Seven Utterly Traumatizing Documentaries

ByRemy Carreiro Posted on Updated on

If all the elements add up just right (just wrong?), a documentary can end up being far more disturbing than any horror film, because it’s steeped in truth. It can result in what can only be called a perfect storm of trauma for the viewer. A true story, paired up with (oftentimes) gruesome, real life imagery, can burrow under your skin into your subconscious and sit there, staying with you long after you see it. The following are seven examples, a tiny splash in a sea of documentary movies that are soul-ruining. Approach this article with caution, for a lot of this material is not only NSFW, but NSFL. (Not safe for life.)

Body Shock: The Man Who Ate His Lover

If a movie can punch you in the soul, this one does, many times over. The true story that is the basis for this film is easily one of the most staggering news stories ever, and one watches this tale unfold with an almost surreal separation, not even being able to grasp the sickness it would take to be able to commit such acts. Sorry, I am getting ahead of myself. It is called PTSD, and I have it as a result of this movie.

So this documentary is the story of Armin Meiwes, or as he so affectionately dubbed: The Rotenburg Cannibal, and his quest to find a man to eat. Also, how his quest ended successfully. Yeah, honestly, that really is the best summary you could read for this film. It came out in 2004, and myself, along with a slew of other people who have seen it, have not slept since.

This is EXACTLY what I thought a cannibal would look like!

So what is it that makes it so unbearable? Ok, I will be frank with you: His victim’s penis. Armin Meiwes removes and attempts to eat this man’s penis. They can’t though, because it is, in both their words, “too rubbery.” Yes, I just said THEY can’t, and BOTH their words. Before the man died and Armin hung him up on meat hooks and began tearing flesh from him to eat, the man tried to eat his own (removed) penis. Hold on, this all too much, I need to go bleach my soul.

This is his willing victim, who may just be sicker in the head than Armin.

Wow, soul bleaching is surprisingly painful. Anyway, there really are no words to express how you feel as a viewer as they go into the details of this case.

I could sit here and ruin it with all the facts, but all you need to know is on a website called “Cannibal Café” a man named Armin Meiwes posted a request that said, word for word: Looking for a well-built man to be slaughtered and then consumed. And he found someone. This is the fact that I cannot get past. I can’t decide who is sicker in this scenario, Armin or his willing “victim”. Someone who willingly went to this man’s house, ate dinner with him, and then sat in his tub as the other man cut off his junk and tried to eat it.

Oh, and Meiwes videotaped the whole thing.

Ofcourse he had a cage in which he kept his human prey. As if my nightmares weren’t bad enough.

Relax though, NO ONE outside of the authorities have (thankfully) seen any of the footage, and there is no actual footage of the crime here. Just a lot of descriptions. Terribly vivid descriptions. I simply TOLD my girlfriend about this movie, and she hasnt’ looked at me the same since.

Humans can be vile, vile creatures. Hearing how to cook penis in depth only furthered my belief of this. For those who truly want to slice away at their soul slowly, there is a whole series of documentaries called Body Shock that all deal with similar instances. I think you only need one, though. Actually, in this case, even ONE was one too many.

The Cove

Maybe that last movie made you sick, but this one will make you angry. Really angry. Most people walk away from this film shocked, moved, and desperate to somehow change the world. Any film that can evoke a feeling of responsibility and desire to change the world is worth seeing, even if parts of it will ruin you.

Good luck washing the mental Rolodex clean of this image.

The Cove is about dolphin hunting in Japan, plain and simple, but it shows you the end result of some of these massive hunts, and honestly, it is devastating. The seas literally run red, and the scope of bloodshed and loss is staggering. I have a thing about animals, I think they are amazing, and I think some people find them to be easy victims and this fills me with an indescribably rage and sadness. I sort of ran my life on the unofficial motto that I will probably be more at ease in my own soul if I never see a dolphin get killed, and I should have stuck with that, but this movie forced me to change that motto. Truthfully, I don’t have a new one yet, I am still all screwed up from the dead dolphins.

