Movies No One Wants to See More Than Once

[Hiraeth]

Cannibal Holocaust.

It has a great soundtrack though. I can listen to that again. Haha. But yeah, the movie itself was horrific.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

It has a great soundtrack though. I can listen to that again. Haha. But yeah, the movie itself was horrific.

Yeah, it's kind of odd how pretty the soundtrack is. I think that added to how disturbing it all was, in some strange way.

 

[Dreamer]

Cannibal Holocaust.

I literally JUST saw that scene where they cut open the live tortoise...wow...and I didn't even need to see the rest, or the beginning of the movie.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I literally JUST saw that scene where they cut open the live tortoise...wow...and I didn't even need to see the rest, or the beginning of the movie.

Yeah, that was messed up.

 

[Lark]

I watch some of the movies mentioned by the OP on a regular basis.

Although I think that there's two reasons I would have for not rewatching a film, its too horrific or its an incredibly poor film, more often the later than the former.

I deleted it recently, because it had clocked up so many negative votes, but I wrote a condemning review of the original Last House On The Left, I like horror films, for instance I wrote a glowing review of Black Christmas, but I like a lot of the older horror films which arent just sadistic violence fests.

LHOTL isnt even the worst film of its kind, I've seen worse ones since and some of those I have no freaking intention of watching again and honestly wonder about whether it was a great idea to watch them once in the first place. One I'm not sure I'd watch is Irreversible, what I've read about it might be enough.

Though most of the time its bad quality films which get me, like The Heart Break Kid, I'm surprised that that didnt just end Steller's career, also about 99% of the "stoner" movies, so much of all that stuff is like chewing gum for the eyes. I watch a lot of youtube content which might be like chewing gum for the eyes but I dont feel like spending the time watching it is actually make me stupider, most of it is informative even if its strictly speaking not teaching anything more than pop culture references or people's pass times.

 

[Lark]

I meant to mention Eden Lake, I've actually watched it more than once, I dont really intend to watch it again though. Its a disturbing film, and I dont think I'm over thinking that one, I think it actually has some pretty jarring, rough content.

Its also scary because the director talked on the commentary about how he was trying to portray communities which exist already, not necessarily remote ones, though that one just happened to be semi-remote/rural and also what he thought could be the future of all communities, like a dystopia, if unchecked violent norms carried on gaining greater and greater traction.

As a survival horror movie its one of the greatest I've seen, you watch a lot of features and you see people freezing up when confronted with horrible things, killing etc. and I at least think that's bullshit, people are really or potentially are way more violent than that. However, this movie has a number of twists and turns which are completely shocking following what is seemingly the victim turned violent, I've heard people talking about funny games, straw dogs or movies like that having similar qualities but no, no way, Eden Lake is horrible and real with it.

 

[ceecee]

I'm not especially seeing it with Brokeback Mountain. It's sad, but I feel no aversion to watching it again.

I found it to be sad but in a bigger way than just Jake and Ennis, as well as their wives and children. The entire living a lie and societal bullshit - it probably made me more angry than sad.

 

[prplchknz]

The remake of Beauty and the Beast. I was held captive and forced to watch it against my will. I can't stand all that high pitched singin'!

I agree with this, i watched it because i loved the animated version as a kid and was on a plane and it was there so i watched it. but wouldn't watch it again. glad i did but was a let down over all. the animated one is better and is rewatchable.

 

[Totenkindly]

I watch some of the movies mentioned by the OP on a regular basis. Although I think that there's two reasons I would have for not rewatching a film, its too horrific or its an incredibly poor film, more often the later than the former.

Yeah. I tend to get a lot of sense about movies from buzz/reviews (I'm interested in WHY people do/don't want to watch something, not whether they do or not), so I typically avoid movies I think are just poor regardless, although sometimes I will purposefully watch something that has gotten panned just for kicks or to calibrate myself. Like, when I watched The Belco Experiment a few months ago because the concept looked interesting despite its poor reception... but eh, kind of boring rehash without much imagination which was the typical complaint.

