Child Of God (Tie) – Necrophilia And Shitting In The Woods
So, not only is this James Franco-written/directed movie filled with the most disturbing scenes of the year, but it was also easily the most disturbing movie I saw in 2014, hands down. How a guy can go from making a movie about a mentally ill necrophiliac to starring in a mainstream cell phone commercial in the same year is beyond me, but it also blows my mind.
Child of God is based off the gripping Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name about a mentally ill man who is left on his own and slowly descends deeper and deeper into a world of madness. I knew the novel was bleak and disturbing, and sat down expecting Franco to give us some watered down version of it. Instead, though, we get the real deal: A brutal and unflinching glimpse into the world of a man who is sipping into hell.
When it came to this movie, I could not decide what disturbed me more. The scene of the lead actor taking an actual shit in the woods (like, shown up close), or the extended scenes of him having sex with dead bodies (one of which can be seen below). I decided that both fucked with me enough that they deserved mention in the same slot.
Props to Franco here, as begrudgingly as I want to give them. He did a brooding book justice, and was unafraid to look at the sickness portrayed here and illuminate it. Ultimately, this is a tragic tale about a man not capable of taking care of himself, left to fend for himself in a world that didn’t want him (and one he clearly didn’t belong in).
Also, Scott Haze gave the best performance of the year here, hands down. Seriously. At no point are you watching a man acting feral. You just feel like you are witnessing a sick man get sicker. It’s tough to stomach at times, but very powerful (and super disturbing and depressing).