Now I feel the need to say that I am by no means a vegetarian pushing some pro-animal agenda. I think the PETA people are cult-like in their extremes (Olivian Munn just looks for reasons to get naked at this point), and I am from the Ron Swanson school of meat, meaning anytime I can have bacon added to ANYTHING, I do. But that doesn’t mean I want to see animals getting killed, because honestly, I REALLY don’t.

I deliberately picked this image to offset the prior one. You’re welcome.

But this movie doesn’t use the slaughter of these animals as the selling point, nor does it exploit that. It is simply teaching more people about the atrocity that is happening right under our noses, and traumatizing or not, it needs to be viewed for that reason.

Zeitgeist

This is where things are going to get tricky, because I actually LIKE this film. Yup, I said it. But that doesn’t mean its ideologies and theories don’t beat you down, because they do. I have watched people on multiple occasions have to leave the room within the FIRST TEN MINUTES because the images and thoughts you get barraged with are so intense in nature.  And it is all very inflammatory. Want to start a riot? Put this movie on “by mistake” in a Christian youth group, and just watch.

Painting of God calling out Peter Joseph, creator of Zeitgeist, for a fight.

So what is Zeitgeist? Well, it is a film that addresses MANY popular, modern day conspiracy theories, and counter acts them with their own theories. Such things addressed are the Sept 11 attacks and the idea that Christianity is just stolen and assembled from a multitude of religions that came before it. While often condemned for being considered factually inaccurate at certain points, it is a truly engrossing film, but be prepared.

It is too intense and too “we need to talk about this right now” heavy a film to be watched alone, and the reason I say it is traumatizing is it WILL polarize the group of people you watch it with. I am not saying it MIGHT, I am saying, unless you watch it with a bunch of conspiracy theory nuts, it WILL polarize the viewing group.

To be trapped in a room with a bunch of people that are suddenly very pissed off that this film is trying to disprove their “God” can be too volatile a situation for some people, and I can understand that. Oh, and if you have a friend who is a “stoner”, put this on and be prepared to watch THEM, because they BUG OUT! It made one of my friends think so hard he got a bloody nose.

If you showed this kid Zeitgeist, his mind would be so blown, his dreds would melt.

Also, one final note, please refrain from commenting on how I should have put “Loose Change” on the list. Zeitgeist addressed everything that Loose Change does, and at least listing Zeitgeist here won’t get me put on any FBI watch lists, which I would like to avoid. Loose Change is interesting, but forces its opinion on the viewer in way one could almost call propaganda. People could call Zeitgeist propaganda, too, but Zeitgeist switches subjects enough that is avoids similar trappings and confuses the viewer in the same way that continuous slaps to face confuse someone.

Also, there are two sequels to this film since the first one dropped, but none as powerful or trance-inducing as the original. Want to ruin next Christmas? Give every one you love a copy of this movie and just wait for the phone call where they either thank you or call you insane. It is quite a fun little experiment and will at least give you a broader idea of what side of the fence different family members are on, so you know how to approach them most effectively. I just sounded like a super criminal or a mentalist. Or a mentalist who doubles as a super criminal, who MAY OR MAY NOT double as an internet writer for Unreality. That is badass.

Kill Me If You Can

Place this one directly under the file you named “mindf*cks”, because that is what it is. It is a mindf*ck in the same way the first movie on the list is a mindf*ck. You will watch it, and you will find yourself thinking, over and over again: How is it that ANYONE thinks like this? I am almost driven NOT tell you guys anything about the plot, because it is full of wonderful twists and turns and f*cks to your mind, but I will give you a little run down. Sit tight, sh*t is about to get mad real.

So there are these kids, in England, we will call them “John and Mark” because that is what the documentary calls them, and we are good researchers like that. Anyway, John and Mark are all obsessed with a particular chat room, think Reddit, and they become friends and start hanging out. But, then this crazy Spy Mistress named Janet Dobinson starts appearing in the chat room right around the same time, and promising fame and riches in the world of espionage, begins to set John off on a series of peculiar tasks, which seem to be growing darker and darker in nature.

