(Don't know if this has been done before but) Movies so Traumatizing You Could Only Watch It Once.

[Bugguy]

1Midnight Express (1978): This hit me square between the eyes, as several years prior, in my early 20's, I was living alone working in a government capacity in South Korea and was frequently exposed to situations similar to those events that landed the young man in the movie in a Turkish prison. At the time, we laughed off any risks and rationalized that if there was trouble, the US embassy would run interference. The profound take-away from the story, however, was just how vulnerable, naive, clueless we were. We could have become someone's leverage in a grievance with the US and a PR nightmare. At the time we were nearing the end of a very unpopular 'police action', so nerves were raw. It scared me then, and now. I can't watch it again.

 

[Fandorin]

The Lighthouse, 2019 with Robert Pattinson and Wilhelm Dafoe. So disturbing I couldn't finish it. And a constant reminder, since I live in the land of the lighthouses, Maine USA.