Seen it, cant unsee it, not going to see it again.
The sound design is bordering on abusive.
But wed be very surprised if you decide to rush back for a second viewing.
Heres our celebration of the wonderful, must-see movies where once is quite enough, thank you very much.
Hereditary
To no ones surprise, Ari Asters harrowing debut immediately makes the top of this list.
And you would be wrong.
This is a grief-drenched stress-fest, following a family who are utterly doomed.
LikeCivil Warits a movie that leaves you feeling distinctly not okay at the end.
Oh and Alex was pregnant.
The experience is like watching unfolding horrors, discovering with every new scene its worse than you thought.
Brilliant, of course, but fuckinell.
RF
Ad content continues below
Grave of the Fireflies
Aww, its a lovelyStudio Ghiblianimation!
Whats it doing in this list?
If that is your reaction, then my friend, you have not seenGrave of the Fireflies.
Set at the very end of World War II, it follows two Japanese orphans trying to survive.
Starving, the children are forced to steal and attempt to create their own world.
It doesnt work out.
And if we talk anymore about the ending then well cry so lets leave it there.
RF
Dancer in the Dark
Bjork is extraordinary in this musical from auteur director Lars von Trier.
So all in all, its an excellent film.
Unfortunately its really, really upsetting.
Bjork plays Selma, a young Czech immigrant who is losing her eyesight.
The music actually makes it more unbearably sad with her final song delivered without accompaniment and left unfinished.
This is not the case withSnowtown.
This is a piece of social realism and its an endurance test.
RF
The Nightingale
Jennifer Kents debutThe Babadookrewards multiple viewings; her follow upThe Nightingaledoes not.
Its got a lot to say, and it doesnt need to say it twice.
Cult Australian pictureWake in Frightis not cute.
A rewatch, though?
Louisa Mellor
White God (2014)
Twice?
I cant honestly say Ive seen this film once.
Two words: dog fights.
You couldnt pay me to watch it a second time or for that matter, a first.
In Lynchs hands, the story of Joseph Merrick is sometimes visually presented as a work of straight horror.
Yet, it is told with overwhelming empathy for its subject and his often unbearable hardships.
More often than not, I find that the answer is a resounding no.
Even still, one watch is more than enough for this film to leave its eternal mark.
