77 Movies That Are Absolutely Fantastic, But Far Too Emotionally Exhausting To Ever Watch Again
In several different posts over the course of 2021, we've asked our BuzzFeed Community to tell us about which movies they believe are absolute masterpieces, but are also too "emotionally traumatizing" to ever watch more than once.
Dimension Films
So — with that in mind and presented in no particular order — here are the most popular responses we received, all in one place for easy access. Ready? I sure hope so! Here we go:
1.Promising Young Woman (2020)
"I just watched this two days ago and still can't get over it. I highly, highly recommend it, but I don't think I can watch it again."
2.12 Years a Slave (2013)
"Amazing movie, but I’ll never watch it again — especially knowing what happens to Solomon Northup in the end."
3.Oldboy (2003)
"It was an absolutely phenomenal film that I can never watch again. Witnessing THAT twist ending was enough to give me permanent 0_0 face whenever I think about it!"
4.Manchester by the Sea (2016)
"All day."
5.A Clockwork Orange (1971)
"It's very well made. Almost everything about that movie is incredible, but it’s so emotionally intense and has such a graphic subject matter that I’ll never watch it again. It’s one of those movies you see because it’s great, but, once you’ve seen it, you’re like, 'Okay, cool. Mark that one off the list,' and never touch it again."
6.The Passion of the Christ (2004)
"This may be an unpopular opinion, but it just really traumatized me. I can't watch that movie again. It didn't scare me as much as that movie did."
7.Seven Pounds (2008)
"That movie wrecked my heart and my soul. I was depressed for a week, but stupidly watched it again the next week. Absolutely still haunts me to this very day."
8.Bone Tomahawk (2015)
"I’ve said this movie so many times for so many different posts on this website, but it really did fuck me up! It was great to see once, so cool what they did there, but I’ll never watch it again!"
9.The Last King of Scotland (2006)
"Great film, but Forest Whitaker was far too convincing for me."
10.The Lovely Bones (2009)
"Deeply unsettling at times and very sad at others. The movie actually made me go through the stages of grief while I was watching it. Highly, highly recommend, but I won’t watch it again."
11.A Star is Born (2018)
"I can’t believe this wasn't on the original list! I'm happy I saw it once because Bradley Cooper was remarkable, but there are scenes from it that still haunt me and I don’t think I could watch it again."
12.Just Mercy (2019)
"It's such an important movie to watch, but I cried off and on the whole time. It’s so emotional, especially since it’s a true story and things like that do happen to Black people. A positive ending, but a total rollercoaster. I think about it all the time."
13.Eden Lake (2008)
"If you know, you know."
14.The Neon Demon (2016)
“I was not prepared for it."
15.Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009)
"I will never watch it again, and — now that I have children — I'm even more adamant about that."
16.Dancer in the Dark (2000)
"It has an amazing performance by Björk, and it's brutally sad. I bought a copy of the DVD after seeing the movie because I loved it so much. I lent the disc to several friends and thought about it many times, but could just never summon the energy to watch it again myself."
17.Funny Games (1997)
"Those people were not 'funny' in the least, and it really fucked me up when they just moved on to the next house at the end."
18.Marley and Me (2008)
"As a lover of animals, I could never watch this again without bawling my eyes out. It physically hurt me to watch."
19.Parasite (2019)
"The garden party scene was wild, but — as much as I liked this movie — I can’t watch it again."
20.Coco (2017)
"This one might be an odd choice to be on here. It's a colorful and beautiful movie. I am Latina, so it was nice to see the representation — but Grandma Coco? Oof. It reminded me too much of my own late grandmother and I cried so hard."
21.Sophie’s Choice (1982)
"I can’t even think about it without getting upset."
22.Hereditary (2018)
"The emotional dinner scene did it for me. Toni Collette’s anguish over her daughter’s death was too much to handle. I watched the movie shortly after my mom died and it was just too raw."