Shtab your besht friend in the gut if you want to be jusht like me.

This culminates with one Miss Janet Dobinson insisting that John stab his friend Mark to death, because Mark is also a secret agent with a particularly deadly agenda. Cue mindf*ck.  And know, that is just one of many.

Now this is when normal people would be like “Shit is getting hella strange, so peace, I am out” and then they would throw up and peace sign and leave all slow-motion style. But this is a documentary, and rarely are documentaries made about normal people, so you can only imagine how this one plays out.

This came up in Google images when I typed in Kill Me If You Can. Deal with it.

I will give you a hint: You have no idea how this is all going to play out. Stuff only gets stranger and stranger and more and more layered as the tale progresses. And the level of intricacy here is on par with something you would see in a Korean revenge movie. I watched this, certain I knew what was up, and again, found myself wondering how anyone would be wired to think like the people think in this movie. While this movie may not be as gag-inducing as the first on the list, it is almost as mind blowing.

Atleast, unlike most people who proverbially stab their friends in the back, he stabbed his friend in the front.

After this film, I never looked at teenagers the same way. Apparently, they are far more cunning a creature than even I would have assumed, and I used to BE ONE, so that says a lot.

Zoo

I have a confession to make. I could not bring myself to sit through this movie about a man who gets f***ed to death by a horse. I know as a journalist it is my duty to sometimes suffer for my art, but come on? At what levels of human depravity must I draw the line? I heard detailed instructions about a man cooking another man’s penis earlier. And how he burned it, and then fed it to his dog. Yeah, seriously, and now I am supposed to sit through this? NO, I refuse. As it is, my Mom can’t read my articles, because I fear the insight she will get into my damaged psyche. How can I see this and still feel decent about life? The movie is short for zooiphile, which, well, I refuse to even talk about.

The image on the poster and box was enough to deter me from EVER watching it.

I can’t watch it, but I will still put it on this list, because in 2007, apparently Sundance wanted to ask this movie to marry it. I have come to the conclusion that between how people received Short Bus and people received this film, Sundance is filled with creepy perverts who love to stand up and clap at freakishly inappropriate shit, and then award it stuff.

Yeah, this movie won “Top Twelve Directors” that year, just to give you some insight. I, myself, do not have the courage to sit through this, but if you do, please, by all means, tell us in the comments how it turned out for you. You may have a stronger stomach than I. Or most mortal humans for that matter.

Shown: Zoo 2: Camel Ass Eaters.

Life In a Day

A Ridley Scott produced, Youtube made, user generated documentary, where people around the world were asked to send in footage of themselves living a normal, 24-hour day. Nothing could go wrong there, right?

Listen, the problem with me listing this film is that this film is kind of grandiose and mesmerizing. I was really enjoying it, the way it leapt from story to story with no narration, nothing to bridge the tales. We were jumping continents by the minute, and it was awesome. And then we get to the slaughterhouse without warning and…. No, oh goodness please NO?!!!

The murderers with guns are standing off to the side, aiming their laser scopes.

It all happens so fast that, if you are unaware, you will NOT be able to hit the stop button in time. I didn’t stop it in time and I am still all effed up. You see, like I said before, I LOVE meat. And another unspoken rule I always had was NEVER SEE ANYTHING I ENJOY EATING GETTING KILLED TO MEET THAT PURPOSE, because I knew it probably would not sit well with me, and to avoid that is probably a smart idea. And this is the kind of sh*t most vegetarians love, because they want us meat eaters to know how terrible we are for buying into it. And we are, but f**k it, I like meat. I STILL like meat, even after seeing what they do to that cow. I just order my bacon with less hamburger now.

So what do they do to that cow? Aw man, I don’t want to talk about it. Seriously, I thought I was tripping out when I saw it and just imagined something different from what I saw. The scene open palm slaps you in the face.

