77 Movies That Are Absolutely Fantastic But Far Too Emotionally Exhausting To Ever Watch Again

    No one's lining up to rewatch these.

    Allie Hayes
    by Allie Hayes

    BuzzFeed Staff

    In several posts during 2021, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us about which movies they believe are absolute masterpieces but are also too "emotionally traumatizing" to ever watch more than once.

    Dimension Films

    So — with that in mind and presented in no particular order — here are the most popular responses we received, all in one place for easy access. Ready? I sure hope so! Here we go:

    1. Promising Young Woman (2020)

    © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I just watched this two days ago and still can't get over it. I highly, highly recommend it, but I don't think I can watch it again."

    —u/LeoFoster18

    2. 12 Years a Slave (2013)

    Fox Searchlight / © Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Amazing movie, but I’ll never watch it again — especially knowing what happens to Solomon Northup in the end."

    —murrays3

    3. Oldboy (2003)

    Tartan Films / Tartan Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It was an absolutely phenomenal film that I can never watch again. Witnessing THAT twist ending was enough to give me permanent 0_0 face whenever I think about it!"

    —Ashley M

    4. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

    Roadside Attractions / © Roadside Attractions / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "All day."

    —u/voe600

    5. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's very well made. Almost everything about that movie is incredible, but it’s so emotionally intense and has such a graphic subject matter that I’ll never watch it again. It’s one of those movies you see because it’s great, but once you’ve seen it, you’re like, 'Okay, cool. Mark that one off the list,' and never touch it again."

    —u/SomeGuyinaHood1e

    6. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

    Newmarket Releasing / © Newmarket Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "This may be an unpopular opinion, but it just really traumatized me. I can't watch that movie again. It didn't scare me as much as that movie did."

    —gabbier6

    7. Seven Pounds (2008)

    Columbia Pictures / © Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That movie wrecked my heart and my soul. I was depressed for a week but stupidly watched it again the next week. Absolutely still haunts me to this very day."

    —ltimmons5472

    8. Bone Tomahawk (2015)

    RLJ Entertainment

    "I’ve said this movie so many times for so many different posts on this website, but it really did fuck me up! It was great to see once, so cool what they did there, but I’ll never watch it again!"

    —rainaf4e29d925f

    9. The Last King of Scotland (2006)

    Fox Searchlight / © Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Great film, but Forest Whitaker was far too convincing for me."

    —TrilingualMom

    10. The Lovely Bones (2009)

    Paramount / © Paramount / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Deeply unsettling at times and very sad at others. The movie actually made me go through the stages of grief while I was watching it. Highly, highly recommend, but I won’t watch it again."

    —[deleted]

    11. A Star Is Born (2018)

    Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "I can’t believe this wasn't on the original list! I'm happy I saw it once because Bradley Cooper was remarkable, but there are scenes from it that still haunt me, and I don’t think I could watch it again."

    —kelzee05

    12. Just Mercy (2019)

    Jake Giles Netter / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's such an important movie to watch, but I cried off and on the whole time. It’s so emotional, especially since it’s a true story and things like that do happen to Black people. A positive ending, but a total roller coaster. I think about it all the time."

    —lnicolek012

    13. Eden Lake (2008)

    Weinstein Co. / © Weinstein Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "If you know, you know."

    —spaced

    14. The Neon Demon (2016)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    “I was not prepared for it."

    —carolibal4cfa04881

    15. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009)

    Lions Gate / © Lions Gate / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I will never watch it again, and now that I have children, I'm even more adamant about that."

    —livlintern

    16. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

    Zentropa Entertainments

    "It has an amazing performance by Björk, and it's brutally sad. I bought a copy of the DVD after seeing the movie because I loved it so much. I lent the disc to several friends and thought about it many times, but could just never summon the energy to watch it again myself."

    —u/Trump_Card_Played

    17. Funny Games (1997)

    Attitude Films / Attitude Films / Courtesy Everett Collection.

    "Those people were not 'funny' in the least, and it really fucked me up when they just moved on to the next house at the end."

