Want to be disturbed? Read on...

Which scene in Disney classic "Bambi" are you more likely to remember: the one with the woodland creature blissfully scurrying through the forest full of content and undisturbed OR the scene in which Bambi's mum is slaughtered?
It's the latter, yes? My theory is viewers like a shock, a real fright, something sick, something that'll stick in our minds and make us think: "Why did that have to happen?! she was a wonderful deer and a good mother!"

With this thought in mind, the subject I wish to discuss in this, my seminal blog, is films that disturb me.

Hell, I'll put it out there - i LOVE a good disturbance. Some of my favourite films have been ones involving bloody, savage assaults, haunting images and blood-curdling sounds. Perhaps this says more about me but these images remain in mind long after a film has ended, and keep us up at night, unable to sleep yet strangely intrigued to watch again. Baffling isn't it?

I'm not just talking about slasher-style gore-fests either, in many ways violence seems like a bit of a cop out.
Psychological thrillers are more likely to linger in mind than the run-of-the-mill slasher flick.

Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" is a prime example of this as it plays with the threat of violence and sinister activity without actually indulging in any gratuitous action until quite far into the film.

The American remake of the German original manages to maintain the "fear factor" in this unsettling tale of two polite and articulate young men who enter the holiday homes of rich families upon invitation and are reluctant to leave until they've carried out a series of sinister and excruciating games on the unfortunate souls that welcome them.

Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet (pictured) capture the essence of "creep" perfectly, with Tim Roth and Naomi Watts weeping and pleading their way through a series of torture in their own comfortable home.

It's the creeping sense of terror that slowly takes over the viewer combined with the placid, unchanging temperament of the killers that really locks this film in your mind and has you walking out of the cinema with the chilling sense of anxiety that forces you to tell everyone you know about it, lest it fester in your mind until you begin to worry about anyone that chaps your front door...

Funny Games Trailor

"Little Children" is another example of pyschological disturbance, and in this case it's all down to excellent casting. Whilst the central storyline follows the affair of Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson, it's the disturbing and malevolent presence of the town paedophile that chilled my bones. Now, offensive and "un-PC" as this may be, the image that haunted me FOR WEEKS after this film was the face of Jackie Earle-Haley.

Now THAT's what I call good casting.

The only downside with powerful and effective casting is the likelihood I'll be able to watch another film starring Jackie Earle-Haley without seeing a self-castrating paedophile are slim - that's one hell of an unlucky pigeon-hole to be thrust into. All in the name of art though, eh?

Swimming Pool clip from Little Children

The third and final example of "disturbing" I'd like to highlight is Argentinian masterclass "The Secret In Their Eyes" (El Secreto de Sus Ojos). This tale of a tormented councillor unable to move beyond a horrific murder case from years ago works on various levels. The audience join the protagonist on a tormented journey through a vast array of human emotion: love, turmoil, revenge, hatred, fear and ultimately forgiveness.

Writer/director Juan José Campanella's ability to evoke each of these emotions gives this excellent film such power before hitting us with one last breathe-taking blow that will undoubtedly linger on in the mind for weeks after viewing.

I couldn't shut up about this film after watching, and I defy anyone to watch and be unphased.
Challengers are welcome...
The Secret in their Eyes trailor


Also worth a "disturbing" swatch:
- The Exorcist (1973)
- Clockwork Orange (1971)
- The Magdalene Sisters (2002)
- The Human Centipede (2010)
- Anything by David Lynch (Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, Mullholland Drive)