And I understand why it is in the film, to show that EVERYONE has a very different version of what is expected of them in their 24 hour life, but that having been said, just because someone does it, doesn’t mean I need to see it. Someone might mop up j*zz off a strip club floor, but it doesn’t mean I made the same mistakes in my life and need to see that. You know?

They purr when you milk them. It is rather unsettling, actually.

Ok, I decided I need to talk about it, because maybe it will be like therapy and I will feel better after. The scene starts with a man shooting the cow in the head with a handgun. And what messed me up is, it is done so casually, and the cow looks so confused. Honestly, I just changed my mind, I don’t want to talk about it. At least the guy who got his penis eaten off and then got stabbed in the neck in that earlier movie signed up for it, f***ing cow was all innocent and Disney looking.

It just hit me that a lot of these movies are animal snuff films, and I am very upset right now. TOTALLY did not intentionally mean to make an animal snuff film list. Oh, I know how to fix all of this:

Grizzly Man

Come on, guys. This one is KINDA funny, right? I am ending the list with the ultimate animal revenge. For all those other movies like The Cove, where see see animals getting victimized or killed, we get this. Do I even need to talk about this film? Alright, I will assume ONE of you hasn’t heard this story and I will humor you.

Five bucks to whoever can guess what happens next?

Here is the simple version: Man loves Bears. Man thinks bears love him. Man tries living with bears. Man convinces girlfriend to do same. Bears finally sick of man’s stupid attempts at integrating himself into their awesome bear culture and kill man, then kill girlfriend. We feel bad for the girlfriend, but the guy was an idealistic, hippie idiot, and you watch the whole film thinking: Why the f**k aren’t bears eating him? Then one of the bears realizes it, too. Suffice it to say, it quickly makes up for lost time and eats the shit out of him.

The bear may as well have a Jason mask on for how this movie plays out.

Now I have to say this, legally: We do not derive pleasure from anyone dying. That out of the way, when someone stupid dies, it is sort of the spokes of evolution turning, right in front of your eyes. Werner Herzog knew this idea was gold, and knew it HAD to culminate this way, or he would not have made the film. A guy living with bears is pretty cool. I guy trying to live with bears, but then being eaten by bears, and filming the whole thing is epically epic. I don’t even like to use the word epic, but honestly, this movie redefines the term.

Why is it here, you wonder? Because some (other) people might find this guy getting mauled by a bear rather disturbing. I say it no different than the first movie on the list. This dude was just asking for it. Luckily, he was kind enough to bring a camera.

As a result of this movie, I decided I am going to make a documentary about me living with sharks. It is going to be called, tentatively: 7 Minute Movie About a Pale Guy Who Gets Eaten By Sharks. How much you want to bet my potential widow wins some awards for me from Sundance for this?

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So this is just a handful of movies out of the hundreds of traumatizing documentaries out there. I know right now is when you guys take to the comment section and tell me all the movies I missed, but I am going to save you some trouble by explaining a few things first.

We don’t do snuff movies here, so ANY documentaries that show people being killed on film would have no place on this list. You may get mad and cite me listing Grizzly Man as counter productive to that rule, but I specifiacally ended the list with that film to offset the animal violence that filled the prior slots of the list, so it is the acceptable exception to the rule.

There is a fine line between messed up documentary and exploitation film, and we won’t teeter on that line. So any movies that feature real death or executions or any such gruesome acts save yourself from commenting about.

If this is a character in the documentary you want to suggest, we are all set.

If you know of an interesting and informative documentary that just happens to be slightly traumatizing, please, by all means, let us know in the comments. But if you are going to tell me I missed ” Faces of Death” or “Executions” or ” Snuff”, please refrain. I did not MISS those films. I simply did not feel like they belonged here.

This list is all about class: Dicks being eaten and animals being slaughtered and friends stabbing their friends for some spy poontang. So keep your classless snuff to yourself!

