more disgusting. If anything the ultra low budget qualities that are present in the film help make this a classic for those who enjoy a bit of depravity.
7. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
Before SCREAM and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET director Wes Craven and FRIDAY THE 13th producer Sean Cunningham teamed up to make LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT. This is a truly horrific modern fairytale that features two young innocent girls who go to the big city to see their favorite band. Like every fairytale our heroines make a wrong turn, or in this case a stop to score some weed from some shady characters in the inner city. These drug dealers seem to have something more interesting in store for these young girls than simply tuning them on. Before we know it these poor innocents have been tied, tortured and the driven out into the country raped and gutted and finally killed. Only this tale doesn't end here just by chance the girls where taken right near their houses and the parents of one the girls decides to enact sweet revenge. This is dirty film, it is simply brutal, bringing it home by having truly heartless villains whom beg that fate that lies before them.
8. ALL NIGHT LONG
It was hard to pick one film out of this series that was deserving of this list, for truly all three ALL NIGHT LONG films are worthy additions to this list. I, for the sake of fairness and diversity chose to list all three films as one listing These are tales of moral depravity at its lowest moments, there are no heroes in this story, there are no innocents, all the character start fucked up and then descend into a nihilistic realm of sex and violence. The main character in part three perfectly sums up these films when he says, “humans are living garbage”. Nothing more needs to be said about this series except that this is only for those who have a strong patience for transgressive nihilism at its most violently graphic and sexually depraved.
9. VISTOR Q
For those who follow Asian cinema it is no surprise that at least one Takeshi Miike film would make this list. VISTOR Q is a strange tale of redemption through violence and complete abandonment of any moralistic values. This is the tale of a man and his dysfunctional family. His son beats his, who in turn is a prostitute so she can support he heroin addiction. The man himself is no spring chicken, he is a failed TV reporter who lost his magic after a gang shoved his microphone up his as while he was covering a story, has turned to having sex with his teenage daughter (who is also a prostitute) and filming his son getting beaten up by school bullies. One day this man meets a stranger who joins the family and unites them be releasing there ultimate desires, which include the son bathing in his moms self lactated milk and the father struggling to free his dick from the rigor mortis hardened body of a corpse of a fellow reporter that he raped then killed and then hours later decided to rape again. If there ever was an award for the film that most promotes the complete freedom of being free from all moral and convictions it would come as no surprised if VISTOR Q wins hands down.
10. I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE
Okay I admit this is not the greatest film and generally I am unimpressed by the supposedly shocking revenge ending. See what is shocking are the act committed in the first forty-five minutes of this film, the fact that it dwells in the fact that the main character is being brutally raped, in fact dwelling is the wrong word it lavishes in acts, lets the viewer experience ever torturous moment of a brutal gang rape. The fact that so much of the film is one extended rape sequence that viewer starts to feel as if they are participating in some sort of perverse voyeuristic experiment testing to see how much a person can take. As stated before after the never ending ultra intense rape sequence the revenge of the main character is irrelevant, one finds themselves just happy that they are no longer being subjected to the torments and suffering of a gang rape. I never recommend this flick, people say it is the ultimate feminist film in which the victim is completely free of her tormenters only after enacting the ultimate revenge, and I however disagree. This is film just seems like an excuse to film an excessive and voyeuristic rape sequence, I guess it is some fetishist delight.
11. MANIAC
Dirty and soulless, the first film that made me feel dirty, to wonder why I ever subject myself to such a bleak pile of shit. Okay, wait before people hoot and howl, that was just my first impression of the movie. Years later I purchased the Elite Laserdisc and revisited this dark film. Like fellow list members UNTOLD STORY and HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER this is a tale of a serial killer who lack any moral values and is only driven by their own desires and madness. Joe Spinelli convincingly brings to life a man whose desolate existence leads him to kill women, then scalp them, and then take the scalps back to his apartment were he places them on mannequins that torment him for his murderous ways. The best way to describe this film is that it is completely and totally misogynistic in its most aggressive and brutal way. This film is completely without redeeming qualities and yet it still somehow finds a way to be terrifying compelling.
12. HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
Perhaps the most effect and chilling character study of a serial killer filmed to date. Based loosely on the real life events of serial killer Henry Lee Lucas, John McNaughton's film HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER is unnerving in its more than human portrayal of the main character (a stunning performance from Michael Rooker). There is no real beginning to this story; Henry has already started his killing spree, and no real ending. We as viewers simple spend some time visiting Henry and his world, a world were his rational although based on the same foundations is so skewed that his acts seem almost to be warranted. What makes this film an special exception from the other films on this list is the lack of true graphic violence (don't be mistaken that that means that this film does not have graphic violence; we do get to lavish briefly at the aftermaths and some of the demises of his victims, and there is on unharrowing and unforgettable rape scene that will get to even the most desensitized viewer), HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER succeeds because the story and the events seems so real, it reminds the viewer of their vulnerabilities, never letting us forget that that man who sat on the bus next to you, or perhaps at the bar next to you, or maybe it was that man who smiled at you at lunch, could be someone capable of great violence. So in short watching HENRY PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER makes the viewer a little less secure about the world around them.
13. GUINEA PIG: FLOWERS OF FLESH AND BLOOD
While all the films on this list have garnered their fair share or controversy (and still do) none have matched this last entry to the list. The story of the film itself is not existent, A man dressed as a samurai kidnaps a young girl brings her back to this room and tortures and rapes her and of course ultimately kills her and then the film ends. This film first gained attention in the US when a nasty rumor about Charlie Sheen notifying the FBI about it alleging that it was an actual snuff film. The story goes as this (this almost has become an urban legend or maybe it has) legendary horror writer/fan Chas Balun brought this film to a party wanting to show people how disgusting this film is and Charlie Sheen who happened to be in attendance and became convinced that the acts in this film where real and took a copy of the film to the FBI, which in turn contacted the filmmakers who had to prove how they staged and faked the extremely realistic looking effects and subsequently had all charges dropped against them. That all said this film is just violence presented in its most pointless fashion and nothing more really needs to be said about it.
So there it is my revised and updated version of the Disturbo 13 list. Honestly compiling my own version of the list was not as easy as I thought. In the selection process I chose to exclude two incredibly powerful short films, both of them exceed the limits of good taste and venture into the realm of the truly disturbing. The first of these two shorts is Nacho Cerda's AFTERMATH (also of note is his second short GENESIS), free from dialogue this is a strangely beautiful operetta about a mortician and his sexual exploration with a corpse, never has a film ever been so disturbingly beautiful and perversely erotic. The second film comes from filmmaker Douglas Buck, CUTTING MOMENTS is a harrowing look at a mother who takes extremely brutal and disgusting measures to prevent her son from being molested by her husband, like many on the films that made the list it is not the story that makes these movies memorable but rather the graphic presentation of the acts themselves. Perhaps I made a mistake in not including these films in the list as they both more than deserve and admittedly have much more power and impact than some of the other films on the list. But the simple fact is they are shorts and shouldn't be included or compared to feature length films no matter how good they are, so it is only fair however that they get the fair mention that I give them here as a post script or addendum to the list.
It also was a struggle to remove and replace selections from the previous lists. Some choices where obvious to me as a film like BLOODSUCKING FREAKS while extremely dark and demented in tone suffers greatly with cheap and completely unconvincing special effects and ends up coming across as a distorted circus side show parody (well after all the movie was always intended to be a black comedy and not a horror film, or at least according to director Joel Reed). I felt the same way about COMBAT SHOCK, which is a great over the top shock film in its own right, but which pales in comparison to the new entries (this film should still be a must see on any extreme film and gore hound out there; too bad the TROMA DVD is cut). I also have always thought that ILSA, SHE WOLF OF THE S.S. was more a film that lived on twisted prepubescent males and the masturbatory expectations they have from this film (Mostly due to alluring poster and box art) then once they see the film that are shocked at the content surprised to find it a twisted sex romp, but remember that is all from the prepubescent male point of view and from the more jaded experienced film watcher point of view it is very tame when compared to the other films on the list. ERASERHEAD was also another easy choice for me, sure it was nightmarish (I do think Lynch has filmed more nightmarish scenes like Bob staring out behind Laura's bed in TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME and many other scenes from that movie) and had a true sense of perversion (again I think Lynch later did better in his strange violent mystery BLUE VELVET), sure it is an interesting film, but disturbing no, confusing yes.
