Sundance: Where to Stream 10 of the Most Controversial Films

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The Sundance Film Festival has been shocking audiences — and launching careers — for years. Here are some of the most shocking films to premiere in Park City — and where to watch them.

The most recent of these, “Kuso,” has already been called “the grossest movie ever made” for its inclusion of, among other things, a shot of an erect penis being stabbed. And that’s just in the first 10 minutes!
“Teeth” (2007)

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This dark comedy about a woman whose vagina has literal teeth is a bold statement on feminism that was “one of the most talked-about films at the Sundance Film Festival this year,” according to artistic director Mystelle Brabbée. Lead actress Jess Weixler went on to win the Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Performance.

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“American Psycho” (2000)

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Bret Easton Ellis has been adapted several times, but “Less Than Zero” and “The Rules of Attraction” didn’t make it onscreen as faithfully (or entertainingly) as “American “Psycho.” Violent and disturbing, Mary Harron’s adaptation received the same accusations of misogny that the book itself did.

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“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)

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Big things have small beginnings, and so it is that what was for many years the most profitable film ever made started out as a microbudgeted indie that first scared audiences (and made them debate whether what they were seeing was “real”) in Park City.

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“Spanking the Monkey” (1994)

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David O. Russell is best known for his Oscar-friendly movies these days, but the “American Huste” director is one of many whose beginnings were much more humble. With a euphemistic title referring to masturbation and an incestuous plot development, “Spanking the Monkey” was much less multiplex-friendly than “The Fighter.”

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“sex, lies, and videotape” (1989)

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In someways the quintessential movie of Sundance’s early years, Steven Soderbergh’s landmark debut remains one of the best movies ever to come out of the festival — and one of the most sexually frank.

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“Clerks” (1994)

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Kevin Smith’s debut had a similar impact on both its director’s career and Sundance itself. It also reminded festivalgoers no subject was too taboo for Park City (including and especially dying while masturbating).

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“Secretary” (2002)

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Plenty of Sundance movies have featured graphic sex over the years, but none have delved into the world of BDSM quite like Steven Shainberg’s cult classic.

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“Reservoir Dogs” (1992)

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At the time, Quentin Tarantino’s quotable debut must have been the most violent film ever to emerge from Sundance — we’ve gotten used to his blood-soaked aesthetic in the two decades since its premiere, but not everyone was onboard with it from the start.

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“Pi” (1998)

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Brainy and unsettling, Darren Aronofsky’s first movie (are you sensing a pattern here?) earned a directing award at the festival for its clever mix of number theory and religious theory.

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“Saw” (2003)

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Would you like to play a game? For better or for worse, we have “Saw” to thank for ushering in the controversial era of torture porn, which dominated the horror genre throughout the mid- and late-2000s.

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“Teeth” (2007)

“American Psycho” (2000)

“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)

“Spanking the Monkey” (1994)

“sex, lies, and videotape” (1989)

“Clerks” (1994)

“Secretary” (2002)

“Reservoir Dogs” (1992)

“Pi” (1998)

“Saw” (2003)