    —jasond42d4442c9

    18. Marley and Me (2008)

    20thcentfox / © 20thCentFox / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "As a lover of animals, I could never watch this again without bawling my eyes out. It physically hurt me to watch."

    —h2creech

    19. Parasite (2019)

    © Neon / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The garden party scene was wild, but as much as I liked this movie, I can’t watch it again."

    —shariffamawani

    20. Coco (2017)

    © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "This one might be an odd choice to be on here. It's a colorful and beautiful movie. I am Latina, so it was nice to see the representation — but Grandma Coco? Oof. It reminded me too much of my own late grandmother, and I cried so hard."

    —preistessofsass

    21. Sophie’s Choice (1982)

    Universal Pictures

    "I can’t even think about it without getting upset."

    —christine61390

    22. Hereditary (2018)

    Reid Chavis / Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "The emotional dinner scene did it for me. Toni Collette’s anguish over her daughter’s death was too much to handle. I watched the movie shortly after my mom died, and it was just too raw."

    —dramatic_chipmunk

    23. Prisoners (2013)

    Warner Bros / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That movie with Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal — oof."

    —merrifieldgiorgio

    24. Still Alice (2014)

    Sony Pictures / © Sony Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago. It was so raw and real. I can see why Julianne Moore won the Oscar, but it left me with such a deep sadness that I know I’ll never watch it again."

    —[deleted]

    25. The Paperboy (2012)

    Millennium Entertainment / Millennium Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "John Cusack will never be the same to me."

    —serenak4cd31813e

    26. Django Unchained (2012)

    Weinstein Co. / © Weinstein Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The heavy usage of the n-word, the dog fights, the men who fight to the death, the slavery aspect...it absolutely traumatized me. I’m a Black woman who saw it with my ex (who was white and INSISTED on us seeing it). Yeah, no."

    —Melanie

    27. Joker (2019)

    Niko Tavernise / © Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It was so good, but I almost had an anxiety attack in the theater and can’t bring myself to watch it again."

    —marileib

    28. The Father (2020)

    © Sony Pictures Classics / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It was absolutely brilliant...maybe TOO brilliant, because I don't want to watch it ever again."

    —adeledazeem

    29. Mother! (2017)

    © Paramount Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's a trippy, weird movie, but really good!"

    —Cheryl Keswani

    30. Room (2015)

    © A24 / courtesy Everett Collection

    "Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay were both phenomenal, but it was an emotionally exhausting experience!"

    —tessmarin

    31. Les Misérables (2012)

    Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I had to turn it off the second Gavroche died. The way they shot that scene was horrible; it really showed the pain everyone felt. It could also partly be that my mom wouldn't let me see this until I turned 16, but I really loved the soundtrack, so I basically grew up listening to the characters while having no idea that most of them died. I haven't watched it in years, but I can still remember all of the deaths."

    —[deleted]

    32. Black Swan (2010)

    Fox Searchlight / © Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's so good, but it tripped me out too much."

    —jryingling

    33. Tusk (2014)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Everyone I've ever known who's seen this movie has had a visceral reaction to it, whether it be total disgust, violent anger, or whatever else. I personally think it's one of the must-see movies for those who want to get into B-movie horror, but I would be very concerned if you wanted to watch that shit multiple times."

    —P1nkL3m0n4d3

    34. Glory (1989)

    Tristar Pictures / © TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "We watched it in class when I was 12. My teacher wanted us to understand that racism was (and still is) just as pervasive in the North as it is in the South. I’m 26 now, and I haven’t seen it since. I’ll NEVER forget how much that movie gutted me, but it's SO important to see."

    —rose

    35. The Imitation Game (2014)

    Weinstein Co. / © Weinstein Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "Incredible movie, great performances, but a heartbreaking ending."

    —christig2

    36. The Strangers (2008)

    Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "The one with Liv Tyler. The mind games and the torture were a genuine nightmare!"

    —ladyheather1229

    37. Kids (1995)

    Shining Excalibur Pictures / © Shining Excalibur Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That movie bothered me. I hated to think that’s what teens were actually doing."

