They're dark. They're disturbing. They're the kind of films you never forget.

The Toronto International Film Festival always packs a few shockers into its lineup that confront the audience like a boxer in the ring. This year's TIFF is no different.

"When a director has a very pronounced view on life their films show it," said TIFF Co-director, Cameron Bailey.

"It may not be what everyone wants to see. But these filmmakers dare to say what's on their mind. It's up to us to listen or not," said Bailey.

Just think back to TIFF 2009, when Danish director Lars von Trier rattled audiences' nerves with his film "Antichrist." Filled with violence, blood and sex, this startling look at marital decay had some moviegoers fainting and others storming out of the theatre.

Fast-forward to 2011 and von Trier isn't the only director getting under our skins.

Two of TIFF's most shocking entries deal with the dark side of human sexuality and betrayal.

Killer Joe

In the lurid crime thriller "Killer Joe," audiences get their eyes opened with startling ruthlessness by American director William Friedkin. Shocking viewers comes easily to Friedkin, the director of 1970s' classics like "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection."

In Friedkin's latest, Emile Hirsch stars as a young, small-town Texas hood who is desperate to settle his drug-dealing debts.

When he learns that his mother's life insurance is worth $50,000, he plots to kill her with the help of his family (Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon). Together, they hire a crooked cop (Matthew McConaughey) to do the job. But Killer Joe doesn't do anything for free.

This seedy lawman bends the rules until his payday comes. This he does only if he can keep his clients' younger sister as a sexual retainer.

"The film's premise is so unsettling and exceeds all the boundaries of good taste," said Bailey.

"Some scenes here are so visceral. They go way beyond what you expect from this type of American drama. But Friedkin knows what he's doing. He knows how to grab us and keep us in his hands until he's ready to let us go."

Sleeping Beauty

The Aussie drama "Sleeping Beauty" is another TIFF entry that commands our attention despite its disturbing subject matter. Director Julia Leigh takes a merciless look at the way women are used as sexual objects in society.

College student Lucy (Emily Browning) is in desperate need of money to fund her studies. To do that Lucy takes a job as a "Sleeping Beauty," a sex worker in a bizarre niche of high-end prostitution.

"You will go to sleep and you will wake up. It will be as if those hours never existed," Lucy's boss tells her as she enters the Sleeping Beauty Chamber.

Once inside, old men pay to have erotic experiences that require the girl's full submission. Though Lucy remains asleep, her mind can't handle never knowing what happens to her body.

"We've seen art-house films before about sexual abuse. But Leigh brings a very distinct, very feminist perspective to this subject matter," said Bailey.

"The way Leigh reveals this character drawn into a very refined form of sex work will be tough for some people to watch. But it's such a powerful film. That's why I wanted it at this festival."