Warning: Due to the nature of this post, there is discussion of DISTURBING CONTENT ahead. We ask that you please proceed with caution and take care of yourselves.
ICYMI, Terrifier 2 is making people vomit and faint in theaters.
The sequel to the 2016 horror film has only been in theaters for a few weeks now, but it's already being touted by several outlets as "the most depraved film of all time" because of its extreme violence, and has reportedly caused several people to faint and/or be sick in theaters mid–viewing experience.
While this is, yes, very gross — it also means that Terrifier 2 now gets to join a long list of movies that have caused viewers to have newsworthy reactions while watching them!
So with that in mind, here are 15 films that made people faint, vomit, and/or walk out of theaters:
1. Since we're talking about Terrifier 2, we might as well keep talking about it, right? So let's start with that film. As mentioned above, the film is a sequel, taking place a year after the events of the first film. It sees cult favorite horror icon Art the Clown as he's resurrected and hunting down the same characters from the first film.
Made on a budget of $250,000, the brutal film quickly had reports of vomiting and fainting rolling in via users on Twitter, and word of mouth quickly spread from there, causing one of the film's producers, Steve Barton, to issue a warning via his Twitter account:
We aren’t done yet. Hold on tight. News coming. #terrifier2 #terrifier #arttheclown
In fact, the claims have become so widespread that the film's director, Damien Leone, also made a statement on Twitter, commenting on the claims that these reports are a "marketing ploy": "I wish we were smart enough to think of that! But then again we didn't need to."
To everyone saying that reports of people fainting and puking during screenings of Terrifier 2 is a marketing ploy, I swear on the success of the film it is NOT. These reports are 100% legit. I wish we were smart enough to think of that! 😋 But then again we didn’t need to😉
2. Another more recent entry on this list is Titane (2021), a French film with a story so strange that, no matter how I attempt to explain it to you, you'll still think that I'm somehow making it up. Please, just read the summary yourself, I implore you.
Anyway, according to a claim from someone at the international premiere of the film, "At least 13 people fainted, others walked out, during the Aussie premiere of Titane in Sydney last night."
NEW FROM ME: At least 13 people fainted, others walked out, during the Aussie premiere of Titane in Sydney last night. As one attendee said: "The guy in front of us fainted and the chick to my right had a panic attack." https://t.co/uh3tlPGnVA
The film was named "the most shocking film of 2021" by several outlets, with director Julia Ducournau saying of her writing process, "Trump had just been elected, and the world was not a happy place. I was very pessimistic about the future and about a society that has no room for fluidity, transformation, for change and inclusiveness. There was also a desire for metal and skin that I can't really explain."
3. But this isn't Ducournau's first rodeo when it comes to making films that leave audiences light-headed, as her first film, Raw (2016), had a similar effect on audiences.
The horror film sees a lifelong vegetarian head to veterinary school, where she discovers she has a taste for human flesh.
Similarly to Titane, the film received aggressive reactions during initial viewings, and paramedics had to be called during its screening at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival because many patrons were feeling physically ill. Ducournau herself even said, "One of my friends passed out at the screening in Paris. I apologized afterward. I don’t feel like it’s a compliment that people are passing out. I feel guilty!"
4. On the opposite end of things, the codirectors of Goodnight, Mommy (2014), Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, were excited to hear about the frightened reactions to their film.
Goodnight Mommy follows twin boys who are disturbed when their mother returns home after a surgery that leaves her face under bandages, and they quickly come to believe that the woman in their home may not be their mother at all.
"Two people fainted," said Fiala while referencing the violence in the film. "That’s the best compliment we’ve had so far."
5. Next up, there's Lars Von Trier's Antichrist (2009), a film detailing the surreal and gory aftermath of a grieving couple's relationship after their young son dies in a tragic accident.
Given the disturbing subject matter, there were massive walkouts during the initial screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival, and it was reported that at least four people fainted.
6. While on the subject of walkouts at Cannes, Irréversible (2002) had quite the walkout rate.
During this French horror film's premiere at Cannes, 250 people reportedly walked out before the film was over, with reports saying some of them required medical attention.
Many have attributed this feeling of sickness to the director Gaspar Noé's use of a low-frequency score designed to invoke uneasiness and confusion.
7. Another film that made viewers sick happens to be considered a classic now — and it even caused many a moviegoer to request a refund. The film, of course, is The Blair Witch Project (1999).
The infamous hand-held documentary style of the film was one of the first of its kind to be done in feature length, which ended up upsetting quite a few viewers.