    —jenniferw486be321c

    38. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "This one REALLY got me."

    —vvinter

    39. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

    Warner Bros. / ©.Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw it once. It was very well made, but it also made me sick, and I don't think I could ever watch it again."

    —dianaelenac

    40. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

    Oscilloscope Pictures / Oscilloscope Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Hands down."

    —u/swanyMcswan

    41. Nocturnal Animals (2016)

    Focus Features / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "It's a good movie, but I can't watch it again because of that highway scene."

    —u/JohnnyJayce

    42. Buried (2010)

    Lions Gate / © Lions Gate / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I saw this movie ONCE, and never again. It was emotionally draining, and the ending was insane. Every time I think about it, I get super anxious."

    —Denisse

    43. A Single Man (2009)

    Weinstein Co. / © Weinstein Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Colin Firth gave a searing, devastating performance — he’s so good, I can’t see it again. I was emotionally drained at the end."

    —stephanies4bcc536a5

    44. Hotel Rwanda (2004)

    United Artists / © United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Great movie, would recommend it to everyone, but once was enough for me."

    —Jaida

    45. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

    Miramax / © Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I had to watch it in history class in eighth grade, and....well, it's a beautiful film, but I can't watch it again or I'd never finish it due to tears."

    —Poison_Ivy 90

    46. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

    © Gkids / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I'm never, EVER going to watch that shit again. It's from Studio Ghibli, the same company that did Spirited Away. It's an absolute masterpiece, for sure, but don't expect to find happy little creatures in it."

    —u/V02D

    47. The Perfection (2019)

    © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's on Netflix and it FUCKED me up. I was not expecting anything that happened, and it was full-on gross and disturbing at some points. I would never watch it again, but it was too wild not to watch once!"

    —abbeyp4ce88581e

    48. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

    Warner Bros. / © Warner Bros, / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I watched the very first bit of it when I was in officer training and thought it was a comedy. A few months later, I sat down and watched the whole thing...it's not a comedy."

    —u/Titanomicon

    49. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

    Picturehouse / © Picturehouse / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I thought I was going in to see a cool fantasy flick. Instead, it turned out to be a movie dealing with trauma, abuse, and coping mechanisms. It's still a great film, but so gut-wrenching."

    —u/JDazzleGM

    50. Alpha Dog (2006)

    New Line Cinema / © New Line Cinema / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It would be sad enough if it were fiction, but the fact that it was based on real events makes it so hard to stomach."

    —me98765

    51. The Pianist (2002)

    Focus Features / © Focus Features / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I can't bring myself to watch it again. The anger and hopelessness I felt for that man and those people is beyond comparison."

    —u/VibinWithDoggo


    52. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)

    © United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "Nicolas Cage is amazing in it (he won an Oscar for it), but I'm a recovered alcoholic, and that film hit WAY too close to home. Good movie, though."

    —u/Kryodamus

    53. Moonlight (2016)

    Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "It was so realistic to my life that it made me uncomfortable."

    —u/Cold_Dishwater

    54. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

    Oscilloscope Pictures / Oscilloscope Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That was a truly visceral experience."

    —u/crackosaurusrex

    55. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

    Artisan Entertainment / © Artisan Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That ending montage made me physically ill. It's the only movie that's ever done that to me."

    —u/huazzy

    56. What Dreams May Come (1998)

    Polygram Filmed Entertainment / © Polygram Filmed Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's the most beautiful movie, and I think everyone should watch it at least once, but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since Robin Williams died. I actually haven't watched anything he's in since he died."

    —u/Leather_Mango

    57. Steel Magnolias (1989)

    Tristar Pictures / © TriStar Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I can't even think about Sally Field's breakdown without tearing up — especially now that I have kids."

    —u/evelynnross

    58. Nightcrawler (2014)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's an incredible movie, but I'll never watch it again. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a sociopath a little too well — so much so that I struggle to watch him in other things now."

