Truth can be stranger than fiction. But it can also be scarier. Real life and real-life events can often induce the fear a horror movie is more likely to cause. And while films are the perfect excuse and resource for escapism, they can also provide something else that’s not exactly entertainment. We’re talking about reflections of reality that don’t have the safe word of fiction and simply deliver an adapted version of the horrifying truth. Theendings are anything but happy.
But while these films tend to be disturbing, they’re not always hard to watch. We’ve become accustomed to their existence, and we even know when to press “stop” or cover our eyes in order to avoid something traumatic. That is, if you get to watch them more than once. In the case of the following films, you probably won’t. These are non-horror films so frightening they’ve caused people to leave the theater, feel disgusted, or simply reject the opportunity to watch them. In these cases, they don’t even have to bebased on true eventsto be horrific. They just have to show you an undoctored version of something possible, a grim version of fantasy, or they have to recount a real-life event in the format of film.
These are the single most scary non-horror films to ever exist, which you will probably only watch once. If you dare.
15Schindler’s List (1993)
Schindler’s List
In Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece,Schindler’s List, the Nazis have occupied parts of Europe and started what’s known as the Holocaust. Concentration camps, where Jews are subjected to labor, torture, and death, are common. Only one member of the Nazi Party thinks differently. Oskar Schindler owns a factory, and he uses a hiring process to save as many victims as possible, making him one of the most important people in the Jewish community to this day.
A Horrific Glimpse Into War That No One Will Ever Forget
An emotionally devastating film that was irreversibly imprinted on people’s minds,Schindler’s Listis a remarkable depiction of war and the horrors that ensue with power. The director made sure to make a realistic and gripping film featuring the truthful aspects of conflict and not necessarily battlefield violence. Instead, he goes for another version of violence. A psychological one that resonates through a horrific portrayal of malice. This is a film thatshould make denierstake back their words. To this day, it’s a film that’s so horrifying that people have trouble rewatching it. That is, if they dare at all to rewatch it.
Rent on Prime Video
14Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford’s thrillerNocturnal Animalstells the story of Susan Morrow, a wealthy art dealer who’s trying to leave her past behind. However, when her ex-husband Edward comes knocking and asks Susan to read a manuscript, she realizes the past is back to haunt her. How? In the form of a horrific horror book that Edward seems to have written for her, and to let her know a couple of things. This is a very underrated film thateveryone should watchat some point, featuring great performances by Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
A Trip Inside the Twisted Mind of a Hurt Man
The film is told mostly from the perspective of Edward’s interpretation. But such interpretation is reflected in the book, which features eerily similar characters to those in reality. The thing is, what they go through is a jarring experience of sadistic violence and nihilism that could only come from the mind of a scorned man. One would say that it’s better if Edward reflected repressed desires in a story he writes, but the effect this has on Susan is nonetheless a very terrorizing one. Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Ray is the main reason why people find it very hard to watch this again. That man is the best representation of evil in recent years.
Rent on Apple TV
13Testament (1983)
InTestament, a small American town is shaken by the launch of a nuclear bomb. It doesn’t exactly fall near, but the effects and fallout don’t take long to appear. The film is told from the perspective of Carol, a mother whose husband never returns after the morning the bomb hits, and who is forced to care for her children as they slowly start suffering from the aftermath. It stars Jane Alexander in an Academy Award-nominated performance.
The Aftermath of War Becomes Much too Real
When it comes tofilms about the threat of nuclear war, most are told from the perspective of military leaders trying to prevent conflict. However, inTestament,there are no uniforms, banners, or broadcasts. This is the portrayal of a family that’s unaware of the consequences of war, as everything that happens isn’t exactly what the books tell. The film’s very hard to watch because it isn’t hopeful at all: It is simply an account of a mother unsuccessfully trying to save herself and her children.Testamentis realistic and raw, and it has no limits when showing the effects of nuclear warfare. Just a quick note: It isn’t a graphic film at all.
12The NeverEnding Story (1984)
The Neverending Story
The NeverEnding Storytells the story of what happens when Bastian Bux is given a sort of magical book. After hiding in a bookstore when chased by bullies, the bookseller gives Bastian a book titledThe Neverending Story. Naturally, Bastian hides in his school attic to read it. Then the film turns over to what happens in the story he’s reading: a magical journey by Atreyu, a young warrior, who must save the kingdom of Fantasia from a devouring force called The Nothing. At its time, it was an extraordinary fantasy film. Luckily, it’s a film thathasn’t been remade, but let’s not give them any ideas.
Fantasy Gets Scary. Too Scary
ButThe NeverEnding Storywas also a very scary film. The Nothing, as a concept, is terrifying. It’s a shapeless force of nature with the capacity to exterminate worlds. Additionally, children at the time were treated to a heartbreaking death scene that still makes many people cry, even adults. Oh yes, a wolf-like creature named Gmork also hunts Atreyu, and the young warrior is forced to face the Southern Oracle, which is a set of two statues that shoot laser beams out of their eyes and have the capacity to liquefy everyone who doubts themselves as they pass. How can we not be traumatized after watching that?
Stream on Max
112001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most well-known films. A science-fiction epic, the film tells the story of the journey of Discovery One, a spacecraft operated by a group of scientists, astronauts, and a sentient computer, on a mission to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious monolith. Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Kubrick combines sparse dialogue with the heavy use of scoring and ambiguous imagery to create something that eschews conventional filmmaking.