My name is Remy Carreiro and I live in New England, where most of my time is spent trying to summon the Great Old Ones, like Cthulhu. When not writing for Unreality, I am writing for a slew of other sites, and working primarily on unending music and art projects. I am not married but I have a beautiful young lady in my basement, errr, life, whom I love very much. When not focused on those things, I play video games and watch movies. I am EXACTLY what my parents feared I would become, and I take pride in that.

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58 Comments

  1. Well to be fair to the Grizzly man, he lived out there for almost three whole years without any problem. The only stupid thing he did was bring his girlfriend out, at which point the bears clearly became much more aggressive. Say what you will about the guy, but I respect him for trying to do what he loved, something nobody had ever tried before.

    1. He was there for 13 years and it had nothing to do with his girlfriend. The two of them were at the airport, ready to head home for the winter when Timothy got into an altercation with a staff member. He decided to go back to his bears, which were already starting winter mode. Food was scarce and bears were starving. The bear that killed them was very hungry.

  2. Watch “There’s something wrong with Aunt Diane”.

    I still can’t imagine how horrifying the last 10 to 15 minutes in that van must have been for those kids.

    You can see how fucked up it is, solely from the family’s inability to grasp the reality of what happened.

    I’m not going to ruin it any more than that.

  4. I know you already posted about this but “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” is the most effed up documentary I have ever seen.

    no cursing, no nudity… it starts off pretty nicely… but totally changes the way you look at humans by the end.

    I especially caution parents with children to watch it because you will cry and it will always stay with you…..

  7. Unfortunately, the events of Zoo happened not 10 miles from where I live. Hell, I played Enumclaw High School every year in football. I have no need to see that movie because I’ve read waaaaay too much about it via the local paper.

  9. Check out “SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist”.

    This movie is nasty. BUT it gives you a peek at a different sort of life(life of illness and pain and weirdness), and is worth seeing.

  10. @Uncoolaidman

    I thought it was that he was hanging around the bears around the time they were going to hibernate, and where desperate for food? Maybe I’m remembering that wrong . . .

    @Dagda

    Dear Zachary is shocking, and entertaining, but it’s sooooo manipulative. The only reason it’s shocking is because the director decided to “twist” everything and not tell you the truth. It’s not traumatizing in the least, but it is fun to watch. I don’t know how seriously I’d take it . . .

  12. Watched Zoo a couple years ago… sure the people are insane and disgusting, but hearing the 1 line synopsis is the most disturbing thing about it. Really you just get to hear from the crazies themselves their rationale as to why they think what they do is ok. Plus the guy is known as Mr. Hands… how hilarious is that?

    although there’s archive footage with a nightvision camera that you may want to skip. of course these sick fu**s taped it. what did you expect?

  13. “There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane” and “How To Die In Oregon,” were BEYOND traumatizing for me.

    +++SPOILER ALERT!!!!!+++

    I felt what was worse than this horrific accident was the state of total denial that the family of Diane Schuler, the woman who caused the fatal accident that killed 8 people, herself included. Despite the toxicology report saying that she was intoxicated (twice the legal, and under the influence of marijuana to boot), her survivors insist that there was more to the accident, saying that she couldn’t have done something like that. There’s nothing more traumatizing than watching the denial from the husband and sister-in-law while looking at the death and destruction of Diane Schuler’s actions.

    “How To Die in Oregon,” about assisted suicide is just heartbreaking. You get to know these people, and you try not to think that these people are planning on killing themselves.
    Even though the person’s actual death is not shown, there’s a scene when you KNOW when it’s happening. Heartbreaking.

    1. I just watched how to die in oregon a few nights ago. It was a very emotional movie for me to watch. It was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. I shed many tears while watching.

    2. i sobbed while watching How to die in Oregon. Especially the last scene, and it just ended. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. It really was heartbreaking, and opened my eyes to how gruesome death can be to people.

  14. Deliver Us From Evil – “Documentary about Father Oliver O’Grady, a Catholic priest who was relocated to various parishes around the United States during the 1970s in an attempt by the Catholic Church to cover up his rape of dozens of children.”

    Extremely disturbing.

