WARNING: The video below is extremely graphic. It’s meant to be. In fact, the video’s creators are hoping you won’t even be able to make it all the way through. Stop The Horror is a five-minute short film about the unimaginable pain some people — and their families — go through in the period before a person’s death.

The film, which is released today, re-tells the true story of one man’s horrific death, surrounded by his family, who could do little to help or comfort him. It’s part of Go Gentle Australia’s campaign to kick start a conversation around voluntary euthanasia.

You can watch the trailer below or the whole thing here. Or you can at least try.

Behind The Scenes

Award winning director Justin Kurzel, best known for his work on the Aussie horror film, Snowtown, told Junkee that producing the scene was a harrowing experience for the cast and crew.

“Whenever you’re doing subject matter like this it’s incredibly confronting and awkward,” he said.  “It’s exhausting for a director. You have to be involved and live in it. You’re really trying to push your actors to the limits. That takes a lot of energy and focus.”

“So many people have been touched by relatives or friends who have gone through this kind of suffering. I think for all of them, and for everyone involved including the crew, there were obviously bad memories.”

Kurzel said he was drawn to the project by his own experiences dealing with terminally ill loved ones, and that no one should be forced to endure the unimaginable pain shown in his film.

“I think it’s an issue that’s based on choice, and freedom of choice,” he said. “I think that’s a very strong argument within euthanasia. I was very passionate about that idea (of choice), then when I started to read Go Gentle, and when I heard what it’s like to endure unbearable pain, it’s kind of like the title, Stop The Horror. It’s like a horror film. It’s just excruciating. The ethical questions about allowing people to suffer like that is something I’m very passionate about.”

Why The Film Matters Now

Go Gentle’s campaign advocating for assisted dying laws in Victoria is headed up by broadcaster and TV producer Andrew Denton, who has long pushed for legal voluntary euthanasia in Australia.

In a recent speech at Monash University, he set out the case for voluntary euthanasia.

An assisted dying law makes it possible for that conversation [about a peaceful, voluntary death] to start early after a terminal diagnosis. To bring in the family. To manage their dying in a rational and humane way where the base-note is no longer fear about what uncontrollable horrors may lie ahead. In short, it is about palliation. Another tool for doctors to use when all others have failed,” he said.

“This debate is not about a ‘right to die’. It’s about a right to ask for help if you are dying and beyond meaningful medical relief… A law for assisted dying doesn’t mean that more Victorians will die. But it will mean that less Victorians suffer.”

Victoria’s assisted dying laws are expected to come before parliament next week.