Macabro Tuesday: some of the most brutal films that exist…

By: Chuck Pereda for www.elsalvavidas.mx (abre en nueva pestaña)

Yesterday I re-watched Martyrs, I remember that the first time I saw it was at the request of a friend who called me specifically because she wanted to watch it with someone and I was her only candidate. The truth is I have a love/hate relationship with torture porn, I think some filmmakers overexploit it to cover up deep shortcomings when it comes to writing a screenplay, but when it's done well, it's relentless and maddening…

Even so, not everything on this list is torture porn, but they are films that leave you thinking about them long after you've finished watching them.

Martyrs.- The thing about Martyrs is how well-made and well-thought-out it is — it doesn't follow a conventional structure, you keep discovering things as you go, and at first you have no idea what's happening. On top of that, it's terribly violent, with a style of violence that's really messed up because it's inflicted on people you know are innocent. Then there are the film's philosophical implications and its devastating ending — honestly, it's perfect for plunging you into a seriously wicked depression.

Los Sin Nombre.- Or The Nameless, in general I really like Jaume Balagueró, but Los Sin Nombre is by far his best film. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's a detective thriller in which a mother discovers that her daughter, whom she believed dead, is alive… As with Martyrs, the ending is going to wreck you, period.

Funny Games.- Maybe the reason Funny Games works so well is because it's punk, not aesthetically — there it's completely realistic (until the moment they break the fourth wall) — but in idea and execution. A house is invaded by a pair of serial killers who are perfectly charming and polite, but horrifyingly cruel, and to add insult to injury, they don't seem to have any real reason beyond simply wanting to kill people. By the way, the remake is a frame-by-frame reproduction of the original, made by the same director, just in English.

Audition.- The two times I've done posts (this one included) about movies that even with my background as a fan of gore and horror have blown my mind, I included Audition on the list (abre en nueva pestaña). A widower takes his best friend's advice and organizes a fake casting call to find a partner and… Let's just say it doesn't go THAT well. If you're up for watching it, remember this line: “kiri, kiri, kiri… kiri, kiri, kiri…” Fair warning, though, because it's a film that's not easy to watch — you really have a rough time of it.

The Devil’s Rejects.- Rob Zombie is uneven, but when he focuses, he does really great work. That said, to avoid recapping his entire body of work, if you only had to watch one, watch The Devil’s Rejects. The family of killers introduced to us by Zombie in House of 1000 Corpses is back in a horror western straight from hell, where the good guys are even bigger sons of bitches than the bad guys — and that, precisely that, is this film's strong point.

Cannibal Holocaust.- A film whose director nearly got thrown in jail on suspicion of actually having killed people can't NOT be on this list. That's not the only horrifyingly disturbing thing about Cannibal Holocaust, though — there are extremely realistic scenes of sexual violence and real animal torture (they kill a turtle on camera); a film like this couldn't be made today (unless the turtle is CGI) — and that's fine. This strange and disturbing hybrid between Mundo Cane and The Many Faces of Death doesn't need company, sequels, or reboots. It's also the film that started the trend of found footage.