  15. ^ Good call, my mind made me forget that movie. In that film, at one point, they interview him about his motives, while he is a hundred feet from a playground full of children, and it was the single creepiest thing I have ever seen. To everyone else, this Zachary thing is intriguing me now. How did I not know about this?

  16. I saw “Capturing the Friedmans” years ago and have never forgetten it. It’s about a father and son who are accused of molesting several students from their afterschool computer class. The trial happened during the 70’s. The questionable investigation tactics, family history, and the outcomes of the some of the victims along with the Friedman family are unforgettable.

    Also “Mr. Death” for the first 20 minutes or so it’s just about Fred A. Leuchter a man who builds execution equipment. Then, the lawyer of a man on trial for handing out brochures that the Holocaust is a lie asks him to go to Auschewitz and see if it the gas chambers really existed. Leuchter’s understanding of gas chambers but lack of understanding about history causes him to come the conclusion the Holocaust was fake. It’s destroys his life althoug he’s convinced he’s found the ‘truth’. If you’ve ever wondered who anyone could deny the Holocaust or want to see the fickle finger of fate lead an ordinary man down that eventually leads to be a guest speaker at anti-Holocaust events, watch this film.

  17. UGH MUST RESIST….cant’….

    Loose Change, from my perspective as both a mechanical engineer and a person who was an active duty military member during 9-11 is a bunch of crap. There are so many things technically wrong with what they say about physics, let alone the heavy editing and outright intentional disinformation…

    Sorry. I couldn’t help it. That “film” pisses me off.

    But for a real f-d up documentary “Chicken Hawk”. Its basically an older flick showing a couple of NAMBLA members explaining their views and trying to justify their attempts at getting pedophilia legalized. Hearing these men talk like the whole problem is that society has just a hangup on sexuality or the whole issue is that people aren’t getting NAMBLA’s message is…like REALLY creepy. You can find it on youtube. Watch it…and then watch the Sandusky phone interview again. Yep…he ends up sounding and using the same phrases as those guys in the documentary do.

  18. In Grizzly Man, it took over 6 minutes for him to die as the bear was eating him, and of course there is audio of the whole thing. The sound his girlfriend made was has been likened to is the sound hunters make to imitate a wounded animal to bring prey near.

  19. “The Bridge”
    It’s a doc about why people from all over the world come to San Francisco to jump (commit suicide) off the Golden Gate Bridge.
    I know you said no snuff films, but this film is not about the deaths (of which you see many) but it’s about why people seem to flock to it to die. During the months of filming they captured at least one suicide every fifteen days on average. The camera men were on the shore and would film anyone who seemed to be there for something other than sightseeing. If while filming these people (from great distance away) and suspected them of planning of jumping, they’d call the police.
    They interview family members, rescuers, and a man who survived his jump. The film is a very intimate look into the final moments of a persons life and trys to find out why so many people come to the GGB to jump.

  20. Dear Zachary does have it’s moments but it is filmed and twisted in a way that some viewers could get upset about. And as far as Grizzly Man is concerned, it was a bear that was starving that killed them, free meal wrapped up in a tent.

    Also the “Life in a Day” seems like a shorter take on the “Up Series” where all the they do is lives of a select few starting when they where age 7. There are 7 of them so far and each new one comes out every 7 years and we are expecting to get the 8th one, “56 Up”, in May of 2012.

    The Paradise Lost docs are amazing. Three movies cover the incarceration of three teens convicted of killing kids.

    I know you don’t want to watch a doc about your food but Food Inc. is an great watch about America’s food industry. Not too many behind the scenes stuff but there are a few images that are fucked up and just the thought about it is ALMOST enough to cause you to go vegetarian.

    Tapped is a good one covering bottled water, plus it’s on Netflix stream. This one really touched me and changed the way I consume water. I know only drink tap water and have purchased a few Britta sport bottles that I will fill up.