Stanley Kubrick’s2001: A Space Odysseyis a 1968 film that dared to step into the future while also having a poignant take on where we’re going as a species. After the discovery of an alien monolith in a very unlikely place, humans take on a galactic endeavor to explore outer space. The problem is that, as helpful as machines are in the future, they’re also sentient enough to make harsh decisions and submit us to a journey of existentialism.
The Horrific Void of Space
Still the greatest sci-fi movieever made,2001: A Space Odysseyis, more than anything, a beautiful film. The special effects, the innovative styles, the realism. But it’s also out of bounds when it comes to the limits of its genre. It’s what Kubrick did with all of his films: make viewers feel like they were in the hands of a guy who had the ability to see the dark side of everything. In2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s all about the unknown and the menacingandbeautiful void of space. It’s rewatchable for obvious reasons, but this doesn’t mean you will always have a pleasant experience that won’t hit a nerve.
10Come and See (1985)
Elem Klimov’sCome and Seetells the story of two mischievous boys who do something they’re not supposed to while their village is occupied by Germans in 1943. Flyora is seen by Germans digging up a rifle, and the next day he’s forcibly enlisted by German forces to fight against his own people. The chaos ensues right after, and Flyora becomes witness to the wrath of violent conflict. The film spent eight years in some sort of development hell as Soviet authorities declined every attempt at production. But in 1985, the project saw the light, and it provided a harrowing take on the war genre.
Harrowing Work of Art
ThisSoviet anti-war filmis called one of the greatest films of all time. It opened a window to a side of war that had never seen before, at least not that directly.Come and Seeisn’t graphically violent like more modern war films are. Instead, it goes for a ruminative and psychologically sharp report about the insides of conflict when seen through the eyes of children whose malice is still a myth. Even if Flyora seems to root for the “good guys,” war shouldn’t be logical in the eyes of the innocent. The nightmarish and almost surreal portrayal of terror makes it a hard-to-watch movie, and as artistically relevant as it is, chances are you’ll see it once, and you won’t have to ever see it again because it will definitely stay with you.
9Mulholland Drive (2001)
Mulholland Drive
David Lynch’s mystery filmMulholland Driveis your average Lynchian adventure, where making sense of everything is… pointless. In the film, Betty Elms is dreaming the Hollywood dream. She’s an aspiring actress who wishes to make it big in Tinseltown when she meets another woman. Ruta is amnesiac after a car crash. However, the duo set out to find out more about Rita’s past life. Yes, it sounds like an average film, but we’ll stop you right there: it is anything but usual. Or normal.
Another Nightmare Come True
Lynch’s filmography is full of mysteries, and that’s a severe understatement.Mulholland Driveis a brilliant film, but explaining it means arriving at a dead-end street without many answers. These are experiences that are supposed to be digested without preamble or preparation. Rewatching it seems necessary, but it’s because of the clues you may have missed the first time. However, it’s so unsettling, scary, and disorienting that many decide otherwise.
Stream on Showtime
8The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Killing of a Sacred Deertells the story of Steven Murphy, a surgeon who forms a weird relationship with a teenager called Martin. Martin gets enamored with Steve’s family, but it doesn’t work the other way around. Martin only lives with his mother, and Steve rejects the advances the woman makes. Martin’s obsession with Steven’s family gets stronger, to the point of physically causing something in the Murphys. The film won a Best Screenplay Award at Cannes in 2017.
The Mind Becomes too Powerful
The Yorgos Lanthimos thriller may be confused with a horror film. But it’s exactly how it works. It’s a film so terrifying and unnerving that it seems natural to associate it with a supernatural approach that involves the Murphys getting horribly attacked by a very sick individual. This surreal experience will leave some shaking andothers with plenty of questions. However, seeing it again for the sake of having fun? Probably not. The stellar cast includes Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, and Barry Keoghan.
Stream on Netflix
7We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
We Need To Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevintells the story of Eva Khatchadourian, a mother who is completely estranged from her family. She’s also the pariah of the small town. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Eva was a wife and mother, always on the lookout for Kevin, one of her children. Kevin has always shown a complete disregard for her, and the film narrates what Kevin’s fate was and why he’s no longer with his mother. We won’t spoil much else.
A Mother’s Worst Fear
Ahorrific experienceto say the least,We Need to Talk About Kevinis a psychological drama that makes us navigate a chilling possibility: perhaps Kevinisevil after all, and all attempts at bringing him into the realm of normalcy are pointless. Finding out about his limits is a journey Lynne Ramsay has cleverly designed for the viewer, who keeps repeating, “Oh, he won’t do that,” and then Kevin does it. And smiles while he does it. The connection between the past and Eva’s current trauma is a powerful cinematic moment that no one will ever forget.
Stream on Prime Video
6Threads (1984)
BeforeThreadsaired on the BBC on June 23, 2025, a news anchor stated the following: “What would happen if Britain came under a nuclear attack? How would ordinary people survive the impact of the blast and the conditions that scientists say would result from a nuclear exchange?” And then he goes on to say the obvious: “Threadsis a drama, and all characters are fictional.” This was the announcement before a television broadcast that would air at that time and impact viewers across the country.
What If…?
One of the best made-for-TV moviesto ever be released,Threadsis an ultra-realistic depiction of what would happen if Britain had suffered a nuclear attack. The film’s well-known for its gritty portrayal of a crisis without any limits to what could be shown, even on television. It’s an experience so nightmarish that it will probably traumatize you the first (and only) time you see it. Don’t watch this if you’re feeling down.
Stream on Tubi
