films / books
films
— Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
content warnings: sexual assalt, torture, verbal descriptions of csa, violence, coprophagia
One of the most well-known "disturbing movies" of all time, Salò takes inspiration from the De Sade novel The 120 Days of Sodom and moves the setting to the Republic of Salò, during the last days of Italian fascism. It's a deeply political movie, which shows numerous atrocities being committed by people who eventually get away with it and go on to live normal lives; it's a critique of the "just following orders" rhetoric, produced during a time where these order-followers were still roaming the streets (and eventually killed the director of this film, Pier Paolo Pasolini). The scenes of torture themselves are all interesting by themselves too, but, if you think the content in the warnings won't be too much for you, I'll leave you to experiencing it for yourself.
— Natural Born Killers (1994)
content warnings: sexual assalt, extreme violence, child sexual abuse
Very bloody. Very campy. Definitely a fun movie. The two main themes are the codependent relationship between the two main characters and the way the media makes a spectacle out of their rampage. It's one of those movies where the way the viewer interacts with the art is part of the message, but it doesn't chastise you for enjoying the violence. It's up to you whether the message is muddled by how fun the violence is or whether separating reality from fiction allows you to hit the sweet spot between watching the fun action and taking in the social commentary, as a viewer.
— Tenderness of the Wolves (1973)
content warnings: child sexual abuse
A serial killer preys on boys and young men. It's a kind of slow, quiet movie, in which the horror is shoved inbetween the mundane, with great performances and cinematography.
— Happiness (1998)
content warnings: child sexual abuse, sexual harassment
Classic Todd Solondz film: several weirdos whose lives are connected by three sisters, each desperate for connection and recognition. The most disturbing scenes are darkly comedic, in the way you laugh when you're uncomfortable.
— Igby Goes Down (2002)
content warnings: child abuse, emotional abuse, age gap relationships, addiction
Not nearly as disturbing as some of the other entries, but it's a very moving film to me for the same reasons. A seventeen year old runs away from home and builds relationships with older people, trying to act older than he actually is. Although the relationships between him and the older women he dates are not portrayed as outright abusive, the toll they take on him is evident when he has to deal with their adult problems and when he's put in second place because of his age. To me, the not overly dramatic, coming-of-age tone up until the third act expresses well the way Igby rationalises the situation he's in, thinking he's being taken seriously and that he can live an adult life.
— Festen (1998)
content warnings: child sexual abuse, incest, suicide
A fundamental Dogme 95 film, the setting of which works wonderfully with the style. Shot in a way that is reminiscent of a home video, it consists of a family reunion, during which the adult son of the patriarch of the family reveals that he and his recently deceased sister have been sexually abused by their father throughout their whole childhoods. His relatives don't believe him at first, until they're confronted with undeniable proof of the abuse.
Essential viewing for fans of Succession, as it has been cited by its creator as one of the main influences on the series.
— Crimson Peak (2015)
content warnings: child abuse, incest, domestic violence, general violence
Gothic horror, stunning visuals. It features many themes of gothic horror, such as an old, isolated house, which parallels an isolated family and represents it physically in its decay, a Bluebeard motif, the supernatural, an intrusion of the past upon the present, and of course, incest. This last aspect in particular is approached as a horrifying reveal, but with empathy for the two siblings: it keeps them stunted, stuck in a crumbling manor and hurting others to allow them to stay there, but they fell into this situation because of the abuse and neglect they were subjected to, which didn't allow them to develop a healthy attachment to each other or other people.
The way the costume design and the visuals of the house express the history of the characters and their relationships is fascinating as well, making the film suitable for numerous rewatches to pick up on each detail.
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books
— Henry Henry by Allen Bratton
content warnings: child sexual abuse, incest, addiction
Technically a Shakespeare retelling, but in practice more divorced from the source material than The Lion King is from Hamlet. Here, the main character has been sexually abused by his father since he was a teenager, and the book details how it affects every aspect of his life: his self esteem and sense of identity, his relationships, his faith, the coping mechanisms - such as substance abuse - which in turn create more problems, outlined in detailed descriptions of his sickly body, afflicted by constant fevers and chronic issues. Every interaction he has with his father, even the apparently innocent ones, are deeply uncomfortable, making you worry that something horrible will happen at every turn. It does, however, end on a hopeful note. A good character study and a gut-wrenching read at more times than I can count.
— Blood and Guts in High School by Kathy Acker
content warnings: sexual assault, child sexual abuse, incest
A deeply experimental novel, composed in a collage-like manner, starting as what appears to be a screenplay punctuated by crude illustrations and then devolving into continuously changing styles - at one point it becomes an exercise book. As for the plot, it starts with a little girl being abused by her father, rationalising it as being in a relationship with him, and follows her throughout her life.
— Fluids by May Leitz
content warnings: extreme violence, domestic abuse, sexual violence
A splatterpunk book that revolves around the toxic relationship between two women who run away together to Las Vegas. The violence in this book is surreal and over-the-top, complementing the slowly rising chaos in the minds of the characters, who at one point become so disoriented they don't know who they or the people around them are, slipping into identities and forgetting their original ones.
— Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace
content warnings: sexual assault
As the title implies, this short story collection deals with hideous men. About half of the stories are interviews or conversations transcribed by an unseen female interviewer, for purposes unknown. Many of these men present reflections on relationships, many of them exposing terribly flawed worldviews. A few of them describe sexual assault, which either happened to them or to someone they know. I categorise this collection as "dark" because of both categories: character studies that expose unnerving yet often mundande ideas. The stories that are not interviews are also very well written and interesting.
— Tre Gocce d'Acqua by Valentina D'Urbano
content warnings: pseudo-incest
Unfortunately, this one has not been translated into English yet. The main characters are both half-siblings of a brother they share, but they themselves are not technically related. That doesn't mean that their relationship is an unproblematic one, with an attraction initially sparked from a competition for their brother's affection. The book doesn't pretend that their bond is healthy; it just is, and as their lives get more complicated, dealing with disability and grief, they cling more and more to each other, until this relationship is all they have. It's an interesting, introspective novel, delving into guilt and shame and loneliness and pain.
— Penance by Eliza Clark
content warnings: murder, school shootings, child abuse
A novel constructed like a documentary, reconstructing a fictional murder case by putting together interviews, news articles, forum posts, and podcast transcripts. I particularly enjoyed the part focused on the true crime fandom, which one of the perpetrators was part of.
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