Top 5 Great Films I Don't Want to See Again

5. Black Swan 

(Darren Aronofsky, 2010)

It's hard to say exactly why this makes the list, but it just does. There's something haunting about this one.

4. Chained
(Jennifer Chambers Lynch, 2012)

David Lynch's daughter certainly inherited some of the directorial chops from her Dad, but she has a different vision that isn't necessarily bad... just different. Vincent D'Onofrio is good (like always), and also more warped than his serial killer character in the under-rated The Cell.

3. Requiem for a Dream 
(Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

A film likely to be on most people's lists. A film that can't be UNSEEN. There are a handful of scenes in this one that quite often pop up in my mind.

2. Irreversible 
(Gaspar Noe, 2002)

Gaspar Noe's best work. So good. But so disturbing.

1. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father 
(Kurt Kuenne, 2008)

It's a really moving piece. Directed by Kurt Kuenne, the film is an ode to his murdered friend after his ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son. Although filled with heartbreak, it's ultimately one of the most gripping documentaries you'll ever see. You need to make the time for this one if you haven't seen it. And of course, once you see it... you won't want to see it again.


Honorable Mentions:

The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)
Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)
Leaving Las Vegas (Mike Figgis, 1995)
Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

Chained

Jennifer Chambers Lynch, 2012


3/5

Lynch directs this torture-horror picture about a serial killer who traps his victims with his taxi cab and brings them to his house to kill them. He uses a boy, son of a past victim, as a slave in his home to help clean up his messes and work on his scrapbook which details his slayings.

Lynch's work is probably the creative equivalent of bringing Eli Roth home on a date to meet her father David. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Just different from a film that her father would make, and of course she is going to be forced to endure countless comparisons from the film community given the impact that David Lynch has had on modern cinema. She has certainly picked up some of the chops, while the film is quite disturbing at times it still maintains an artful quality to it. D'Onofrio disappears into his role as Bob, proving that he can become an even more involved killer than his character in The Cell. His victim, Rabbit (Eamon Farren), maintains a very obvious sympathetic edge throughout the film, as he sits in the run down shack malnourished eating the scraps left behind by Bob. When it comes to the attention to set design, the serial killer's house is so chilling the Fedex guy would be afraid to place a package on the front steps. The visual canvas of the film is laid out using a lot of bleak colors, and when you are in the presence of some light it's usually a circa 1970's lamp providing a disconcerting glow throughout the filthy shack. The windows are boarded up. The basement, which is home to the remains of the many victims, is lit only and ironically by Christmas lights. Night falls, and the glow of fluorescent-lit "Comfort" written on the top of the Taxi Cab provides the same tension you feel when trapped in the house with the monster. Lynch not only plays off of visual cues but also with sound as well. There is a very present bass-driven hum throughout the film, maintaining a sense of impending horror. To sum it all up... it's a film that will appeal to the horror fan, but anyone that's planning a re-watch really needs a psychological evaluation.