The 10 most violent horror movies ever made, including Terrifier 3
DexertoDoes the sight of blood set your nerve endings on fire? Do you live for the sound of screams? If so, you’re in the right place.
For as long as cinema has existed, people have loved to be scared – that’s why we have horror movies, yet as cinema has evolved and people have chased greater and greater thrills, what’s more thrilling than a touch of the old ultraviolence?
Yes, as horrifying as it is to admit, there’s a certain glee to be found in watching people do terrible things to each other from the safety of your comfy couch. But what are the most violent horror movies ever made? Well, we’ve put together a list that answers that question.
A quick note, though: I can’t recommend all the movies on this list; this article is written for those intrigued by violence – the vi-curious, if you will. Basically, it is for film fans who want the superficial thrill of bloodshed without actually watching the horror. It should be obvious reading which films I like and which I loathe, but if you do decide to binge these violent horror movies, then don’t send me your therapist’s bill.
Braindead/Dead Alive (1992 )
Trimark PicturesDirector: Peter Jackson
Cast: Timothy Balme, Diana Peñalver, Elizabeth Moody, Ian Watkin
What it’s about: Lovable loser Lionel’s life is turned upside down when he falls head over heels for the enchanting Paquita. Sadly, Lionek’s burgeoning romance is ruined when the rat-monkey of Sumatra bites his controlling mother, and she slowly mutates into one of the grossest-looking zombies of all time.
What makes it so violent? Braindead is a movie that takes refuge in its audacity, and everything about it is over the top. The kills are bloody and brutal, the jokes are gruesome and gross, and the characters are a bunch of weirdos, to be honest.
Yet, arguably, what really makes this film a cult classic is its commitment to cartoonish violence. Once the zombies arrive on the scene, Braindead turns into a carnival of gore with characters chopping off arms, biting each other, and stuffing babies into blenders. It’s a live-action Tom and Jerry cartoon with zombies, and it all builds to a grisly crescendo when Lionel mows (pun unintended) through the horde of undead with a lawnmower, turning them into grisly confetti.
Ichi the Killer (2001)
Media BlastersDirector: Takashi Miike
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto
What it’s about: Based on a manga of the same name, Ichi the Killer follows a group of Yakuza thugs who manipulate a disturbed young man into becoming their personal assassin.
What makes it so violent? Movies have a terrible habit of glamorizing criminals, whether it be the admittedly superficial civility of the Corleone family or the swagger and charm of thieves like Danny Ocean. Takashi Miike however, takes a different track for Ichi. He presents the world of organized crime as a cruel and brutal place where the powerful use the weak for their own ends, where violence isn’t a last resort; it’s the only option.
Unsurprisingly, then, there is something incredibly shocking about the unflinching barbarity on display in this film. There’s no visceral thrills in seeing arterial spray hit the walls or joy in watching a villain get their just desserts, there’s no post-murder glow: just a hollow absence that’ll leave you questioning why you chose to watch it.
I Spit On Your Grave (1978)
The Jerry Gross OrganizationDirector: Meir Zarchi
Cast: Camille Keaton, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace
What it’s about: Jennifer Hills is a writer living in Manhattan who takes a trip to the countryside in the hopes of clearing her head and writing her first novel. Those plans are brought to a screeching halt, however, when she’s attacked and sexually assaulted by four men. Traumatized but not broken, Jennifer takes bloody revenge on the men who attacked her.
What makes it so violent? Described by preeminent film critic Roger Ebert as a “bag of hot garbage,” I Spit on Your Grave is an undeniably tough watch. Its scenes of sexual violence are as harrowing now as they were in 1978, and Zarchi pulls no punches when it comes to depicting the terrors Jennifer must endure.
Yet, beneath the grime and bruises, there’s something close to empowering in seeing Jennifer rise up and dominate the men who once dominated her. It’s a catharsis of sorts to see her take something from the men who took something from her, yet there’s also horror in knowing that what these monsters stole from her wasn’t her body; it was her soul.
A Serbian Film (2010)
Unearthed FilmsDirector: Srđan Spasojević
Cast: Srđan Todorović, Sergej Trifunović, Jelena Gavrilović
What it’s about: A retired porn star is convinced to go back to work in order to support his young family. What happens next is too bleak and horrible for me to type out.
What makes it so violent? To call A Serbian Film deliberately provocative would be an understatement; it exists only to shock and revel in its gruesome scenes of sexual violence. I hate it; you’d probably hate it, and it doesn’t belong in anyone’s movie collection. It belongs in the bin.
Guinea Pig 2: Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985)
Director: Hideshi Hino
Cast: Hiroshi Tamura, Kirara Yūgao
What it’s about: Based on a manga, Flower of Flesh and Blood follows a murderous man dressed as a samurai who drugs and kidnaps a woman. Taking his victim home, the samurai gets to work “disassembling” the woman and turning her into a “Flower of Flesh and Blood”.
What makes it so violent? If scenes of vivisection and amputation are your thing, then you’ll probably love this film, and the practical effects are arguably awe-inspiring. In fact, they’re so remarkable that many who’ve watched the film (including Charlie Sheen) became convinced it was a real snuff film.
While that’s not true, the film does have a sadly controversial legacy beyond its depiction of violence. Flower of Flesh and Blood supposedly inspired the notorious crimes of Japanese serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki. For the record, that’s probably not true – police found Guinea Pig 4 in Tsutomu’s video collection, not 2 – but the myth has spread far and wide nonetheless, giving this movie an even more ghoulish prestige.
