Everyone enjoys a bit of sexually explicit scenes that make the temperature rise. When artfully and carefully presented, these scenes often seem very erotic and stimulating. However, there are certain productions that clearly do not understand the televisual tolerances we can endure. Shows that present disturbing and graphic scenes that are borderline sexually violent and can be considered assault are sadly rife.
While several films have perfected the art of bringing to the screen well-choreographed, visually appealing scenes, most have no idea about the same. Many of these scenes might trigger PTSD and should be viewed with caution.
This calls for productions to be extra careful while dealing with such sensitive issues. Perhaps consulting an intimacy director and talking to activists and survivors might help them understand how to breach the topic with empathy and care.
Other titles often have sex scenes that are frankly nasty and unsettling. From a couple getting aroused by open wounds to another having sex while being stitched to each other, the depravity of the human mind knows no bounds; seems like Salo has some worthy successors on Netflix.
Here are the five most disturbing sexually explicit scenes on Netflix that you must avoid:
5 most disturbing sexually explicit scenes on Netflix
5. 365 Days
One of the most controversial and sexually graphic titles on Netflix, 365 Days has recently received an even more sexually rambunctious sequel while the streamer gets ready for a final part of the trilogy. Ever since its release, the film became a sensational point of discussion where teenagers on TikTok created disturbing videos while feminists and other activists called out the film for glamorising and fetishizing kidnapping, Stockholm syndrome and rape culture.
The film provides a distorted idea of consent as it sees the leads engage in a relationship where the power balance is pretty obvious. The lead Mafia boss touches the leading lady without her consent and uses orgasms to lure her in and win her heart. Truly disturbing to watch, the film sows in a twisted understanding of consent and misrepresentation of rape that can have pretty adverse effects.
4. Brand New Cherry Flavour
This 2021 miniseries series starred Rose Salazar, Catherine Keener, Jeff Ward, Leland Orser and others while presenting an 1980s hallucinatory ride involving magic, horror, sex and revenge over eight riveting episodes. It revolves around a naive LA_based filmmaker being abused by her lecherous role model. Determined to get back at him, she resorts to supernatural elements when things begin to quickly deescalate.
This show contains a bizarre and unsettling sexually explicit in the fourth episode which is rightfully titled “Tadpole Smoothie”. The protagonist, Lisa finds a wound on her abdomen that births a kitten; after she touches the wound, instead of feeling searing pain, she is weirdly aroused. Soon, her hook-up has sex with her while he sticks his hand into her abdomen, causing many viewers to gag in disgust.
3. Two
Directed by Mar Targarona, Dos or Two is a Spanish horror thriller that presented one of the most shocking and gruesome sexually explicit scenes in 2021. Starring Marina Gatell and Pablo Derqui as the two strangers, the film sees them wake up naked in bed with their abdomens stitched together while they are being emotionally tormented by an unseen, unidentified captor.
In a disturbing pornographic sequence that Jigsaw from Saw would be proud of, the duo engage in a deranged sequence of sex. While being sewn to each other, they have sex with each other in a muddled and frankly disgusting manner; later, they are revealed to be long-lost conjoined twins who are held captive by their crazy father. This depraved incestuous scene left most feeling shocked, uncomfortable and distressed.
2. 13 Reasons Why
The series is based on Jay Asher’s book and contains really upsetting elements. Documenting teenage problems like bullying and abuse, the series focuses on a box of tapes left behind by the quiet Hannah Baker to her classmate, Clay Jensen, weeks after her suicide, which leads the plot to unravel in two separate timelines.
Besides the disturbing scene of Hannah’s suicide, the series contains scenes of graphic sexual violence. The loathsome school bully Bryce Walker is a serial sexual predator with no understanding of consent. Not only does he sexually assault Hannah, and grope her in the store but also rapes a drunk Jessica while she is passed out. His actions tip Hannah over the edge and is the main reason for her suicide. Although Bryce is murdered in a gruesome manner, he never faces significant consequences for being a sexual assaulter reflecting the sad reality of the justice system which bows down to money and power.
1. Anatomy of a Scandal
Created by David E. Kelley and Melissa James Gibson, Anatomy of a Scandal is the newest British anthology series on Netflix starring Naomi Scott, Rupert Friend, Sienna Miller, Ben Radcliffe and others. Over six episodes, the series explores the deepest and darkest secrets of the British elite that including personal, professional and political scandals. However, one particular sexually explicit scene of gratuitous sexual violence has been quite triggering and disturbing for viewers.
Directed by S.J. Clarkson, the series appears to glamorise rape by presenting sexual assault in a horrifyingly sensual manner, involving tantalising sounds of ripping fabric, heavy breathing etc., while the lyrics in the background say, “Desire takes over, lost all control, how the mighty fall.” The scene is continuously replayed in flashbacks throughout the show, focusing on the survivor’s face, making it derogatory, harmful and triggering for sexual violence survivors.
