If you’re looking for a frighteningly thrilling movie experience, you can’t go wrong with an X-rated horror movie. From old classics to modern shockers and everything in between, here are some of the best adult-rated horror movies ever made.
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The 10 Best X-RATED Horror Movies (18+)
If you’re a fan of horror movies, you’ve probably seen your fair share of blood, gore, and jump scares. But have you ever delved into the world of X-rated horror movies? These films push the boundaries of what’s considered acceptable in mainstream cinema, featuring explicit sex and violence that’s not for the faint of heart.
In this blog post, we’ll be exploring the top 10 X-rated horror movies of all time. From the twisted minds of directors like David Cronenberg and Lars von Trier, these films will shock, disturb, and titillate you in equal measure.
Whether you’re a seasoned horror fan or just looking for something new to watch, these X-rated horror movies are sure to leave a lasting impression. So grab some popcorn, turn down the lights, and prepare to be terrified by the most shocking and explicit horror films ever made.
Here is the top 10 list of best X-RATED Horror Movies.
#10. Snuff (1975)
For years, snuff film urban legends have circulated among inquisitive teens and cinema buffs with morbid curiosity.
These films allegedly depict real-life killings recorded on camera, eluding the severe censorship that films must through before being published.
Alan Shackleton saw an opportunity to promote a substandard picture as a legitimate snuff film maker, so he grabbed an already-made film and added some more violence to it.
Snuff, released in 1976, is the outcome. Snuff, directed by Michael Findlay, is based on a film called The Slaughter. A gang of filmmakers is ambushed by a demonic motorcycle cult at an undisclosed location in South America in the film.
The publicity for snuff was truly revolutionary for its time. Shackleton decided to turn the film into a cultural phenomenon, marketing it as real murders, caught on tape, and even hiring fake protestors to oppose the film’s release.
In the end, and despite its cheap visual effects and cheesy acting snuff, ended up getting its coveted X-rating, branding it as one of the most violent, theatrically released films of its time.
#9. The Gore Gore Girls (1972)
It takes a lot of bravery to convert your most violent picture into a comedy, but Herschell Gordon Lewis achieved exactly that with The Gore Gore Girls in 1972.
Lewis, dubbed “The Godfather of Gore,” is credited for inventing the splatter horror subgenre. A style that focuses on depicting gore and bloodshed in extreme detail. So I’m sure you can guess where this is headed.
The Gore Gore Girls is a filthy horror-comedy that could have only been filmed in the 1970s. The story revolves around a young female reporter who is investigating a string of brutal stripper deaths in Chicago.
With a title like The Gore Gore Girls, the movie attracted the media’s attention way before it even hit theaters. Because of its raunchy subject and extreme depictions of violence, the film was denied a proper theatrical release, having to be released exclusively on VHS.
Due to its extreme content, The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification outright banned the film from the country, a veto that remains even to this day.
#8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
A sequel, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, was poised to enter theaters more than a decade after the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre scarred an entire generation of viewers.
Tobe Hooper, who directed the first picture in 1974, is back in the director’s chair. Critics praised the original Chainsaw Massacre for its tasteful use of gore. The sequel, on the other hand, would move in the other direction.
The sequel to the franchise’s first film acts as a parody of its predecessor, since the filmmaker believes that fans misunderstood what the first picture was about.
When the MPAA reviewed the film, it immediately gave it an X-rating. This was terrible news for Hooper and his team, who desperately needed to make a profit. They were forced to release the film as unrated to avoid the usual problems that X-rated films have to deal with.
Upon releasing home video, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 was banned in Germany and Singapore, with the heavily edited version barely being released in the UK. It was also banned in Australia for 20 years, finally making its home media debut in 2006.
#7. I Drink Your Blood (1970)
Hippies and satanic cults mingled together in the early 1970s, just months after the Manson family caused havoc in Hollywood, was widely considered as a prescription for disaster.
I Drink Your Blood took advantage of this, becoming one of the first movies to receive an X-rating for violence rather than nudity.
The film, which was released as part of a double feature with the similarly named I Eat Your Skin, follows a cult of satanic hippies destroying a rural community.
As previously said, the Manson murders were still fresh in many Americans’ minds, and the over-the-top hippy brutality of I Drink Your Blood was too much for some audiences to bear.
For almost a year, the film ran unaltered in most theaters, its X-rating still in full display. However, the producers of I Drink Your Blood finally conceded and agreed to re-edit the film to be rated R by removing some of the more intense scenes.
#6. The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Not every flesh-eating monster in exploitation movies needs to be an undead creature. As shown in 1977’s The Hills Have Eyes, a regular family of cannibal crazy can get the job done.
The Hills Have Eyes, directed by Wes Craven, has become a cult favorite among horror film enthusiasts due to its graphic violence and grim narrative.
On their journey to California, a suburban family gets lost in the midst of the desert. When they are ambushed by a bunch of cannibals who terrorize them in more terrible ways, their lives are flipped upside down.
