5 Movies So Unsettling You'll Probably Need Therapy

Sometimes films are made to hit home, to make you think about the world around you and how people can go so wrong.

Here are five films that do just that:

5. Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Presented as if it were being filmed by the people in the film, Cannibal Holocaust tells the story of a group of journalists in the Amazon rainforest.

It's a divisive piece, largely because of its graphic depiction of violence, including rape. Fans of the movie say these scenes are necessary to accurately portray the way some journalists are so focused on sensationalism that they become devoid of empathy.

4. Irréversible (2002)

Irréversible is a movie that will leave you with irreversible images that will haunt you. Another film that is definitely not for the faint of heart, it opens with a shocking rape scene, and the violence and brutality just keeps getting worse as the plot unfolds.

It's a film about revenge, but you need to be pretty hardcore to watch it, as it's incredibly violent.

3. Martyrs (2008)

Not only are the scenes of torture in this film horrific and difficult to watch in their own right, but the knowledge that the acts we are witnessing are actually happening in our world makes them even worse.

The story revolves around two orphans who are unfortunate enough to become involved with a cult that believes redemption comes through physical suffering. It's an interesting, if controversial, subject - and a really tough watch.

2. Breaking the Waves (1996)

This is more of a psychological drama, but there's no getting away from the physical side of it. Bess, a naive young Scottish woman, blames herself for a tragic accident that brings her husband Jan home from the oil rig where he works. The film is sexually charged from the outset and, unable to have sex himself, Jan asks Bess to find a lover and tell him the details of her love life. But the arrangement leads Bess into a downward spiral of depravity and danger.

1. Come and See (1985)

This is an anti-war film focusing on the Nazi occupation of Belarus. It makes no apologies for the frank way it deals with the atrocities of war and genocide, and is about as heartbreaking as it gets, especially since the main character is a teenager who witnesses the most horrific acts of violence perpetrated by German fascists and collaborators.