For most people, going to the movies is a surefire form of stress relief one that's
specifically intended to distract us from the turmoil of our own lives for a least an
hour or two.
Of course, that can occasionally backfire, because some films just won't allow you to
switch off your brain and check out of the world for even one single minute.
That's not always a bad thing, though.
In fact, some of the best films out there are good simply because they challenge our
hearts and minds.
Here are some of the most stressful movies you'll still want to watch.
Seven
When Seven made its way to theaters back in the fall of 1995, the world was simply not
ready.
But David Fincher's relentlessly bleak symphony of sorrows is still a masterpiece that continues
to serve as a bizarre, gory mirror for moral and societal excesses.
The film opens on a dour note and only gets more desolate, desperate, and stressful with
every moment that follows.
Still, Seven is so meticulously constructed, obsessively executed, and skillfully acted
by its leads that even at its most gruesome it's almost impossible not to want to watch
it all unfold.
"Awwww, what's in the box?
What's in the f------ box?"
Whether it's because of Seven's obsessive nature, it remains one of the most rewatchable
movies ever made, no matter how difficult it is.
mother!
Speaking of directors who like to push buttons, Darren Aronofsky is another director known
to break boundaries.
But nothing in his riveting collection could've prepared audiences for the brain-bomb that
was his 2017 offering, mother!
Set in a tranquil, secluded country home, the film follows a struggling poet and his
young wife as they try to write and remodel their home.
That peaceful existence is disturbed with the arrival of unexpected guests, and things
quickly get out of hand.
As mother! propels itself to its shocking but inevitable finale, the moments that lead
us there come with a constant, feverish upping of the ante.
Watching mother! is an emotionally draining affair, which might explain the movie's box
office problems.
But like the best of Aronofsky's films, the anxiety and discomfort caused by watching
it is still totally worth it.
Buried
For much of his early career, the thought of taking Ryan Reynolds seriously as an actor
just seemed laughable.
But many filmgoers' opinions of Reynolds as an actor were forever changed after seeing
his nerve-wracking 2010 micro-budget thriller Buried.
The whole film takes place in a coffin buried somewhere in the Iraqi desert, and Reynolds
is the sole actor and yes, he's buried inside the coffin.
If you're claustrophobic, sitting through this movie is a lot like subjecting yourself
to a 95-minute anxiety attack.
And even if you're not afraid of enclosed spaces, Buried is still tough to tangle with.
But if you can make it through the cramped space of the film, it's a first-rate thriller
with a few clever twists, some surprisingly insightful commentary, and an impressive dramatic
performance from Ryan Reynolds, who doesn't snidely snicker or break the third wall even
once.
Under the Skin
Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about a movie that stresses you out,
but in the case of Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin, it's quite literally everything.
The film's photography, music, acting, sound design, and editing are designed with the
single goal of keeping viewers on edge.
The result is a challenging, deeply disturbing movie that you don't really watch as much
as you experience.
At the same time, though, it's also a profoundly engaging, ambitious picture that hypnotizes
viewers into entering its darkness as it examines complex topics of identity, extraterrestrial
morality, and what it means to be human.
At the center of that exploration is the single weirdest, and possibly strongest, performance
of Scarlett Johansson's career.
The film works best if you know as little as possible going in, but watchers should
be warned that if you feel uneasy while watching the flick, that just means it's working.
Enemy
Denis Villeneuve's doppelgänger thriller Enemy is adapted from a novel by experimental
novelist José Saramago and follows an average man whose middling life is thrown into flux
when he spots his exact double in a movie.
What follows is a study of identity and modern isolation that finds Jake Gyllenhaal in top
form playing dual roles, and Villeneuve beginning to tease the daring style that has become
his trademark in the years since.
It's also worth noting that spiders figure prominently in the film, which means there's
a fair amount of arachnid angst involved in watching it.
More importantly, though, the film is also rife with metaphorical webs that the director
uses to pull viewers further into the sticky, deadly center.
Enemy is one of those rare movies that's distressing enough just to watch, and even more so after
the credits have rolled and you're stuck trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Bug
William Friedkin directed one of the most unnerving films ever made with 2006's Bug,
but odds are you've never heard of it.
Bug features one of the finest performances of Ashley Judd's career and a breakout turn
from the great Michael Shannon.
Perhaps one of the reasons Bug hasn't quite broken any box office records is that it's
hardly a feel-good affair.
The bulk of the film is set inside a dingy hotel room and follows a damaged woman who
seems to be on the verge of a fresh start after meeting a kind war vet.
When her new pal turns out to be one deeply unhinged individual, what follows is a terrifying
descent into madness.
"I am the super mother bugggggggggggggg"
Friedkin keeps the action taut throughout, making the proceedings extra stressful by
using expressionistic lighting, shooting his stars in unflattering close-ups, and featuring
a handful of body horror scenes that will definitely make your skin crawl.
Bug is essentially the cinematic equivalent of poking at a raw nerve for a couple of hours,
but it's well worth the pain.