10 Most Disturbing NC-17 Movies, Ranked (original) (raw)
Characters from Killer Joe, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, and Blonde
Image by Federico Napoli
Published Jul 11, 2024, 5:30 PM EDT
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There’s a complex history to the NC-17 rating in the U.S., which is, on paper, supposed to signify movies that are for adults only. This is in contrast to the much more common R-rating, which is given to movies that are recommended for adults, with anyone wanting to see such a movie in cinemas needing an adult guardian if they’re under 17.
Somewhat confusingly, NC-17 used to mean no one under 17, but it was changed to include those who were still 17. It’s one of many messy things attached to the way ratings are issued in the U.S., all thanks to the Motion Picture Association (MPA), which used to be the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). NC-17 ratings are uncommon, because they tend to affect box office earnings, resulting in some films having their ratings appealed, some getting released unrated, and some filmmakers making cuts to get things down to an R-rating. The following films were all NC-17 at some point, or still are, or were initially released with an X-rating and then later changed to NC-17. They’re also generally confronting and boundary-pushing films, being among the most disturbing of the relatively few films given an NC-17 rating.
10 'Pink Flamingos' (1972)
Director: John Waters
Divine aiming a gun at something off-camera in Pink Flamingos.
Image via New Line Cinema
Tackling just about every taboo subject it can within the confines of a 92-minute runtime, Pink Flamingos is a brazen and confronting low-budget film that helped make John Waters one of the most beloved/infamous cult movie directors of his time. Put as simply as possible, it’s about several criminals with chaotic lives each trying to outdo the other when it comes to being as gross and antisocial as possible.
So, the crudeness and borderline horror of Pink Flamingos is very much intentional, but if it was too much for some people, that’s honestly more than understandable. It has value as a piece of cinema that wants to challenge and see just how far a movie can go, pushing against the boundaries of “good taste,” and succeeding in becoming one of the most disturbing and off-putting comedies in cinema history.
Release Date
March 17, 1972
Runtime
107 Minutes
Director
John Waters
9 'Bad Lieutenant' (1992)
Director: Abel Ferrara
Sometimes, the word “_Bad_” is used in the title of a comedy, (see Bad Santa, Bad Trip, the Bad Boys series, etc.), but there’s not really much comedy to be found in the fairly miserable film that is Bad Lieutenant. It stars Harvey Keitel as someone much more despicable than most of his gangster movie roles, because here, he’s a police detective who’s largely out of control and hardly a force for good.
It’s bleak, pessimistic stuff, even if the central character is desperately seeking redemption at times, though it continually eludes him, and he keeps falling back on bad habits. Watching the film is to see someone unlikable do unlikable things and generally cause misery for himself and others, basically non-stop. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans is a little milder and has some humor to counteract the more intense stuff, though it’s not exactly a sequel or spin-off.
8 'Crash' (1996)
Director: David Cronenberg
James Spader looking through a smashed window in Crash (1996)
Image via Alliance Communications
Not to be mixed up with that other film named Crash that somehow won Best Picture at the Oscars, 1996’s Crash comes from David Cronenberg, and sees him at perhaps his least restrained and most provocative. Just summarizing the film makes it apparent why it received an NC-17 rating, as it’s about a group of troubled people who find themselves sexually aroused by car crashes.
It Crashes together sex and violence in a way that’s certainly uncomfortable, though at least Crash doesn’t feel too exploitative or like it overdoes things. It is about something extreme, and so it’s fitting that the approach taken to exploring that topic does have its extreme moments. Like other NC-17 movies, it’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but it is a film that, once seen, is hard to shake entirely.
7 'Blonde' (2022)
Director: Andrew Dominik
Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe smiling in front of a mirror
Image via Netflix
Anyone expecting Blonde to be a straightforward biopic about Marilyn Monroe while missing the news of its NC-17 rating would’ve likely been horrified by what they saw. Blonde fictionalizes Monroe’s life and does rather disturbingly use it as a jumping-off point to explore broad issues within Hollywood, particularly regarding the way it exploited (and arguably still does exploit) young women aspiring to become movie stars.
Monroe’s life, as depicted in Blonde, is tragic and upsetting at just about every turn, with the film being uncompromising and continually unsettling, and there are few glimmers of hope or happiness to be found throughout. It’s perhaps the most high-profile NC-17-rated film of the 2020s so far, too, owing to it becoming the first movie with such a rating to be released directly to a streaming platform (Netflix), in turn likely increasing its exposure.
Release Date
September 28, 2022
Runtime
2h 46m
Director
Andrew Dominik
6 'Santa Sangre' (1989)
Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky
Concha's cult in Santa Sangre
Image via Mainline Pictures
Alejandro Jodorowsky has a directing career that’s spanned more than half a century, but the number of films he’s actually made is on the lower end for someone who’s been around so long. Still, each time he makes a film, it’s generally wild and unlike anything else out there. He doesn’t mind disturbing or even offending, and this is particularly the case when he tackled the horror genre with 1989’s Santa Sangre.
