So many of us have favorite movies that we love to re-watch on repeat play as we're falling asleep and would bring to a desert island if we could only choose a few. Welp, the movies we're about to talk about are not those. Don't get us wrong, these movies are really good. Many of them won Oscars — if not multiple Oscars — but they're basically so good that we never want to see them again. (Caution, this article contains spoilers.)
Some of these films are depressingly sad movies, some of them are just super scary horror movies, but all of them are on a one-watch-only basis for many people. (More power to those who can stomach these on a repeat viewing basis.)
Recently, comedian Rose Matafeo asked her Twitter followers to reply with some of their favorite "can never watch again" movies, and a ton of people flooded her mentions with their responses. Some people cited specific reasons why they didn't want to ever see a movie again. One person who saw Life of Pi in theaters for the first time did not want to watch it on DVD, because the the small screen experience wouldn't be the same. (Can't say we disagree.)
Others listed movies that people disagreed with — like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind — being too "emotionally draining" to watch again. Another disagreed saying, "NO WAY THIS FILM IS AMAZING." But, of course, even amazing films can be hard to watch a second time.
Here are 20 movies that more than one person on Twitter agreed would be too hard to stomach more than once, and the results are … well, interesting to say the least.
'Schindler’s List'
Rated: R
As with any movie about the Jewish people in World War II Germany, this film is a total tearjerker. The plot follows businessman Oskar Schindler who initially hires Jewish people to work in his factory because they make for cheaper labor. As the war escalates, he makes a deal with the Nazis to spare the members of his workforce — hence Schindler's list.
'Hotel Rwanda'
Rated: PG-13
This movie is based on the true story of the Rwandan genocide which resulted hundreds of thousands of people losing their lives in 1994. Hotel Rwanda follows a hotel manager who helped shelter over a thousand refugees during the genocide. It's heartbreaking, but such an important piece of modern history to be aware of. Still, watching it once is hard enough — let alone more than that.
'Revolutionary Road'
Rated: R
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have apparently been fated to portray doomed lovers in all their movies together. First in Titanic, and then in Revolutionary Road. In the latter, the two play suburbanites who dream of a better life together, but that's not the road that they ultimately get to walk. Add in a shocking death, and this movie is anything but a happy watch.
'Marley & Me'
Rated: PG
Any movie where the dog passes away is hard to want to re-watch. Marley & Me tells the beautiful story of a troublesome dog and the family who loves him anyway, and the audience will grow equally attached to the pup over the course of the movie. That's what makes his tragic end that much more emotional.
We're crying just thinking about it!
'Saving Private Ryan'
Rated: R
Saving Private Ryan won five Oscars and was nominated for 11 total, which goes to show what a great film it was. However, no matter how well done it was, it's a tough watch. The movie's graphic depiction of soldiers' lives during World War II may be true to life, but that only makes it harder to stomach.
The History Channel went as far as to say that it contains "some of the most horrific fighting scenes ever produced on film."
'Grave of the Fireflies'
Not Rated
Many stories have been told about the American or Allied Troops' side of World War II, but this haunting animated film tells the story about two siblings in Japan just trying to survive in the aftermath of hugely destructive firebombing. Grave of the Fireflies is guaranteed to make its viewers think about the real human cost of war, especially since it's based on a true story.
'The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'
Rated: PG-13
This World War II movie is told through the lens of two children: one a son of Nazis, and the other a Jewish concentration camp prisoner. The two become friends through the barbed wire fence that separates them, and their childlike innocence about the true horrors surrounding them make this painful for any knowing adult to watch.
'Midsommar'
Rated: R
Midsommar follows a group of friends on a Swedish vacation who soon find themselves at the mercy of a cult. The film has been described as "disturbing" and "gross," with some viewers claiming it even made them throw up. For those who watched it once, that seems to have been more than enough.
'Atonement'
Rated: R
Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are here to make us cry in Atonement, which is about the tragedy of lost love. For good measure, a portion of this movie also takes place during World War II, because it doesn't get much sadder than that time period. It's the kind of movie that breaks one's heart so much upon first viewing that no one wants to subject themselves to those feelings again for a second time.
'12 Years a Slave'
Rated: R
Any movie about slavery is going to be hard to watch, but 12 Years a Slave was so good that it's extra difficult to stomach. It's based on the true story of a free black man who was kidnapped and forced into plantation work for 12 years.
12 Years a Slave won three of the nine Academy Awards it was nominated for, but that doesn't mean we ever want to see it again.
'Hereditary'
Rated: R
Horror movies that truly terrify us are fun to watch … once. Hereditary is certainly one of those, with some reviewers calling it "harrowing" and "deeply frightening." The movie follows a family who is haunted by the death of their mysterious grandmother. It's not the average ghost story, though. Be warned. It could give anyone nightmares.
'Blue Valentine'
Rated: R
This movie jumps from past to present as it tells the story of two lovers meeting, falling for one another, and eventually growing apart. The love story is so sweet to start out, which makes where it ends up even sadder. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star, and their excellent performances will tear any viewer's heart out.
'Sophie’s Choice'
Rated: R
In another devastating World War II concentration camp story, viewers were horrified to learn that Sophie was forced to choose which of her two children would die upon arrival to Auschwitz. It's hard enough to lose a child, let alone be responsible for that loss (or semi-responsible, because the Nazis were the ultimate evil doers in this film). Meryl Streep won an Oscar for her performance in the film, but it's not enough to make us ever watch it again.
'Fruitvale Station'
Rated: R
Michael B. Jordan stars in this based-on-a-true-story film. He plays Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man who was killed by a police officer in 2009. It was sadly all too relevant of a film when it came out in 2013, and it remains that way to this day. As such, it's too real at times, but a necessary watch — at least once.
'Room'
Rated: R
Both Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson give masterful performances in this movie. Brie even won an Oscar for the role — but that doesn't make it any easier to watch. Room follows a young girl who was kidnapped, forced to bear a child, and trapped in a storage shed for years. Her resilience in the face of all this trauma to help protect her son is truly admirable, but also devastating.
'Requiem for a Dream'
Rated: R
If any movie teaches about the dangers of drug use, it's this one, which destroys the lives, loves, and hopes of its characters in one fell swoop. Requiem for a Dream was directed by Darren Aronofsky who also directed psychological horror films like Black Swan and the next movie on this list, Mother!
'Mother!'
Rated: R
This cringe-worthy film, and its twist ending left, viewers shook — perhaps hoping to never see it again. Some of the scenes were so challenging for Jennifer Lawrence to film that she filled her brain with Keeping Up With the Kardashians episodes between takes to shift her mental energy.
That's a great strategy for viewers to adopt after watching it as well.
'The Road'
Rated: R
Post-apocalyptic America is never going to make for a fun film setting, but this movie really took things to the extreme. Viewers will gradually lose hope along with the main characters, especially when the movie ends with an extremely devastating loss.
'The Pianist'
Rated: R
Yet another World War II-era film, The Pianist is based on the true story of a piano-playing Holocaust survivor. The horrors contained within his life story are so hard to watch, especially when viewers realize that even escaping the war alive doesn't necessarily make for a happy ending.
'127 Hours'
Rated: R
James Franco stars in this movie based on the real story of a climber who found himself trapped under a boulder in a crevice. The film depicts the climber's last ditch attempt to escape — which culminates in him cutting his own arm off. That scene alone makes it hard to want to hit play on it again.