23.Prisoners (2013)
"That movie with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal — oof."
24.Still Alice (2014)
"I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago. It was so raw and real. I can see why Julianne Moore won the Oscar, but it left me with such a deep sadness that I know I’ll never watch it again."
25.The Paperboy (2012)
"John Cusack will never be same to me."
26.Django Unchained (2012)
"The heavy usage of the N-word, the dog fights, the men who fight to the death, the slavery aspect...it absolutely traumatized me. I’m a Black woman who saw it with my ex (who was white and INSISTED on us seeing it). Yeah, no."
27.Joker (2019)
"It was so good, but I almost had an anxiety attack in the theater and can’t bring myself to watch it again."
28.The Father (2020)
"It was absolutely brilliant...maybe TOO brilliant, because I don't want to watch it ever again."
29.Mother! (2017)
"It's a trippy, weird movie, but really good!"
30.Room (2015)
"Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay were both phenomenal, but it was an emotionally exhausting experience!"
31.Les Misérables (2012)
"I had to turn it off the second Gavroche died. The way they shot that scene was horrible, it really showed the pain everyone felt. It could also partly be that my mom wouldn't let me see this until I turned 16, but I really loved the soundtrack, so I basically grew up listening to the characters while having no idea that most of them died. I haven't watched it in years, but I can still remember all of the deaths."
32.Black Swan (2010)
"It's so good, but it tripped me out too much."
33.Tusk (2014)
"Everyone I've ever known who's seen this movie has had a visceral reaction to it, whether it be total disgust, violent anger, or whatever else. I personally think it's one of the must-see movies for those who want to get into B-movie horror, but I would be very concerned if you wanted to watch that shit multiple times."
34.Glory (1989)
"We watched it in class when I was 12. My teacher wanted us to understand that racism was (and still is) just as pervasive in the North as it is in the South. I’m 26 now, and I haven’t seen it since. I’ll NEVER forget how much that movie gutted me, but it's SO important to see."
35.The Imitation Game (2014)
"Incredible movie, great performances, but a heartbreaking ending."
36.The Strangers (2008)
"The one with Liv Tyler. The mind games and the torture were a genuine nightmare!"
37.Kids (1995)
"That movie bothered me. I hated to think that’s what teens were actually doing."
38.The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
"This one REALLY got me."
39.Million Dollar Baby (2004)
"I saw it once. It was very well-made, but it also made me sick and I don't think I could ever watch it again."
40.Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
"Hands down."
41.Nocturnal Animals (2016)
"It's a good movie, but I can't watch it again because of that highway scene."
42.Buried (2010)
"I saw this movie ONCE and never again. It was emotionally draining and the ending was insane. Every time I think about it, I get super anxious."
43.A Single Man (2009)
"Colin Firth gave a searing, devastating performance — he’s so good, I can’t see it again. I was emotionally drained at the end."
44.Hotel Rwanda (2004)
"Great movie, would recommend it to everyone, but once was enough for me."
45.The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
"I had to watch it in history class in eighth grade, and....well, it's a beautiful film, but I can't watch it again or I'd never finish it due to tears."
46.Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
"I'm never, EVER, going to watch that shit again. It's from Studio Ghibli, the same company who did Spirited Away. It's an absolute masterpiece, for sure, but don't expect to find happy little creatures in it."
47.The Perfection (2019)
"It's on Netflix and it FUCKED me up. I was not expecting anything that happened and it was full-on gross and disturbing at some points. I would never watch it again, but it was too wild not to watch once!"
48.Full Metal Jacket (1987)
"I watched the very first bit of it when I was in officer training and thought it was a comedy. A few months later, I sat down and watched the whole thing...it's not a comedy."
49.Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
"I thought I was going in to see a cool fantasy flick. Instead, it turned out to be a movie dealing with trauma, abuse, and coping mechanisms. It's still a great film, but so gut-wrenching."