    —u/lowerrr

    59. Melancholia (2011)

    Magnolia Pictures / © Magnolia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's really disturbing. I don't think I've ever really gotten over it."

    —u/haliella

    60. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

    Columbia Pictures / © Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "That scene where they're sleeping in the bathroom was hard."

    —u/edgarpickle

    61. The Road (2009)

    Dimension Films / © Dimension Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I watched it when it first came out and loved it, but I can’t put myself through it again. It’s so heartbreaking."

    —u/Chemical_Robot

    62. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

    Larry Horricks / © Fox Searchlight Pictures. All rights reserved / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It made me cry, and that's VERY rare for me."

    —u/ComfortableSea4645

    63. Schindler's List (1993)

    Universal / © Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's a beautiful, well-done movie, but it is textbook emotionally exhaustive and traumatic. I actually had to take a break about halfway through because I'd cried so long and so hard that I had a headache from the dehydration. I'm getting misty-eyed just thinking about it!"

    —lokisankle

    64. Midsommar (2019)

    © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I got really invested in it when I was watching it for the first time, and I've had a fear of cults since I was a kid. I don't find the film scary at all, but by the end of it, I was just completely frozen."

    —u/killtoryscum

    65. Sorry to Bother You (2018)

    Annapurna Pictures / Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "There are no words to describe that movie."

    —u/TheEliteB3aver

    66. Dead Poets Society (1989)

    © Buena Vista Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It hit me HARD, mate!"

    —u/DarkSorceress_007

    67. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

    Fox Searchlight / © Fox Searchlight / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It's one of the best movies I have ever seen, but it leaves you with a lot of phantoms."

    —u/littleliongirless

    68. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

    Focus Films / © Focus Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It was such a beautiful film, so very emotional — it just broke me. I watched it once in the movie theater and then never again."

    —u/makikoigami

    69. No Country for Old Men (2007)

    Miramax / © Miramax / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I remember sitting in the theater when the credits rolled — not one person got up and left until they were done, then everyone left in utter silence. I'd never seen that phenomenon before. In the cab ride home, I turned to my husband and said, 'What the fuck did we just watch?' We didn't even talk about the movie that night, that's how it impacted us. The next morning over coffee, I turned to him and said, 'I think that was the best movie I've ever seen, and I never want to see it again.'"

    —jmboyd65

    70. The Game (1997)

    Polygram Filmed Entertainment / © Polygram Filmed Entertainment / Everett Collection

    "I loved it, but I also wanted to shoot everyone at the end."

    —u/1-LegInDaGrave

    71. Foxes (1980)

    United Artists / © United Artists / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "A harsh reality, coming-of-age movie. My mother made me watch it when I was young, and it stuck with me ever since. It is more relatable and understandable as time passes."

    —chamomilecowgirl

    72. I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020)

    Mary Cybulski / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "*Shudders*"

    —mallmoth

    73. House of Sand and Fog (2003)

    Dreamworks / © DreamWorks / Courtesy Everett Collection

    —Bremusa4u

    74. Old Yeller (1957)

    Courtesy Everett Collection

    "I know this is an old one, but my parents played it for me and my brother when we were young kids (didn't realize how sad it would be). It still makes me sad thinking about it."

    —Rileydoodle

    75. Hound Dog (2007)

    Empire Film Group / Everett Collection / Everett Collection

    "With Dakota Fanning. Beyond disturbing. It breaks my heart."

    —smehigan

    76. Blue Valentine (2010)

    Weinstein Co. / © Weinstein Co. / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "It destroyed me. To see them at the beginning of their relationship really loving and caring for each other, then life happened and it eventually all just fell apart. Too real and believable. Just heartbreaking."

    —mariat4e50d731d

    77. And Finally: Uncut Gems (2019)

    © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection

    "So chaotic and anxiety inducing."

    —ldogalicious

    Now it's your turn! What's a movie that's so good, you'd recommend that everyone watch it once, but you couldn't ever personally bring yourself to watch it again? Share your pick (or picks) in the comments below!

    Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.