"I Don't Know That I Ever Want To Voluntarily Feel Like That Again": Horror Fans Are Sharing The Best Scary Movies They Can Never Rewatch
Back in 2020, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the best horror movies they refuse to ever watch again. Since then, there's been a LOT of new contenders, so we thought it was time for an updated list! Here are some of the greatest, most disturbing horror movies people said they can NEVER rewatch:
🚨 Spoilers ahead!!! 🚨
1.The Ring (2002)
"The Ring absolutely messed me up for days. It's not even just one or two particular scenes. The whole entire thing gets gradually more unsettling and upsetting. It's just so hopeless and grim throughout."
2.Nope (2022)
"Nope is GLORIOUSLY beautiful. My grandparents also lived in the Santa Clarita Valley in California, and the cinematography is so good — I could even remember how my grandparents' town smelled. I have recommended it to everyone I know, but I can't watch again. The sound design should definitely get awards."
3.The Strangers (2008)
"Like an idiot, I watched a movie about a home invasion while I was home by myself. It's such a plausible plot, has happened before in real life, and could totally happen again. I have no desire to ever watch it again. That movie terrified me."
"The Strangers f*cked me up. I tried rewatching it, but I felt instant anxiety and had to turn it off. The only reason those two people got tortured was because 'they were home.' That scares the sh*t out of me. Plus, I live in a secluded area, so...just no."
4.Smile (2022)
"I saw Smile at the cinema recently, and I don't think I’ve ever been so scared in my LIFE."
5.Mother! (2017)
"Mother! is probably the best movie I've ever watched. It was truly a masterpiece. But it made me so anxious from the beginning to the end, and that baby scene…I don’t think I could go through that again."
6.Hereditary (2018)
"This movie is just so utterly devoid of hope — it reminded me so much of what grief really feels like. I actually sobbed in the movie theater and was in a funk for weeks after seeing it. I think it's an amazing movie, but I don't know that I ever want to voluntarily feel like that again."
"It messed with my head for weeks. I’ve never been so unsettled by a film."
"Combine the fear factor, gore factor, and how heavy the subject matter is as you watch a family completely fall apart. It's just...a lot. It's a brilliant movie and definitely deserves a watch, but it's a lot to process."
7.Annihilation (2018)
"It was really good, but that bear scene will forever live in my nightmares. The ending was pretty creepy, too. I can't bring myself to watch it again."
8.Midsommar (2019)
"It was the strangest movie I have ever seen. It will simply mess you up. I can absolutely never put myself through that again."
"It has beautiful storytelling, acting, directing, and cinematography, but the graphic gore is too much for me."
9.Terrifier (2016)
"Art the Clown wins for creepiest new horror icon. It wasn’t even the movie; it was just him. He gave me nightmares!"
10.The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
"It just terrified me to my core. I started crying during the scene when Buffalo Bill was talking to his hostage while she was in the well, telling her to put on lotion or else she’d get hosed down. I was so scared because I thought about people who have actually been kidnapped and put in situations like that or worse. I don't know if I’ll ever be able to watch the movie again."
"I'm a huge horror fan and rarely ever get spooked, but this one did it for me. I remember watching it in the dorms my freshman year of college and not being able to sleep afterwards. The most disturbing part for me wasn't any of the hostage scenes, but that moment where the character describes the screaming lambs on the farm. To this day, I refuse to eat anything with lamb because of that scene."
11.Creep (2014)
"Creep was absolutely terrifying, but phenomenally done. It had a found footage vibe, and it was disturbing in so many ways. It scared the living daylights out of me."
12.The Lodge (2019)
"Hands down, The Lodge. The psychological horror of that movie is terrifying because you can see how it could happen. That's what's so scary about it."
13.Insidious (2010)
"Insidious terrified me. I have lucid dreams, and I never want to encounter anyone like the lipstick face demon in them. I slept with the lights on for weeks after seeing that."
14.The Blair Witch Project (1999)
"For the longest time, I thought the story was real, and it horrified me. Even the display cover spooks me. Plus, I live near the forest where it was filmed."
15.The Human Centipede (2009)
"When I was in eighth grade, my friends and I had the dumbest idea ever to watch it. I ended up throwing up halfway through the movie. I got pressured to keep watching the movie, and by the end of it, I had thrown up twice and was crying. Never again!"
16.Saw (2004)
"Any of the Saw films. They're great movies. But man, never, ever again."
17.The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
"I still randomly hear, 'One, two, three, four, five, six...' in my head and see her contorted body. It’s a great movie, though."
18.Raw (2016)
"It’s such a beautiful film with a dark, unsettling plot that really sneaks up on you. Every time I think about rewatching it, I think about wanting to vomit and cry for two hours."
19.The Sadness (2021)
"I was horrified the entire way through this movie. I actually had to stop at one point because I thought I was going to throw up. I did finish watching it the next day, but I will never watch it again. I caution anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to — do not, I repeat, do not eat anything beforehand or during."
20.House of Wax (2005)
"I can't stomach even the THOUGHT of the scene where the character's Achilles tendon gets cut with scissors."
21.Eden Lake (2008)
"The ending STILL haunts me years later."
"I wish I had never watched it. I hope one day I can forget all about it."
22.The Girl Next Door (2007)
"I watched the movie on Netflix because it sounded interesting. DON'T WATCH IT. It wasn’t scary, it was just disturbing in every way. I had to fast-forward through some of it."
23.Us (2019)
"Jordan Peele is a mastermind, but that movie messed with my sleep schedule for a week. I always get nervous whenever I see a rabbit now."
24.The Witch (2015)
"This one messed me up for a while. I can never look at goats the same way again."
25.As Above, So Below (2014)
"I watched it with my best friend, and I didn't think it scared me as much as it did until she was about to leave. I still hadn't showered that day, and I realized I didn't want to shower without anyone else in the house. I made her sit outside the door while I showered. It's been weeks, and I'm still replaying certain scenes in my head."
26.The Babadook (2014)
"It’s one of the few horror movies that really got to me. While I LOVED the symbolism and metaphors, it just unsettled me too much to watch again."
27.The Sixth Sense (1999)
"I can't watch it again — not because it’s the scariest movie, but because once you know the twist, it’s a different film."
28.The Exorcist (1973)
"I can never watch The Exorcist ever again. I watched it when I was in college, and it freaked me out. It didn't help that I went to a haunted school and lived in a haunted dormitory."
29.Cabin Fever (2002)
"The scene where Marcy shaves her legs in the bath and flesh comes out scarred me to the point of not shaving my own legs for a month. Eli Roth is the God of discomfort."
30.Tusk (2014)
"Tusk is a movie you can never un-see. I will never watch it again, but it is permanently embedded in my memory."
"I can never look at walruses the same. It was honestly disgusting what happened in the movie — it needs to be deleted off the face of the Earth."
31.And finally: Scream (1996)
"It's not the actual film that got to me — there's just something about that mask that freaks me out."
Got a horror movie that didn't make this list? Tell us in the comments!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
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