When I thought of the thread, I was thinking about movies that leave some kind of unendurable emotion in their wake -- which includes distasteful movies that generate disgust due to content and/or great movies that just generate some kind of emotion so pervasive and intense that a person doesn't really want to subject themselves to it again regardless of quality.

I deleted it recently, because it had clocked up so many negative votes, but I wrote a condemning review of the original Last House On The Left, I like horror films, for instance I wrote a glowing review of Black Christmas, but I like a lot of the older horror films which arent just sadistic violence fests.

There are many cuts of TLHOTL (Craven's 70's version) due to its particular production and distribution process at the time -- I think different locales were slicing out bits and pieces of the film they did not like, and so on? And all these copies were drifting around. I don't think I saw the most explicit version, although it was probably close. I felt some distaste watching it and mostly boredom, although I guess at the time coming from what the cinematic landscape looked like, I guess it was notorious/provocative. But nowadays I have probably seen worse. Still, I didn't really enjoy the production quality and was there any redeeming quality? Probably not. Aside from the response of the parents, which was the only interesting thing, and even then kinda ick, I was mostly just waiting to get it over with so I could say I saw it and never watch it again.

Along in that category, although better done, is the first Wolf Creek movie. I came away from that film just feeling awful; production quality was decent enough and the film was actually edited/shot/assembled well. But the content and plot turns really disturbed me and left me in a funk for a day or more. Like, I felt so emotionally dark I just wanted to vomit it back out.

LHOTL isnt even the worst film of its kind, I've seen worse ones since and some of those I have no freaking intention of watching again and honestly wonder about whether it was a great idea to watch them once in the first place. One I'm not sure I'd watch is Irreversible, what I've read about it might be enough.

Irreversible has two scenes in it that provide notoriety, and due to the movie's structure you are hit with them up front and at midpoint. I think the decision to run the movie in segments backwards (kinda like Memento did) is what changes the tone of the movie, since you are not left with a view of people as victims but you see them in increasingly happier times and in other contexts and it lends a feeling of depth and sadness (since you become far more aware of what was lost) especially based on some of their conversations which are more than you'd expect from a movie dumped in the category this one usually finds itself in. Still, the two notorious scenes are so outside the norm that they can be devastating to watch.

...As a survival horror movie its one of the greatest I've seen, you watch a lot of features and you see people freezing up when confronted with horrible things, killing etc. and I at least think that's bullshit, people are really or potentially are way more violent than that. However, this movie has a number of twists and turns which are completely shocking following what is seemingly the victim turned violent, I've heard people talking about funny games, straw dogs or movies like that having similar qualities but no, no way, Eden Lake is horrible and real with it.

Didn't see Straw Dogs yet. I did see both Funny Games (by the same director, but his original -- not the English remake -- is superior) and I don't know if I could watch it again; great acting, but I don't think Haneke conveyed what he had hoped to through it, and the darkest scene (and the ending note of the movie) just leaving a lingering depression.

I want to clarify my previous comment about Beauty and the Beast (March 2017). I don't like a lot of dramatic singing in movies. I find, it's an unnecessary distraction. However, being a techie nerd with an eye for complexities, I was impressed with the movie production. I thought it was well done. I liked it much better than the original 2D Disney animation. I would recommend it to feelers and thinkers with well-developed feeling.

I have seen both versions of Beauty & The Beast. I think the live-action version had wonderful production quality; but I probably won't watch it again not because of content but simply because I did not feel very engaged. The singing wasn't on par with the animated version, the story felt more aimless and less focused than the original, the Beast was not as intense and kind of flat. I did like the attempt to follow up on Belle's mother, but it's only a small portion of the film. I am a thinker with well-developed feeling and will cry watching a number of movies if it earns my tears (there are movies I will sob after for a few minutes, like Pan's Labyrinth), but I felt very little during the live-action remake.

