20. Sick: The Life And Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist

(Kirby Dick, 1997)

What’s The Story? Dick’s doc focuses on cystic-fibrosis sufferer Bob Flanagan, who turned his life of “coming, coughing and bad runny bowels” into S&M performance art.

Among other things, this process involved skewering his cock on a nail.

What’s It About? Sick is a touching, bawdy S&M love story and memorial to Flanagan’s often-inspired takes on art, desire and illness.

Essentially, he's transcending his ailment by wilfully exceeding the pain it gave him.

According to Dick, that crucified-penis close-up was a purely aesthetic decision (“I thought the impact of the image would play well cinematically”).

Weird Fact: Flanagan starred in Nine Inch Nails’ widely banned video for ‘Happiness Is Slavery’.

19. El Topo

(Alejandro Jorodowsky, 1970)

What’s The Story? Ultraviolent, black-clad gunslinger El Topo avenges the slaughter of a small town’s inhabitants, and is then injured in a face-off with four grandmasters of pistol-duelling.

Years later, he’s rescued by mutant dwarves and sets off to liberate his keepers from their underground hidey-hole. 

Everyone gets killed by more outlaws and El Topo burns himself alive.

What’s It About? It's a lateral metaphor on the Old and New Testaments. The grandmasters are the prophets Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah and Jeremiah while El Topo, naturally, is ol’ JC.

Weird Fact: El Topo is one of Marilyn Manson’s favourite movies, and he’s desperate to star in Jodorowsky’s long-awaited sequel.

18. Freaks

(Tod Browning, 1932)

What’s The Story? Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) is a beautiful circus trapeze artist, adored by Hans the midget but canoodling with Hercules the strong man.

When Cleopatra learns Hans is sitting on a huge inheritance, she plots to deprive him of his fortune by poisoning the tiny toy-boy.

But the circus’ malformed members – including the pinhead twins, the limbless Living Torso and, naturally, the bearded lady – plot a  nasty revenge on this depraved gold-digger.

What’s It About? ‘Who are the real freaks?’, jabs real-life circus man Browning. The 'stars’, or the ‘normal’ people in the film? A bit like real life, eh? EH?

Weird Fact: Studio boss Louis B Mayer banned the ‘freaks’ from eating in the MGM café because they were upsetting their fellow diners.

Next: Primer, Head, Boxing Helena...