These films pushed boundaries far beyond what audiences could stomach... Join us as we count down the most controversial scary movies that caused protests, censorship, and bans worldwide. From religious outrage to government seizures, these horror flicks didn't just scare viewers—they offended entire nations!
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most controversial
00:15scary movies that caused protests, censorship, bans, or all three.
00:2710. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
00:37Forget Texas. Leatherface's name barely made it to theatres at all. At the time, his
00:42chainsaw-wielding hijinks pushed the envelope where violence on the big screen was concerned.
00:47And censors pushed back. Hard. Distributors wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole, let alone
01:02send it overseas. Then, when people finally did get their eyes on it, most were horrified
01:07by what they saw, calling it gratuitous, disgusting, and unfit for general audiences. While later
01:14reviews would turn the Texas Chainsaw Massacre into the horror darling it is today, it spent
01:19the first few years of its existence as a total pariah of filmmaking.
01:289. Martyrs
01:41A damnation of religious zealousness mixed with some gross-out body horror, it's no surprise
01:47Martyrs has a sour legacy in the viewer reception category. The French film is best experienced
02:02without any prior knowledge. But fair warning, you should proceed with caution. And maybe
02:08a bath bag. The heaping amount of bloodshed against women left many first-time viewers
02:18aghast, with some allegedly walking out of the film's premiere. Given the religious connotations
02:24too, Martyrs stirred up a lot of fuss over whether it was appropriate for a theatrical
02:28release. In a way, we guess you could say it was its own martyr of the horror genre.
02:348. I Spit on Your Grave
02:47Perhaps the most infamous revenge tale ever cemented to film, I Spit on Your Grave is
02:52gruesome to the point of excess. Even though that's the point, the cinematic merit didn't
02:57fly with some moviegoers, who felt the violence was needlessly over the top. Both the infamous
03:02half-hour attack on Jennifer, and the hour of bloody vengeance that follows. The movie
03:08almost got an X rating on its original release, but that's still better than overseas countries
03:14like Germany, Norway, Ireland, and the UK, where the flick has never seen an official
03:19theatrical release at all. Guess that's one way to get ahead of a controversy.
03:327. Freaks
03:35Ironically, the very people Freaks tried to highlight are part of the reason full scenes
03:51are now lost media. The film, following a travelling circus of misfits, was made at
03:56a time when physical differences weren't treated with the same understanding that they
04:00are today. As a result, many found the movie's content repulsive or exploitative, especially
04:06since Freaks tried to actually humanise its namesake characters. The film's thriller elements
04:28proved so divisive, in fact, that large swaths of the finished edits were trimmed from the
04:33theatrical release in order to make it more palatable. The lost footage has yet to be
04:38recovered, leaving Freaks as an unfinished gem.
04:506. Antichrist
05:01With that kind of name, it's no surprise this horror flick dives heavily into religious
05:06undertones. What most people didn't expect was a fast and loose sexual fantasy masquerading
05:12as a horror film. There are scenes in Antichrist that defy description, whether it be because
05:17it's so scary or so freaky. Either way, the film faced many cries for censorship from
05:22just about every country it managed to see the light of day in. Faithful non-believers,
05:28horror junkies, whatever, everyone had some issue with Antichrist. If you ever see it
05:33for yourself, you'll understand why. It'll be the most off-putting two hours of your
05:37life.
05:435. The Last House on the Left
05:56While Texas Chainsaw Massacre and I Spit on Your Grave continued the trend of sensationalized
06:01violence in horror films, it's this Wes Craven flick that arguably started it. The story
06:06is infamous by now. A girl is abducted, subjected to unspeakable crimes, and eventually killed.
06:15Later, the perpetrators take shelter with the parents of their latest victim. Cold and
06:23bitter revenge ensues. Admirably, The Last House on the Left does not shy away from the
06:29grisly realities of the situation. But it also happened to be so graphic, it had literal
06:34protesters outside of movie theaters. Although, in hindsight, that may have just made it even
06:42more popular.
06:464. A Serbian Film
06:51That's not a typo. It's really the name of the movie. Don't worry, main character
07:04Miloš is just as confused when he's cast in a film featuring some highly questionable
07:10scenes, like the kind highly questionable that we can't say without being demonetized.
07:26Actions speak louder than words, so we'll leave it at the fact that you can't even watch
07:31a Serbian film in the Philippines or Ireland, not China, Spain, or Australia either. Honestly,
07:37it might be faster to list the places that it isn't banned. You know you're dealing with
07:41crazy subject matter when whole countries come together to keep your movie away.
07:513. Sarlo or The 120 Days of Sodom
08:09How far is art allowed to go? That's one of the many questions brought up in this spine-tingling
08:15think piece. Evidently, most of the audience said that the line is somewhere in Sarlo's
08:20first 10 minutes. The issue is that the movie goes on for another hour and a half, filling
08:25the screen with some of the most vile themes and imagery ever conceived. No wonder it's
08:39had more controversies than premieres. It can be difficult to appreciate Sarlo's thematic
08:43weight when it's surrounded by such depraved content, a fact that contemporary audiences
08:49were unable to get over. It's caused it all. Bans, protests, clutched pearls, the whole shebang.
08:552. The Exorcist
09:11Just like the power of Christ compelled the demon out of Regan's body, it also coerced
09:28most moviegoers to grab their pitchforks. The Exorcist's unrelenting depiction of a
09:33demonic possession was already a tough sell, but then the movie had to go and come out
09:38around the holidays, right in time to stir up a web of religious backlash. Some showings
09:58were cancelled on the grounds of its demonic content alone. Others managed to slip through,
10:03but with strict rules prohibiting the entry of minors. One protectionist was even arrested
10:08for showing the film, with authorities calling it obscene. Given all that, it's amazing The
10:13Exorcist still made as much money as it did. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to
10:30our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos. You have the option
10:36for occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
10:41and switch on notifications. 1. Cannibal Holocaust
10:46It's not every day that you find a movie so incredibly disturbing, it's actually illegal.
10:56That's not hyperbole. The finished film was seized by Italian authorities prior to release,
11:02and the filmmakers were all charged with obscenity. It's just that bad.
11:07Depicted in part as the remaining footage of a journalistic expedition, Cannibal Holocaust
11:25features a series of bloody encounters with, you guessed it, cannibals. It's gross,
11:32and notoriously difficult to track down on account of how many times it's been banned
11:36by governments. If you do manage to get past the boycotts and find a copy,
11:40consider yourself one of the lucky, or unlucky, few.
11:44Did any of these horror films deserve the backlash? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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