As noted in a Washington Post review from 1999: "'An average of one person a show at the Cineplex Odeon Outer Circle, where the film opened earlier this month, has requested a refund because they were feeling woopsy,' said Bob Jones, regional director for Loews Cineplex Entertainment."
8. And at least one person fainted during a midnight screening of V/H/S (2012), which prompted EMTs to arrive at the scene.
The film is an anthology, consisting of six separate, short horror films, written and directed by various horror talents, including Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and Radio Silence.
It was reported that one person passed out and was treated by EMTs, but returned after the movie ended to meet the filmmakers, while another person was treated for nausea.
9. Meanwhile, Saw III (2006) had the ambulance called on it in the UK multiple times.
The third installment in the Saw franchise is the one where many fans agree things take a hard turn into "torture porn," and thus it's exponentially more violent than its predecessors.
As noted in an article by BBC News, staff at a UK cinema had to call emergency services three separate times in one single night because of various people fainting during a screening of the film.
10. Heck, even streaming services can have this effect on viewers in the comfort of their own homes, as we saw with Netflix's The Perfection (2019).
The film, which is about two dueling musicians, has a shocking amount of body horror and gore, which likely took viewers by surprise, given the limited reveals in the marketing at the time of its release.
The film was making people so nauseated that viewers were quick to take to Twitter to warn others about their reactions to the film, and to share their own experiences.
11. And, of course, the iconic The Exorcist (1973) was giving people nightmares long before any of these other films were even an idea in the creators' minds.
Depicting the terrifying, torturous, and, at times, profane possession of a child, The Exorcist broke down many barriers in horror, becoming a master class in brutality.
And, as seen in the video below, taken upon the film's release in 1973, some moviegoers left the film midway to sit in the lobby to avoid being sick, while others outright said they wanted to see if it WOULD make them sick, as the word-of-mouth advertising had suggested:
View this video on YouTube
12. But the horror genre doesn't have an exclusive hold on making people sick in theaters, so let's end on a few nonhorror films to prove a point, shall we? First up, so many people fainted while watching Oscar-nominated 127 Hours (2010) that Movieline actually began keeping a timeline.
Described as a "biographical psychological survival drama," the film is based on the true story of canyoneer Aron Ralston, who became stuck under a boulder in an isolated canyon in southeastern Utah in April 2003 and eventually needed to amputate his own arm in order to escape.
In the end, Movieline counted between 13 and 16 faintings over the course of the film's festival run and theatrical release. The studio, however, chose not to capitalize on the press surrounding this. Then–Fox Searchlight copresident Stephen Gilula said, "I would prefer that people not pass out; it's not a plus. [...] We don't see a particular publicity value in it."
13. In another "based on a true story" example, The Walk (2015) — a film about Philippe Petit, the man who walked on a high wire between New York City's Twin Towers in 1974 — was presented in such a realistic way, it gave viewers vertigo.
During its premiere at the New York Film Festival, several attendees noticed that their fellow moviegoers were getting sick and "even vomiting" during the high-intensity scenes.
As noted in a CBS news article, Denise Widman, the board director of the Boston Jewish Film Festival, told the New York Post, "The last 20 minutes of the film, I had to look away a couple of times because of the sensation of the height. I felt a little bit queasy. I felt nervous. It was a tingling sensation and some anxiety."
14. Finally, our last two examples come from the same writer-director: Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction (1994) caused a viewer to pass out during one very specific scene.
After she accidentally overdoses, Uma Thurman's character is brought back to life by John Travolta's character, who stabs her violently in the chest with an adrenaline shot.
As noted in USA Today, someone fainted from the intensity of the sequence at the movie's NYFF premiere, which caused the festival to pause the screening in order to seek medical attention.
15. And last but not least: A very famous moviegoer/moviemaker walked out of Reservoir Dogs (1992) after feeling that the torture scene took things a little too far.
As reported, the scene caused so many people to walk out during early screenings that Tarantino started keeping a running count, with Tarantino himself noting that horror director and icon Wes Craven was among them.
Tarantino told the Hollywood Reporter: "I started counting the walkouts during the torture scene, and 33 was the largest. I thought, Finally I've got an audience that won't walk out, and I even joked about it while introducing the film. Five people walked out of that audience, including Wes Craven! The fucking guy who did The Last House on the Left walked out?! My movie was too tough for him."
Have you ever experienced anything like this (fainting, vomiting, walking out, etc.) while watching a movie? Share your story in the comments below!
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