  21. Remy, how did you see Kill Me if You Can? I looked for it on Amazon/Netflix with no luck, probably because it’s UK, but let me know your secrets. Might I also recommend Crazy Love, about a guy who becomes so obsessed with his younger mistress when she breaks things off that he hires goons to blind her with lye. Best part is, that is for realsies just the half of it. Not necessarily traumatizing, but it definitely made the hubs and I go “JIGGA WHAAAAAAAT?!”

    Dear Zachary totally hits like a ton of bricks but is absolutely emotional manipulation in its purest form. I don’t think that’s a reason not to watch it, though.

  22. So far no one has mentioned it but the “Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On” is an interesting documentary which I found it quite disturbing.

    It follows a rather (or very) insane man named Kenzo, Japanese WW2 vet, who is desperate to find out the truth of what happen to two of his fellow soldiers from his old unit who were mysteriously murdered in the jungles of New Guinea after he left the island towards the end of WW2. Kenzo tracks down and confronts the survivors of his old unit to shake out any information as to what happend to his dead buddies, sometimes literally beating the story out of them.

    Anyone here who knows a little bit of history about the Pacific Theatre of WW2 probably already has a good idea about what happen to Kenzo’s freinds.

  23. Life in a day was amazing. The chick in her car at the very end was so perfect I felt like it had to be scripted. But yeah, I agree with the cow scene. That shit was uncalled for. Snuff is more about the possibility of snuff films existing (in the sense that they exist in 7mm say) than it is an actual snuff film.

    There is a doc on netflix about Albert Fish who was this dude that killed and ate a little girl and then sent her mom letters teasing about how he did it and what it tasted like. Apparently dude used to stick needles in his taint and rose stems in his dick. Pretty effed up stuff to be sure.

  24. Guys, thank you. This thread is amazing, and I tend to take notes anytime you guys talk, so suffice it to say, my list of must see’s has just grown considerably. @Siham, the pedophile stuff is a bit tough to take for me at times, so I try to avoid it, but the second film sounds like it would be staggering @ Diablo, do not apologize, it is a very dividing subject, and honestly, I truly respect both sides of the fence on it and I appreciate your feedback any way you are willing to give it. @HatergonnaHate, The Bridge sort of messed me up to be honest. I know that sounds strange after reading this list ( I am a real person with feelings, I swear!) but the suicide thing can be a tough subject for me as a result of some friends and some choices they made, that being said, I apologize if that makes me a somewhat biased journalist, BUT, that movie is truly amazing.@Critical Bill, good call with Paradise Lost, but I felt there was a good chance more people had at least heard of that, so I didn’t put it, but those movies do hit like a fist to the gut. Lastly, SaraC, Although I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS FOR I RESPECT ALL OF THE INTERNET’S STANDARDS AND PRACTICES, if you type KILL ME IF YOU CAN and “watch free” into your Google, you MAY very well get a site that streams documentaries for free. It ran as a TV show on BBC so don’t feel too guilty about it if you do stream it. Hahahaha.

  25. It’s funny that you find Zoo traumatizing without seeing it. I haven’t seen the movie, but I think I have seen the real footage. Keep in mind that I didn’t look for it. I just can’t resist clicking on a “this is the most disturbing video I’ve ever seen video”. It’s pretty sick and I’m not planning on watching the movie.

    Speaking of bestiality. There is one documentary that I find hilarious and kind of disturbing at the same time. It’s The Vice Guide To Sex – Asses Of The Caribbean. You can watch in on Vice.com.

  27. I found a really disturbing, slightly funny doc called
    “I Married the Eiffel Tower”.
    Its about people who are in love with inanimate objects, like one woman is in love with a carnival ride, another woman loves the Golden Gate Bridge. Its really disturbing, and the ending is…whoa. I don’t want to give it away. I think the BBC did the doc, and its on Youtube if anyone is interested.

  28. I’m sorry, but the ‘journalist’-and I use that term very loosely-responsible for this article is a joke. I don’t understand the thinking behind calling a list ‘seven-utterly-traumatizing-documentaries’, and then not watching one because of its content? Not only that, but to then diss a renowned film festival for giving said movie and award, despite not having watched the movie in question?!

