What Would You Say Are the Most Polarizing Films?

There are some films that tend to provoke either extremely positive or extremely negative responses - "love it or hate it" - from audiences, with very little in between. More often than not, this is due to one of four reasons:

1. It deals with controversial subject matter.

2. It includes graphic and/or disturbing content.

3. It strays from what audiences expect of conventional cinematic storytelling and/or is just weird in general.

4. It is esoteric in nature, appealing only to a specific group of people.

Without including blatantly political films since those would be too obvious, here are some of the most divisive, polarizing films:

Vinyan (2008)

Anything directed by Lars von Trier, especially Dancer in the Dark (2000), which is perhaps the single most polarizing film ever made

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

The majority of avant-garde/experimental films, of which Wavelength (1967) is easily the best example

Sweet Movie (1974)

The Last House on the Left (1972)

In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Most of Alejandro Jodorowsky's filmography

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

Begotten (1989)

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

V/H/S (2012)

Most of Takashi Miike's filmography

The Lords of Salem (2012)

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

A Serbian Film (2010)

Anything directed or produced by Andy Warhol

Pink Flamingos (1972)

Funny Games (1997)

Anything directed by Larry Clark

Anything directed by Harmony Korine

The Baby of Mâcon (1993)

The Isle (2000)

Flaming Creatures (1963)

Head (1968)

Most of Catherine Breillat's filmography

Palindromes (2004)

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Crash (1996)

A Hole in My Heart (2004)

The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael (2005)

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)

The Brown Bunny (2003)

Paranormal Activity (2007)

The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)

Inland Empire (2006)

Downloading Nancy (2008)

Suicide Club (2001)

The Counselor (2013)

Trouble Every Day (2001)

Mother! (2017)

Feed (2005)

Psychopathia Sexualis (2006)

Anything directed by Jean Rollin

Anything directed by Andrey Iskanov

Possession (1981)

Kiss of the Darned (2012)

To the Wonder (2012)

Tarnation (2003)

Paranoid Park (2007)

Drag Me to Heck (2009)

The Travelling Players (1975)

Anything directed by Marian Dora

Anything directed by Werner Schroeter

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (2012)

The Comedy (2012)

Anything directed by Su Friedrich

The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie! (2010)

Poor Things (2023)

Anything directed by M. dot Strange

Anything directed by Jimmy ScreamerClauz

Anything directed by James Fotopoulos

Bestiaire (2012)

We Are the Flesh (2016)

Anything directed by Gaspar Noé

Daniel and Ana (2009)

Atroz (2015)

Baise-moi (2000)

Anything directed by Matthew Barney

Anything directed by Crispin Glover

The Painted Bird (2019)

Man Behind the Sun (1988)

Caniba (2017)

Salafistes (2016)

Trauma (2017)

What would you say are the most polarizing films and why?

!kino