What’s an unrated horror movie? The definition is broad. At times, it simply refers to motion pictures that were never submitted for MPAA ratings in America (such as PG-13, R, X, NC-17). Sometimes, it refers to director’s cuts. However, on most occasions, the term is given to movies with graphic depictions of torture, sex, voodoo, and other taboo or forbidden acts. Presented in their raw form, such productions tend to appeal to hardcore fans.
Though rooted in horror cinema, the unrated tag often applies to exploitation and arthouse films, too. In fact, the style was first popularized by Japanese ero guro and pink films, and later in the New French Extremity. Still, horror is often the best showcase for extreme cinema. How far can directors go, and what are the consequences? If you have the heart and the nerve to check out some films in this category, the following will work for you.
10
‘Shivers’ (1975)
Good intentions birth chaos in Shivers (alternatively known as The Parasite Murders, or They Came from Within). In the David Cronenberg film, a scientist creates a parasite that can replace diseased organs, but it instead turns its hosts into extra-horny, aggressive, and violent carriers. Residents of a luxury apartment complex outside Montreal become the biggest victims of this plague.
‘Shivers’ Will Give You Shivers
Plastering the screen with inventive visuals and ad-hoc twists with numerous false digressions, David Cronenberg gives this tale the chilling feel of a bare-knuckles literary horror masterpiece. Cronenberg — regarded as the founder of the body horror genre — confesses in his autobiographical book Cronenberg on Cronenberg that he “didn’t know what the f** was going on.” He was simply experimenting, and the result is something you’ll think twice about watching, even if critics say you should. Unless, of course, you have no problem with someone slicing another person’s mouth open or someone vomiting out a parasite onto a balcony.
9
‘Nekromantik’ (1988)
Rob (Daktari Lorenz) from Nekromantik works for a company that specializes in accident and disaster scenes. His job allows him to indulge in his necrophilic fetishes, and he is shown to have a habit of bringing home body parts to his girlfriend, Betty (Beatrice Manowski), who shares his bizarre hobby. Things get interesting when he brings home a full corpse, only for Betty to fall for it and leave him.
What the Stinking Hell!
Nekromantik is banned in Iceland, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and sections of Canada. No surprises there for a horror film that features a threesome between two human lovers and a corpse. Even the toughest of viewers will look away as Rob and his girlfriend cuddle with the dead person, their bodies entwined with decaying flesh, fluids, skin peels, and maggots. What was director Jörg Buttgereit thinking? But, such a question has been asked of many of his films.
8
‘Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom’ (1975)
Creepy fact about Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom: Its director, Pier Paolo Pasolini, was murdered only three weeks before the premiere. Based on Marquis de Sade’s novel and set in Fascist Italy, the movie revolves around four rich libertines — The Duke (Paolo Bonacelli), The Magistrate (Umberto Paolo Quintavalle), The Bishop (Giorgio Cataldi), and The President (Aldo Valletti) — who kidnap 18 young people and subject them to various acts of degradation.
Bizarre in Every Form
Told with great boldness and immediacy, this powerful story turns out to be Pasolini’s best work, and that’s saying something, considering how revolutionary the rest of his movies were. The entire cast shines, with notable strong turns from Paolo Bonacelli and Caterina Boratto, who turn in impressively natural performances. There’s no sitting on the fence on this one. You’ll either decry it or praise it. Unsurprisingly, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains banned in several countries.
7
‘Cannibal Holocaust’ (1980)
In Cannibal Holocaust, anthropologist Harold Monroe (Robert Kerman) heads to the Amazon to locate a missing film crew that was making a documentary about local cannibal tribes. There, he recovers their film reels and, upon examining the footage, he learns that they staged atrocities, including burning villages and abusing the natives, to create a better film. As revenge, the locals killed them.
There Were Legal Implications
So graphic is Cannibal Holocaust that director Ruggero Deodato was suspected of having committed actual murder on set. The authorities just couldn’t believe that it was fake. Eventually, he was cleared of the charges. Overall, it’s a hard film to watch as Deodato places his focus on the tribes and their dark side. The events violently pull on your senses, before tugging them more insistently in the final act.
6
‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ (1986)
Loosely inspired by the life of the serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer follows Henry (Michael Rooker), a drifter who keeps seething with anger over trivial slights. He also has homicidal tendencies and soon convinces his ex-con friend and roommate, Otis (Tom Towles), to join him in killing and filming victims. But what will his sister think of it all when she finds out?