Men Behind the Sun (1988)
Grand Essex EnterprisesDirector: T. F. Mou
Cast: Gang Wang, Hsu Gou, Tie Long Jin
What it’s about: A shocking historical horror, this harrowing film tells the story of Unit 731– the Imperial Japanese Army’s secret biological weapons unit – and depicts the cruel and unusual experiments they conducted.
What makes it so violent? A deliberately and casually cruel film, Men Behind The Sun (like so many films on this list) isn’t the type of thing you put on after Sunday dinner. The film features a grisly autopsy scene when a curious scientist harvests a young Chinese boy’s organs, a man literally coughs up his own guts, and (worst of all) a cat is eaten alive by rats. Honestly, gore aside, though, there’s no fun to be had with this exploitative schlock; it’s just sad. Speaking of sadness…
The Sadness (2021)
Raven Banner EntertainmentDirector: Kū Bēi
Cast: Berant Zhu, Regina, Tzu-Chiang Wang
What it’s about: A zombie movie with a twist, The Sadness follows Jim and Kat as they struggle to survive against a horde driven to homicidal madness by a virulent new plague.
What makes it so violent? In general, zombie movies are always shockingly violent, yet there’s something about The Sadness that makes it stand out even in this bloody genre. It’s gory and gross, of course, but what makes it truly grim is the way the infected kill; they’re not hungry ghouls trying to grab a bite to eat (a gruesome but understandable impulse).
They’re brutal sadists who enjoy hurting their victims for the sake of causing pain. As a result, the violence we see feels all the more unsettling, as there’s no logic behind it. It’s just wanton cruelty. Thrown in a hint of infanticide (yep, we’re euthanizing babies in this) and ending so dark you’ll need a nightlight, and you have a recipe for one of the grisliest films ever to crawl out of Taiwan.
I Saw the Devil (2010)
ShowboxDirector: Kim Jee-woon
Cast: Lee Byung-hun, Choi Min-sik
What it’s about: Kim Soo-hyun, a spy with Koreas NIS, investigates the murder and dismemberment of his beloved wife, determined to get revenge on her thriller.
What makes it so violent? Ok, so this isn’t technically a horror film (it’s an action movie), but it is extremely violent, and genre is an academic construct that I reject, so let’s get to it. Savage and manic, I Saw The Devil is a pugilistic powerhouse that offers spectacular catharsis and scenes of violence so horrific they’d turn Art the Clown’s stomach.
Carnage and bloodshed aside, though, this film’s probably worth a watch because it actually remembers to tell a decent story. The characters are empathetic, there are moments of tenderness, and it tells jokes about cannibalism! Imagine that, a film remembering you can’t just be unrelentingly bleak…
Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
United Artists EuropaDirector: Ruggero Deodato
Cast: Robert Kerman, Carl Gabriel Yorke, Francesca Ciardi
What it’s about: When a documentary crew goes missing in the Amazon rainforest while filming a movie about the alleged cannibalistic tribes who live there, a rescue crew is dispatched to learn what happened to them. Spoilers: it’s nothing good.
What makes it so violent? Like so many movies on this list, Cannibal Holocaust features some genuinely obscene scenes of violence, including but not limited to forced amputation, murder, sexual assault, actual animal abuse, and even impalement. I can’t do the bloodshed justice with words; you’ll have to track it down yourself if you’re desperate to see the mayhem.
What I can comment on, though, is what makes this film genuinely effective, and it isn’t the blood splatter. No, what makes Cannibal Holocaust so unforgettable is how plausible it all feels: the film grain, the found footage, the acting…it’s all so realistic that it lends the film a gruesome authenticity that’s hard to quantity for fundamental to the movie’s horrible atmosphere. It’s no wonder Deodato was accused of making a snuff film…
Terrifier 3 (2024)
RLJE FilmsDirector: Damien Leone
Cast: Elliott Fullam, Margaret Anne Florence, Bryce Johnson, Antonella Rose, Samantha Scaffidi, David Howard Thornton
What it’s about: Several years after her last confrontation with Art the Clown, Sienna Shaw is trying to rebuild her life. When Art and his sidekick Victoria return just in time for Christmas, Sienna must try to end the evil clown once and for all.
What makes it so violent? The answer to this is simple. Terrifier 3 is packed full of the goriest kills imaginable. Leone is never one to pull back, but with an even bigger budget to play with, his creativity runs rampant in the threequel.
Art the Clown subjects his victims to a series of heinous acts that rival that bedroom scene, using a chainsaw to cut a college student right down the middle and even recreating Patrick Bateman’s cruelest torture method. Oh, and let’s not forget the graphic moment a mirror shard is used as a sex toy.
Sound design plays a key role here, adding to the visceral nature of the movie’s brutality. And there is just So. Much. Blood. Buckets and buckets of the stuff. The sheer volume even shocked Christien Tinsley (aka the makeup artist for The Passion of the Christ).
Terrifier 3 revels in its brutality, taking a no-holds-barred approach to violence – it doesn’t even take issue with offing kids. Even the hardiest of horror fans will have their jaws on the floor.
Words by Daisy Phillipson because Tom got too sad writing about the other movies.
If you have somehow miraculously made it to the end of this lust, then well done, you have a stronger stomach than most. Why don’t you detoxify a little by checking out our list of the best sci-fi movies or best movies of 2024?