Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

7 Movies That Are Incredibly Hard To Watch

I'll go out on a limb and give a rough estimation that about 97% of movie buffs have come across at least one movie at some point of their lives that they just couldn't watch from start to finish. Everyone has vastly different tastes in films, different things that make them tick, differing thresholds of tolerance for certain things such as boredom, extreme graphic violence and gore, downright stupidity and endless cliches. There are countless reasons why someone would decide to hit the stop button partway through a film.
This article is over 10 years old and may contain outdated information

7) Maniac (2013)

Recommended Videos

If you remember William Lustig’s brutally psychotic film Maniac, you probably remember Tom Savini’s head turning into a human piñata after being blasted by a shotgun. It’s splattery, gory, and absolutely insane – but doesn’t hold a candle to Franck Khalfoun’s brutally unforgiving masterpiece. This year’s Maniac remake (re-imagining) not only utilized gut-wrenching violence and stomach-churning gore, but the psychological aspect taints our minds and actually does something despicably evil – it turns us into the killer.

First of all, kudos to Elijah Wood for delivering one of his best performances to date as lead character Frank, an emotionally deranged serial killer who targets young women and removes their scalps, only to use the fleshy mess as headpieces for his mannequin collection. I know, you’re probably a little queasy already, because Khalfoun doesn’t hold a damn thing back visually, as we watch Elijah murder woman after woman, hearing the squishy slicing noise as he removes their precious locks. It gets worse though, oh so worse.

Khalfoun’s Maniac utilizes a first-person POV technique, as we watch the actions play out as Elijah’s character Frank. We’re seeing through his eyes. We’re hearing his thoughts. We’re uncomfortably listening to his excited panting as he stalks women from afar. In essence, we become the killer, and it feels dementedly disgusting. This effect is most prominent when actress Megan Duffy is suffocated by Frank, as we watch her body go limp and lifeless in Frank’s outstretched hands – and by that I mean our hands. It’s so gritty and real, I almost felt like I was watching a snuff film, and I couldn’t shake this feeling of disgust afterwards, like I’d played a part in the act.

The genius of Maniac’s insanity is not in violence alone, but in the beautifully murderous delivery that creeps into our psyche and digs deep without us even knowing. It’s not just a blood-soaker like Lustig’s original, not in a longshot. Khalfoun’s Maniac is a piece of sadistic horror that brings you as close as humanly possible to being a killer yourself, whether you like it or not (I’m hoping you don’t?). Watch at your own risk, because you never know what hidden feelings might be unearthed…


We Got This Covered is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author