Perhaps it's a reflection of the unstable times in which we find ourselves, but 2018
has been an intense year at the movies.
From a harrowing bit of pulpy detective fiction to a bloody tale of revenge, and all manner
of nervy narratives in between, these are the most disturbing movies of 2018.
Indie director Lynne Ramsay knocked audiences off their feet when she unleashed You Were
Never Really Here in the spring.
The movie is a frenzied, bloody, deeply paranoid fever dream of a film that's anchored by a
passionate performance from Joaquin Phoenix.
The film hammers its way into your head like a nightmare incarnate, one you won't easily
wake from.
"McCleary said you were brutal."
"I can be."
The kids are not alright in Thoroughbreds, a movie which follows two upper-class teens
who live on opposite ends of the human emotional spectrum, one incapable of feeling anything,
while the other feels everything.
When they're reunited after years apart, each finds themselves hatching a violent plan to
take control of their rapidly spiraling lives.
Director Cory Finley wisely allows the crime itself to play second fiddle throughout Thoroughbreds,
focusing instead on the tragically inventive young minds behind it.
That choice lands some of Thoroughbreds' biggest laughs.
It also lends an exacting edge to the film's final moments, which may leave you giggling
while also fighting a nasty chill in your spine.
With its politically charged narrative of societal despair, environmental calamity,
and righteous indignation, First Reformed is a film unmistakably of the times.
The film stars Ethan Hawke as a troubled, well-intentioned priest in a world where moral
duplicity has led to big business corrupting not just society, but also the environment
and the church.
First Reformed is a devastating desolate piece of work driven by insightful writing, unforgettable
imagery, and an atmospheric energy that teeters ever on the edge of horror.
Part nerve-wracking survival story and part full-tilt tale of righteous vengeance, Revenge
unfolds in the suffocating heat of a sun-bleached valley.
The film follows a pampered American party girl named Jen who is left for dead in the
unforgiving desert following a horrific act of violence.
Instead of dying though, Jen wakes up, and heads off to exact some violent revenge in
bloody and inventive ways that we won't spoil.
Just know that the final showdown will leave you gasping, clapping, and absolutely shaken
to the core.
For those who haven't seen Hereditary, the less you know going in the better, but we
can say that this film begins in a dark, tense place that sends audiences into one of the
most shocking moments in horror movie history.
If you've seen Hereditary, you know exactly we're talking about.
If not, well, we both pity and envy the fact that you've yet to experience that moment
in all of its trauma-inducing horror.
If you're tough enough to stick with it, you'll be able to brag to friends that you made it
through one of the best, most disturbing horror films of 2018.
"Don't you swear at me you little s---.
Don't you ever raise your voice at me.
I am your mother!
Do you understand?"
A uniquely disquieting movie, Mandy combines grindhouse violence and an unhinged performance
from Nicholas Cage to perfect effect.
The movie is packed to the brim with a dangerous cult of hippies, a demonic biker gang, copious
amounts of hallucinations, intensely surrealistic imagery, and enough fake blood to float an
ark.
There's also a chainsaw fight that instantly earned Mandy a spot in the vault of cult classics.
Yes, Mandy is every bit the B-movie it seems, but it's also one of the most visually striking
and wholly original films of the year, and its unbridled insanity simply must be seen
to be believed.
From its jarring opening moments, Like Me is clearly out to shock.
The film follows a woman broadcasting her own crime spree across social media.
Part road movie, part hallucinatory crime thriller, and part isolationist chamber drama,
it opens with an attention-grabbing heist and ends with a brutal act of violence.
The moments in between find the film skillfully laying the groundwork for a character study
uniquely tuned in to the emptiness that accompanies a life lived on social media.
The film's vivid photography and crazy editing ensure that even its muted moments come and
go with galvanizing energy.
That manic mix of styles makes Like Me the sort of soul-crushingly spirited film you
need to see.
For the uninitiated, Unsane follows a woman who, in seeking help for her emotional problems
inadvertently commits herself to a mental institution.
Worse, she finds that it's a lot easier to get into a mental institution than it is to
get out.
Making matters somehow even worse is the appearance of the super creepy stalker she's been in
hiding from, who might just be a figment of her imagination.
From that setup, Unsane becomes a moody, obsessive little film that features a stalker, a PTSD-suffering
heroine, and some shockingly gory violence.
What makes the film so scary is just how plausible all the inherent insanity seems.
At the very least, Unsane will have you reading every single word of fine print on the next
document you sign.
"Are you refusing to cooperate?"
"What happens if I do?"
"It would be better for everyone but especially yourself if you just do as I ask."