 

[Totenkindly]

Ran across another such list:
20 Great Films That You'll Only Want To Watch Once

Most are movies that have been mentioned. I don't know if anyone mentioned Buried yet though.

I stumbled across this one night on one of my movie services (Netflix? Amazon Prime?) and watched it, although I generally have hated Ryan Reynolds in just about every movie I've seen him in beside Deadpool. I don't think he's cute, and I don't much like his acting.

Well, damn. This movie was different.

He spends pretty much the whole movie acting inside a box -- he's a soldier who got buried and is being held for ransom, with only a few things (including a cell phone) with him with which to somehow effect his own rescue. Reynolds actually can act.

Just an incredible movie... but it also hung over me for a long time after. It takes a lot out of a viewer.

 

[Flâneuse]

I found Full Metal Jacket so disturbing that it took me years to work up the nerve to rewatch it.

The infamous murder/suicide scene with Pyle was bad enough, but what got to me most was the final scene when the enemy sniper gets shot and turns out to be a little girl.

 

[Luigi]

Yeah I got one - Florence Foster Jenkins
I watched that at the cinema with somebody because they had the highest expectations of the quality for that movie, but later we agreed it was terrible.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah I got one - Florence Foster Jenkins
I watched that at the cinema with somebody because they had the highest expectations of the quality for that movie, but later we agreed it was terrible.

lol Well, not exactly what I had in mind -- I was thinking movies of emotional intensity that are just too much to endure a second time, not just "bad" movies -- but I don't think I could sit through FFJ again either. I mean, Streep did a nice job in what was a biopic (yes, that woman existed... dear god), but I couldn't believe she got an Oscar nom for it.

 

[Luigi]

lol Well, not exactly what I had in mind -- I was thinking movies of emotional intensity that are just too much to endure a second time, not just "bad" movies -- but I don't think I could sit through FFJ again either. I mean, Streep did a nice job in what was a biopic (yes, that woman existed... dear god), but I couldn't believe she got an Oscar nom for it.

I see, then I'd say The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield, I can only watch that once in a while because it makes me cry over and over again.
I agree, she did the part well but I bet most people felt sorry for her and I think it's offensive to the memory of her to make a movie about her. Maybe they had good intentions and they only meant to honor or respect her, but I think the better thing to do is try to distract the public from that one facet of "reality".
Also, that's the point of Oscar nominations and award winners, it's not about what the public likes, it's about what some random small group likes.

 

[Totenkindly]

I see, then I'd say The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield, I can only watch that once in a while because it makes me cry over and over again.
I agree, she did the part well but I bet most people felt sorry for her and I think it's offensive to the memory of her to make a movie about her. Maybe they had good intentions and they only meant to honor or respect her, but I think the better thing to do is try to distract the public from that one facet of "reality".
Also, that's the point of Oscar nominations and award winners, it's not about what the public likes, it's about what some random small group likes.

Well, I'm normally a "critic" in my approach to movies (although I have stuff that is mass consumption that I like too), and I just did not think she deserved an Oscar nom for that performance considering what other women put out tremendous performances last year and were overlooked. IOW I think the critics were off on their "critical response" regardless of the general audience response.

 

[Luigi]

Well, I'm normally a "critic" in my approach to movies (although I have stuff that is mass consumption that I like too), and I just did not think she deserved an Oscar nom for that performance considering what other women put out tremendous performances last year and were overlooked. IOW I think the critics were off on their "critical response" regardless of the general audience response.

Yeah, I think the odds of people agreeing with critics are slim to none, which is the same as saying I agree with you in this case.

 

[lowtech redneck]

I might be morbidly curious and drunk one day and watch them again, after I've forgotten everything, but up to this point I've never seen any particular reason to watch Vistor Q or Dead Girl again (its been almost a decade for the latter, and about 13 years for the former), even though I own the DVDs.

Oh, and Joe's Apartment.