Horror movies are capable of a lot of things, and it’s why I’m not always keen to compare one horror release to another. After all, both Halloween and, say, Martyrs are trying to accomplish different things and incite different reactions. On a technical level, sure, they merit comparison, but beyond that, they’re both horror movies, and they have different goals.
That’s why it’s largely impossible to say any one movie is better, scarier, or more disturbing than another. Every audience is different, and every movie endeavors to do something different. Consider that The Innocents disturbs me as much as Inside, and you’ll catch my drift. There are, however, some steadfast offerings that, yeah, pretty much earn the honor of “most disturbing ever.” One such film, Hans Herbots’ The Treatment, might reasonably be the most disturbing movie ever made. It’s haunted me for the better part of the decade, and I still can’t shake it. Now, the film is streaming free. If you’re brave enough, check out The Treatment streaming on Tubi now:
Per Tubi: Still haunted by his own brother’s unsolved kidnapping, a detective is assigned the case of a missing nine-year-old that hits uncannily close to home.
I know people, especially horror audiences, love to throw the word “disturbing” around like confetti. But trust me– I don’t use the word here lightly. The Treatment is seriously messed up, all the more so for how impeccably scripted and crafted the entire thing is. Exploitation and grotesqueries are easy—probing psychological thrills that reach down into your soul and strangle it out is another thing altogether. The Treatment is the latter.
In a retrospective on The Treatment several years ago, I wrote, “Cinema operates in many forms. Sometimes for laughs and jumps, and other times to interrogate our darkest sins. The Treatment is thoroughly disturbing and exceptionally well-made. A filmic banshee screech, its power endures long after the lights are back on.” It’s powerful, propulsive cinema that will genuinely change who you are as a person. It’s dark, uncomfortable, but worth enduring if you can manage it. It’s art as an endurance test, and a must-see for genre fans who think they’ve seen it all before.
Check out the trailer for the most disturbing movie I’ve ever seen:
What do you think? Any plans to check out The Treatment on Tubi? Please note that the film contains considerable trigger warnings. If you do check it out, let me know your thoughts over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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