The movie is infamous for its raw portrayals of all kinds of violent acts, including some that we can’t even mention in this article. This prompted the MPAA to give the film the dreaded X-rating.
Faced with the possibility of the film flopping at the box office, Craven recut the film to get an R rating instead. For the longest time, horror fans have searched for the original director’s cut of the hills have eyes, but the film is believed to be lost.
Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll get to see the movie in its pure, shockingly violent form.
#5. The Quatermass Xperiment (1955)
The Quatermass Xperiment is a sci-fi horror play from 1955 that was much ahead of its time. The film tells the narrative of a spaceship that returns to Earth with two crew members missing. The ship’s third astronaut is unable to speak, and his conduct is unusual to say the least.
The quartermaster experiments, adapted from a BBC television serial, were a moderate success, with horror aficionados bringing hammer flicks to the public’s notice.
The British Board of Film Censors gave the film an X rating in the United Kingdom. Since its release in 1951, it was just the 12th film to acquire this designation.
While it may appear mild by today’s standards, the film was deemed too startling for moviegoers in the 1950s.
However, Hammer Films decided to use the X-rating to their advantage, dropping the E from the movie’s title and renaming it as a Quatermass Xperiment, a name that wouldn’t feel out of place in a 90s grunge album.Â
#4. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, which was made on a shoestring budget of roughly $100,000, epitomizes what the X-rating was all about. A brutal, startlingly honest depiction of a murdering spree. Even before it was released, the film sparked significant debate.
Despite the fact that the picture was completed in 1985, it did not find a distributor until 1986. The majority of corporations just refused to work on the film.
After screening at a few film festivals, the MPAA took notice of the film and granted it an X rating. After the initial ones painted by Joe Coleman were deemed too visually intense, the poster had to be withdrawn as well. Needless to say, the film’s distribution in other countries was considerably more difficult.
The UK’s BBFC outright refused to rate the film for years until 1991 when it got an 18 rating after receiving some heavy censorship.
#3. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
It’s difficult to overestimate the impact of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre on horror film history. Even now, its creative use of gore and McJob’s mood are difficult to equal.
Director Tobe Hooper crafted a great genre masterpiece by employing the “less is more” concept. Despite the fact that the picture only contains a few severely violent moments, censors considered it too distressing for general audiences.
The film’s solemn tone may be to blame, since it appeared to be unlike any previous horror picture. In San Francisco, the film had several problems, with spectators fleeing cinemas in disgust.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is also infamous for having been banned in Chile, Brazil, France, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Singapore, and many other countries around the globe.
A somehow baffling band, especially considering just how tame the movie can actually be compared to some other contemporary horror flicks.
#2. The Evil Dead (1981)Â
The Evil Dead, directed by Sam Raimi, has impacted innumerable films over the years, but it was also a headache to make. The plot of the film may seem a little cliched nowadays.
Five friends journey to a remote home in the woods, where they are devoured one by one by forces of evil. The Evil Dead, on the other hand, introduced several genre cliches that would inspire future horror directors.
However, it was nearly never released since it acquired an X-rating and was dubbed “1981’s Nastiest Picture.” In other countries, such as Finland and Ukraine, the film is still prohibited.
While the absurd amounts of blood might be to blame, there’s a particular scene involving a possessed three and a young woman that’s regarded as one of the most disturbing moments in horror cinema.
#1. A Clockwork Orange (1971)Â
Stanley Kubrick is a transgressive film maestro. While A Clockwork Orange may not appear to be a traditional horror film at first glance, it depicts the evil that lies within the human soul. Worse, the protagonist, Alex de Large, is an illustration of how appealing evil can be.
The original book, which was based on an Anthony Burgess novel, drew significant backlash for being seen as a justification for youthful criminality. Aside from the gang violence, the film is also known for its more filthy sequences.
Even now, some of the sequences in which Alex and his gang abuse innocent individuals are difficult to see.
The film was immediately given an X-rating, prompting Kubrick to remove 30 seconds of explicit material to acquire an R rating.
A Clockwork Orange ended up being one of the most influential films of Kubrick’s career, with filmmakers like Zack Snyder citing it as their favorite movie.
Currently, the picture scores an impressive 8.3 out of 10 on the IMDb website based on more than seven hundred thousand votes,
Conclusion
It’s important to note that X-rated horror movies are not for everyone and can be extremely graphic and disturbing. These movies often contain scenes of extreme violence, gore, nudity, and sexual content, which may not be suitable for all audiences.
Additionally, it’s essential to consider the potential psychological effects of watching X-rated horror movies. Such movies can trigger traumatic memories or exacerbate pre-existing mental health conditions such as anxiety or PTSD.
Therefore, it’s crucial to exercise caution when choosing to watch X-rated horror movies, and individuals should always prioritize their mental and emotional well-being. It’s also essential to recognize that there are alternative forms of entertainment that can provide thrills and excitement without resorting to such extreme content.
Overall, it’s important to remember that horror movies should be watched with discretion, and individuals should always prioritize their physical and emotional safety.