Disturbingly Inhumane
The film is short at just 83 minutes, but it offers such enthralling and emotionally bulky scenes that you’ll feel like you’ve been here for three hours. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated and accomplished cast of players (especially those who play the victims), all of whom inject fear and helplessness into their various roles. In a disturbing home invasion scene filmed on a grainy camcorder, a mother’s neck snaps with a crack and her eyes stare blankly at the lens as Henry and Otis kill the entire family. The film is so wild that it took forever to find a willing distributor.
5
‘Begotten’ (1989)
Begotten opens with a robed and masked figure disemboweling and mutilating his own body. From the figure emerges Mother Earth (Donna Dempsey), who fertilizes herself using the corpse and gives birth to the Son of Earth (Stephen Charles Barry), a weak figure. The Son endures endless torment and wanders across barren land as masked nomads assault and dismember him.
A Bizarre Look at the Origin of Mankind
The inspired match-up of director E. Elias Merhige and composer Evan Ablam makes for movie magic in Begotten, an absurdity-driven mosaic that wrings a lot of material out of its seemingly thin premise. The film stays engaging, and the stakes are ever-proliferating, but so are the shocking moments. The Nietzschean view of order and chaos will leave you puzzled, while the opening scenes will leave you scarred forever.
4
‘The Last House on the Left’ (1972)
Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left opens on a sad note as Mari Collingwood (Sandra Cassel) and her friend Phyllis (Lucy Grantham), get kidnapped, raped, and murdered by escaped convicts in the woods. Seeking shelter, the criminals unknowingly take refuge in the home of Mari’s parents. When the Collingwoods learn what happened, they decide to unleash all kinds of horrors on the killers.
Wrong Turn… For the Criminals
It would be a major crime to give away too much about this unnerving revenge horror movie, but suffice it to say that the director really shows no mercy, packing plenty of hefty scares and surprising turns into his hair-raising tale. The release of The Last House on the Left triggered protests all across America. According to The New Statesman, theater owners made a habit of cutting different sections of the film to avoid angering audiences. Consequently, different versions exist. Whatever version you get, be sure that revenge will be served cold.
3
‘Re-Animator’ (1985)
Loosely inspired by the 1922 H. P. Lovecraft novel, Herbert West–Reanimator, Re-Animator stars Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West, a medical student who invents a reagent that can reanimate deceased bodies. The choice by he and his classmate, Dan Cain (Bruce Abbott), to start testing the serum on dead human bodies attracts the attention of Dr. Carl Hill (David Gale), resulting in some pretty horrific outcomes.
Step Aside, Frankenstein
Re-Animator wasn’t submitted for rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), for fear that it’d receive an X rating. Consequently, it drew a lot of controversy, but it had enough acclaim to prompt the creation of sequels. As always with great horror flicks, there is a philosophical angle to the story, and Stuart Gordon wrings it for every drop. Crisply edited and solicitously conceived, the movie remains a hard watch, but it offers way more than cheap, palpitating gotcha moments. Run!
2
‘Martys’ (2008)
Set in the ’80s, Martys follows Lucie Jurin (Mylène Jampanoï), a traumatized young woman who goes after the individuals who kidnapped and tortured her as a child. Her friend Anna Assaoui (Morjana Alaoui), also a victim of abuse, aids her in her mission, but their actions lead to very serious consequences for both of them.
Reexamining Existentialism
Martys requires an unusual kind of courage to sit through. A scene where Anna is flayed alive as she hangs from above, her skin peeled slowly from her body, will haunt you for months. Who allowed horror to cross boundaries to this extent? However, it would be unfair not to recognize the artistic elements by director Pascal Laugier, who made the film when he was critically depressed and suicidal. Many audience members walked out, and you’ll probably press the stop button, too, but with its synth-pop score and great performances, this is one immersive, multi-layered trip into New French Extremity.
1
‘August Underground’ (2001)
Filmed in amateurish found footage style, August Underground is, regrettably, one of the horror films where the villains face no comeuppance. Director Fred Vogel also stars as Peter, a serial killer who kidnaps and murders people together with an unnamed accomplice. As the clock ticks, the victims keep piling up.
Glamorizing Serial Killers?
The on-screen sadism is hard to find anywhere else. At the time of its release, the movie’s reputation was so bad that Fred Vogel was arrested by customs officials on charges of transporting obscene materials into Canada. The move was understandable, considering this is a movie with a scene of a victim being forced to ingest a glass bottle, teeth shattering in the process, as the villains laugh. You won’t be judged if you decide to skip the picture.
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