    Very weak… then again, your name is ‘Remy’…

  29. The one that got me was Catfish.

    Bizarrely, it features no sex, and no violence, just a pervadingly creepy atmosphere.

    Most people have probably seen it by now, but it’s about a photographer who receives a painting of one of his photographs from an 8 year-old girl who lives in a small rural town. Over a couple of months he develops a relationship with the whole family, then things get interesting.

    I’ve seen that Kill Me If You Can . .. . I was studying in Germany during the trial, so i knew the details fairly well, and i was still shocked.

  30. Oli, You may be the silliest person I have encountered online, and your apparent jealousy that I have a better job and a cooler name is delicious to feed upon. I would ask you why you are here, but honestly, people like you make this so much more fun and interesting so thank you. By the way, cool pic, brah! Love the button up and the gel in the hair….

  31. Some doc’s in my collection:

    – American Cannibal (a spin on “Reality TV”)
    – Nightmares in Red White and Blue (what Americans have nightmares about)
    – Off The Chain (the culture of dog fights)
    – We Have Ways of Making You Talk (the VERY interesting art of “interrogation”)
    – The Bridge (already mentioned above – and it really touched me because I went on a roadtrip with this as my destination, and I saw the GGB as a symbol of my success through perseverance, and not as the last tangible object in my life before dying)

  34. Oh, and apparently I missed KONY by about a day, no joke. But I am glad, actually, because nothing infuriates me more than when a bunch of people who are not politically active suddenly become politically active, but only THROUGH FACEBOOK and for a cause they ultimately know little about, but they know enough to know it is en vogue to hate it.

  35. because of this list, thanks again Remy (best name ever) ive already seen two of the documentaries, although i guess dear zachary wasnt on your list. kill me if you can was so bizarre. i will admit you migggghhhtt have hyped it up a tad bit, but it was still amazing. but jesus h christ, dear zachary was, without a doubt, the most fucked up doc, and maybe movie, ive ever seen. how can people on this thread say that the filmmaker was manipulative? yea he makes you feel sorry for two of the sweetest people in the entire world. what a jerk! anyway, cant wait to see these other docs. i think im gonna try zoo and see how far i can make it thru…

  36. Pingback: 5 Articles I Wrote That Are Better Than This One | Remy Carreiro

  37. How has nobody mentioned Titticut Follies? Perhaps not as disturbing now, but back then, seeing the way we treated out less fortunate – wow.

  38. Regarding ‘life in a day’ and the cow scene. Pretty weak that you freak out over something that you are responsible for anyways…

    Go veggie and stand for something…

    Real men eat tofu

  39. ‘Just Melvin, Just Evil’ is one of the most disturbing dokumentaries I’ve ever seen – about a man who sexually abuses his wifes daughters and eventually his own children. Not only is it disturbing, but the ending will leave you behind with a feeling of anger. A must-see documentary!

  43. I feel like you are my hero. I am most disturbed by the fact that I have seen all of these already and that I came across your page when I typed in, “really fucked up religious documentary” on google. I am disturbing. But you, you are awesome. You win! <3

  45. Not sure if this video had video taped deaths or anything like that, the last I’ve watched this was in my high school. But maybe check out:
    “Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple”

  46. Rick Burns’ “The Donner Party” is what does it for me. Comparatively tame subject matter (!), but eerie as hell. Worse, the pacing and music are actually a bit relaxing…which means you run the risk of falling asleep while watching it. This is not recommended.

  47. ‘Child of rage’ is classic disturbing stuff. Old doc about 6 year-old girl who has no empathy and tortures her brother and animals, because she was abused when really young, and she remembers. Just horrible. But good to know she ended up okay. It’s all on youtube.

  50. Interesting and informative documentary that just happens to be slightly traumatizing: Titicut Follies, about a state insane asylum back in the 60’s. It starts with a man lying naked on a gurney, and some guy with a cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth is running a tube through his nose to feed him because he won’t eat. The rest of the film is pretty much the same way.

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