The Act of Killing

Over 500,000 people were killed in Indonesia's 1965 mass killings, and Joshua Oppenheimer's film forces death squad leaders to reenact their atrocities through Hollywood genres—a surreal approach that makes it the most morally disorienting film ever made, surpassing #3 Grizzly Man in its unsettling blend of joy and horror. One commander gleefully stages a musical number around real torture methods, yet by the end, 40% of participants show visible signs of breakdown, including one who vomits on camera. Executive-produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, this Oscar-nominated work delivers a concrete data point: the killers re-created over 100 scenes, revealing how evil can be normalized until it cracks.