Keep Telling Yourself It’s Only A Movie: Horror’s Most Controversial Films
By Aaron Posey
I wear my love of all things horror like a badge of honor. The horror community is a small tight-knit group where we all come together for our love of the macabre. But occasionally a film comes along that pushes the boundaries and gets under your skin.
P.T. Barnum once said, “No publicity is bad publicity,” but that is not always the case. In one instance of bad publicity a director stands accused of making an actual snuff film and had to round-up the actors to show the authorities that the people in his film were very much alive.
Compiled below is a list of some of the most controversial horror films ever made. They are not ranked in any particular order. So kick back and let us go down the rabbit hole of some of horror cinemas proclaimed worst.
10. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)
Directed by John McNaughten, Henry is a fictionalized telling of the story of real life serial killer Henry Lee Lucas. Made on a shoestring budget of $110,000, McNaughten got the idea to make this film after seeing a news program about Henry Lee Lucas.
Upon completion the production company did not want to release it because it was given an “X” rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which was only typically used for adult films. This film helped pioneer the NC-17 rating. NC-17 was became reserved for films with explicit and violent content but didn’t cross so much into pornography territory.