I also could of easily included many more Asian films in the list but that would of ment removing films that have built strong reputations (which was part of the consideration process, not only did the film have to make an impact on me but also with the many people that have participated in discussions, articles, ect that I have been privy to over my years as a fan of films of extreme nature). The Asian film scene however has been bursting with films deliberately pushing the envelope of good taste. Filmmaker Takeshi Miike has made a career of pushing these boundaries in films like AUDITION, the strange zombie musical HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS, the over the top gangster violence and brutality in films like DEAD OR ALIVE (part one and two), ICHI THE KILLER, and FUDOH: THE NEXT GENERATION, all of these films have acts of truly perverse and twisted natures. Then there are films like NAKED BLOOD that pushes the level or erotic self-mutilation that has been presented on the screen to new levels and EBOLA SYNDROME which just simple pushes the borders of good taste. Then there is the rest of the GUINEA PIG series, the distorted and convoluted splat fest ORGAN, and then what of the many tape/torture/stalker flicks like PEEPING TOM and RED TO KILL to the brutal and sometimes gut wrenching bondage flicks like FEMALE MARKET and WET AND ROPE. Then there are those new films like RED ROOM that promises to gain a reputation worthy of it perverse predecessors.
There were also many films that I chose to pass over in this my selection process that are worthy of note. Low budget films like SHATTERED DEAD and DUCK: THE CARBINE MASSACRE do pack a certain punch and both crossed my mind but they ultimately lacked the last impression that the films listed did. It also would be easy to include many of the mondo films from the granddaddy of them all MONDO CANE to the tasteless FACES OF DEATH series for all of them both have a many and unforgettable scene but they fail in the long run in their ability to drawn the viewer into the film instead serving only as a presentation of depravity and sometimes downright absurdity. Also notably lacking from this list are films from the Italian maestro's of the macabre like Lucio Fulci, whose film NEW YORK RIPPER was a close contender with it extremely brutal misogynistic murder mystery but again the film lacks the lasting impression that the others films have made (I have to admit the duck voice just takes away from the intensity introducing some rather unintentionally hysterical moments) and Joe D'Amato's BEYOND DARKNESS whose dark tale of murder, taxidermy and necrophilia (it is rumored that the corpse in the autopsy scene is real, but that is a rumor, but I will say it looks pretty damn real), and Mario Landi's GIALLO IN VENICE contains some truly horrific moments of violence and torture. Will I soon have to amend this list and perhaps revise it again once Jess Franco's twisted exploration of sexual sadism EUGINIE DE SADE gets more attention after more people discover the Wild East DVD release. And how could I not consider the film that first challenged to push the envelope and enter to a demented world that exists within and yet operates outside the morality and rationality of our own world, Tod Brownings immortal classic FREAKS, the film which forever set the standard of what a disturbing film is.
That brings up an interesting point that I have alluded to many times above but I have yet to truly clarify (something Stanley Wiater did at the start of his article) beyond the quote. I have not shared what I consider the qualities that make a film qualify for this list. There is a reason that films like TERROR FIRMER or TOXIC AVENGER and other TROMA fair; to put it simply while they do push all borders of good taste, common decency, that lack the serious tone that all the films on this list have. The films that have been selected all are unapologetic and brutal depictions of depraved acts presented only to offset the viewer. To horrify them, if you will, but not by the manner that films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE or HALLOWEEN whose success depended on well crafted atmosphere, sure these films on this list have atmosphere but they also bring into that atmosphere acts of true voyeuristic depravity, perversely getting off on their own excesses. These films represent to dark side of humanity, they are transgressive journeys in those recesses that we are afraid to admit they exist and then take those perversions and excessive and some them in our faces reminder the viewer that only a human mind could create such ages of atrocities. They present these horrors in a manner that we can never truly forget forever reminding us that we our own greatest enemies, forever these films are imbedded in the viewers mind slowly adding to the pollution of corruption that already exists there. Remember these are film for people who think films like SEVEN and HANNIBAL are as tame as REBECCA OF SUNNYBROOK FARM, those with weak stomachs and who are quick to make moral judgments need not apply.
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