Five Great “One-Chip-Challenge” Movies

Can you stomach them? Can you sit through the whole thing?

Last week, I saw the film Titane, a jaw-dropper of a film directed by Julia Ducournau (Raw). I think the movie might be brilliant — it knocked me over; we discussed it on this week’s Grierson & Leitch movie podcast — but one thing it definitely is: Gross. It’s super gross! Ducournau, as shown in Raw, has an undeniable knack for Cronenberg-ian body horror, and one of her signature insights is how powerful such body horror is when transposed to female protagonists. When promoting Raw four years ago, Ducournau said:

“In every movie we see, women have to be beautiful and fit or whatever the hell, and they have to fit a certain box, and no: women fart, poop, pee, burp. This is why you can relate to them, because they are not these heavenly creatures; they are real people with real feelings, and when they go down, they go down.”

This is even more visceral in Titane, and while it’s thrilling and staggering to watch it, it is undeniable that it is difficult to watch. This movie is great, but I have no doubt that, if you see it in a crowded theater, there will be several, perhaps many, people who run screaming from the theater. There are scenes that are excruciating to sit through. I believe it is worth it! But it’s also reasonable if you…