It gets surreal, intensely psychological, and very gruesome in parts, with the MPA rating speaking for itself, as it was rated NC-17 “for several scenes of extremely explicit violence.” Those who are squeamish or not particularly fond of bizarre horror movies should steer clear, but anyone who thinks they’ve seen it all might well find Santa Sangre proves them wrong.
Runtime
122 Minutes
Director
Alejandro Jodorowsky
5 'Man Bites Dog' (1992)
Directors: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
Benoît Poelvoorde as Ben in Man Bites Dog
Image Via Roxie Releasing
Darkly funny, extremely violent, and continually unsettling, Man Bites Dog is one of the most extreme mockumentaries out there that isn't Cannibal Holocaust (that one is, and always has been, unrated). Man Bites Dog is about a group of documentary filmmakers who are following a serial killer as he does his serial killing, documenting tons of unpleasant things and finding his presence changing their behavior.
Man Bites Dog is cynical about things like the media, cinema, and humanity’s continual fascination with violence, and watching it willingly can lead to self-reflection about what made one seek out such a film. It takes absolutely no prisoners and has a high level of violent content, which is only slightly mitigated by the fact that the movie can be, at times, funny/satirical, albeit in a very bleak way.
Runtime
95 Minutes
Director
Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde
4 'Killer Joe' (2011)
Director: William Friedkin
Matthew McConaughey in Killer Joe
Image via LD Entertainment
Age did not wear down William Friedkin’s propensity to shock and awe as a director. He rose to prominence through 1970s films like the non-stop and downbeat The French Connection, as well as the (at the time) controversial The Exorcist, with one of the best efforts from later in his career being in the form of Killer Joe… another movie that takes some pretty significant risks and pulls few punches.
It's about a criminal scheme that spirals out of control, with the titular contract killer (played by Matthew McConaughey) getting involved and not taking the whole mess lightly. It’s a stripped-down and small-scale film, with limited locations and characters, but it keeps the suspense high throughout. And, when Killer Joe wants to get uncomfortable and make its viewers squirm, it’s highly successful.
3 'In the Realm of the Senses' (1976)
Director: Nagisa Ōshima
In the Realm of the Senses is technically a romance film, but a dark one and also one that’s intentionally not “romantic,” at least not in the traditional sense. It was rated X initially, because the NC-17 rating didn’t come into effect until 1990, at which point it was re-rated to NC-17. Time hasn’t really diluted its impact, either, because it still has the capacity to alarm and unnerve.
It explores a sexual relationship between two people that, as it gets more intense, also becomes more violent and alarming, with there being a slow but deliberate build throughout, ensuring In the Realm of the Senses gradually becomes more confronting. It is a powerful film that achieves what it sets out to do, but it’s good to be at least a little aware of what you're getting into before watching it.
2 'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover' (1989)
Director: Peter Greenaway
Helen Mirren as Georgina Spica wearing red while sitting at the table in The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.
Image via Miramax
The gangster genre is often associated with U.S. cinema, but there have been countless great films from around the world that have told stories about some form of organized crime. One of the best of these is The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover which, despite the title, has its “thief” be more of a crude gangster who antagonizes everyone around him, especially his wife, who decides to get back at him by having an affair.
Discomfort, explicit sexual activity, and graphic violence follow, but despite the confronting subject matter, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover is also oddly beautiful and visually/aurally striking. Anyone who wants to check it out should be warned, though, that they may never be able to see the late Michael Gambon’s Dumbledore in the same way ever again, given how unforgettably terrifying he is as the antagonist here.
Runtime
124 Minutes
Director
Peter Greenaway
1 'A Serbian Film' (2010)
Director: Srđan Spasojević
A woman looking out a window in A Serbian Film (2010)
Image via Unearthed Films
Infamously having a reputation for being one of the most frequently banned horror movies in film history, A Serbian Film earned its NC-17 rating and then some. It’s about an adult film actor taking part in what he thinks will be some kind of provocative art film, but comes to realize that those behind the movie have other intentions, and ways of making him do things he’s – to put it mildly – not comfortable doing.
It starts out disturbing and then just spirals further into despair, with the rating being given “For extreme aberrant sexual and violent content including explicit dialogue.” Even those who’ve seen their fair share of extreme horror movies might well find that A Serbian Film is too much to handle, and it feels like a no-brainer pick when it comes to selecting which NC-17 movies are the most disturbing.
Release Date
June 11, 2010
Runtime
104 Minutes
Director
Srđan Spasojević