Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma
Four corrupted fascist libertines round up 9 teenage boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of sadistic physical, mental and sexual torture.
Why it matters
A harrowing descent into the grotesque that confronts fascism’s darkest impulses through unflinching, transgressive cinema.
- Pier Paolo Pasolini’s brutal adaptation of Marquis de Sade’s work as a political allegory on power and dehumanization.
- Not conventional horror, but an existential nightmare of moral decay and systemic cruelty that unsettles beyond gore.
- For viewers prepared to face cinema’s most extreme challenges—this is a test of endurance, not escapism.
- Limits-pushing in content and tone; a film to study for its historical context and impact on transgressive art, not casual viewing.
Director
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
57
Slow Burn
50
Psychological
86
Supernatural
0
Creature
0
Disturbing
100
Fun Factor
0
Cerebral
99
Survival
50