50.Alpha Dog (2006)
"It would be sad enough if it were fiction, but the fact that it was based on real events makes it so hard to stomach."
51.The Pianist (2002)
"I can't bring myself to watch it again. The anger and hopelessness I felt for that man and those people is beyond comparison."
52.Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
"Nicolas Cage is amazing in it (he won an Oscar for it), but, as a recovered alcoholic, that film hit WAY too close to home. Good film, though."
53.Moonlight (2016)
"It was so realistic to my life that it made me uncomfortable."
54.We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
"That was a truly visceral experience."
55.Requiem for a Dream (2000)
"That ending montage made me physically ill. It's the only movie that's ever done that to me."
56.What Dreams May Come (1998)
"It's the most beautiful movie, and I think everyone should watch it at least once, but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since Robin Williams died. I actually haven't watched anything he's in since he died."
57.Steel Magnolias (1989)
"I can't even think about Sally Field's breakdown without tearing up — especially now that I have kids."
58.Nightcrawler (2014)
"It's an incredible movie, but I'll never watch it again. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a sociopath a little too well; so much so that I struggle to watch him in other things now."
59.Melancholia (2011)
"It's really disturbing. I don't think I've ever really gotten over it."
60.The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
"That scene where they're sleeping in the bathroom was hard."
61.The Road (2009)
"I watched it when it first came out and loved it, but I can’t put myself through it again. It’s so heartbreaking."
62.Jojo Rabbit (2019)
"It made me cry, and that's VERY rare for me."
63.Schindler's List (1993)
"It's a beautiful, well done movie, but it is textbook emotionally exhaustive and traumatic. I actually had to take a break about halfway through because I'd cried so long and so hard that I had a headache from the dehydration. I'm getting misty-eyed just thinking about it!"
64.Midsommar (2019)
"I got really invested in it when I was watching it for the first time, and I've had a fear of cults since I was a kid. I don't find the film scary at all, but, by the end of it, I was just completely frozen."
65.Sorry to Bother You (2018)
"There are no words to describe that movie."
66.Dead Poets Society (1989)
"It hit me HARD, mate!"
67.Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
"It's one of the best movies I have ever seen, but leaves you with a lot of phantoms."
68.Brokeback Mountain (2005)
"It was such a beautiful film, so very emotional — it just broke me. I watched it once in the movie theater and then never again."
69.No Country For Old Men (2007)
"I remember sitting in the theater when the credits rolled — not one person got up and left until they were done, then everyone left in utter silence. I'd never seen that phenomenon before. In the cab ride home, I turned to my husband and said, 'What the fuck did we just watch?' We didn't even talk about the movie that night, that's how it impacted us. The next morning over coffee, I turned to him and said, 'I think that was the best movie I've ever seen, and I never want to see it again.'"
70.The Game (1997)
"I loved it, but I also wanted to shoot everyone at the end."
71.Foxes (1980)
"A harsh reality coming-of-age movie. My mother made me watch it when I was young and it stuck with me ever since, and is more relatable and understandable as time passes."
72.I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)
"*Shudders*"
73.House of Sand and Fog (2003)
74.Old Yeller (1957)
"I know this is a old one, but my parents played it for me and my brother when we were young kids (didn't realize how sad it would be). It still makes me sad thinking about it."
75.Hound Dog (2007)
"With Dakota Fanning. Beyond disturbing. It breaks my heart."
76.Blue Valentine (2010)
"It destroyed me. To see them at the beginning of their relationship really loving and caring for each other, then life happened and it eventually all just fell apart. Too real and believable. Just heartbreaking."
77.And finally: Uncut Gems (2019)
"So chaotic and anxiety inducing."
Now it's your turn! What's a movie that's so good, you'd recommend that everyone watch it once, but you couldn't ever personally bring yourself to watch it again? Share your pick(s) in the comments below!
NOTE: Some responses were edited for length and/or clarity.
