Some movies are simply made to be watched over and over again. It could be because the plot is so dense and confusing that it takes multiple viewings to fully comprehend; or that the film is a cult classic and, for diehard fans who can recite every line, it never gets old; or that, particularly when it comes to comedies, the jokes portrayed onscreen are like comfort food, and hungry devotees keep coming back for seconds, thirds, or…fourteenths.

But on the flip side, with some movies, just once is enough. Just like the endlessly rewatchable movies, the reasons vary for the one-and-done flicks, too. It may be on account of a film’s gory, grotesque, or straight-up disturbing subject matter; or the fact that, once a viewer knows the ending, the meat of the movie – the mystery – becomes all too obvious; or simply, it might be because a film is just excessively long. That’s not to say these are “bad” films. They’re worth a watch, but that’s just it – there’s no need to go back and revisit them later.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

9 Requiem for a Dream

     Summit Entertainment

If anyone ever needs a reminder that drugs are bad, and they can ruin someone’s life, just watch Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream (2000). The film follows a handful of characters who, after casually dabbling in substance use, progressively become severely addicted. What follows is the shocking lengths they go to get their fix, and the consequences of their addictions – including an arm amputation, shock therapy, mental delusions, and a disturbing sex work scene.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 The Sixth Sense

     Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Bruce Willis was dead the whole time. Apologies for the major spoiler, but that’s the foundation upon which M. Night Shyamlan’s 1999 psychological thriller, The Sixth Sense, is built. Once the audience knows that after a first viewing, returning to the film is an entirely different experience. It is, as the colloquial phrase indicates, “spoiled.” That’s not to say that, for anyone watching it for the first time, the twist ending is well worth the experience. Nobody saw that coming.

7 American History X

     New Line Cinema

Although highly-acclaimed, especially for Edward Norton’s Academy Award nominated role, American History X (1998) is a tough watch. It deals with racism, hatred, injustices in the prison system, and loads of graphic, unsettling violence and rhetoric. Sure, it’s got some stellar acting performances; but the subject matter, combined with the disturbing imagery, is pretty intense. And because of that, American History X is one of those films any cinephile should definitely watch, but perhaps just once.

6 The Machinist

     Paramount Classics

When discussing The Machinist (2004), the most common thing to come up is Christian Bale’s dramatic physical transformation, dropping 60 pounds in his role as an insomniac factory worker. The film is, to put it mildly, bleak. Bale’s character is suffering, and not just from his lack of sleep and emaciated frame. And once the big reveal goes down – showing that the cause of Bale’s torment is from a hit-and-run incident years earlier – the viewer learns that much of what came before was merely a sleep-deprived, guilt-driven hallucination.

5 Schindler’s List

     Universal Pictures

Even films that often make “best movies of all time” lists can be tough to watch twice – like Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Best Picture-winning historical epic, Schindler’s List. The film shows the horrors of the Holocaust and, although it tells the story of a “good guy” (Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler) who secretly defies the Nazi regime, it doesn’t shy away from the realities of what happened during one of history’s greatest tragedies. And because it shows just how cruel humanity can be, it’s not a movie most viewers want to watch multiple times.

4 Antichrist

     Nordisk Film Distribution

Danish director Lars von Trier is loved and loathed as a provocateur in cinema. His films are dark and disturbing, yet he’s also celebrated for his creativity and pushing boundaries. With 2009’s Antichrist, von Trier did all that. Plagued by the accidental death of their young son, a couple (played by Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg) goes to a cabin in the woods. From there, things get creepy – including satanic rituals, sexual violence, self-mutilation, and more. Yeah, this one’s not for the faint of heart.

3 The Blair Witch Project

     Haxan Films

When it came out in 1999, The Blair Witch Project was unlike anything that came before it. The film was one of the most successful indies of all time; it spawned the “found footage” genre; and it used an unorthodox marketing campaign, including missing persons reports, which ingeniously lured moviegoers into believing it was a documentary, instead of a work of fiction. However, as decades passed, the allure of the film’s home-movie-eque style has faded; it was new and fresh at the time, but it’s not something most horror fans would go back and watch today.

2 Shoah

     New Yorker Films

As a documentary, Shoah is a cinematic achievement due to its comprehensive, intensely detailed depiction of the Holocaust. By interviewing survivors and civilians who lived through the atrocities, it gives a firsthand look at one of the darkest periods in history. And that’s heavy stuff. It’s the kind of subject matter that is so horrendous, that it’s not something most people want to consume over and over again. Not to mention, the documentary is nine and a half hours long, so not everyone has the time to sit through that on multiple occasions.

1 A Serbian Film

     Unearthed Films / Contra

Notorious for being in contention as one of “the most disturbing movies of all time,” A Serbian Film is undeniably shocking, revolting, and downright sadistic. It follows an aging adult film actor who gets hired to act in a snuff film; however, this one is different and involves many sickening sexual scenarios. What follows is a series of increasingly disturbing scenes. The film is so scandalous, in fact, that in the United States the film garnered an NC-17 rating – meaning that it’s one step more salacious, more “adults only” than a rated R film.