tfishell: It's hard to think of a lot more games (there are plenty of movies) that are "shocking" like it, or at least are done in the same realistic style. Would you mind naming some?
Sure. I played both of the Suffering games when I was 16, and both gave me nightmares. Though I've never played it and it was already said, from what I've seen and heard Phantasmagoria is the same way. I also felt sort of shocked after playing some of the Silent Hill games a few months ago. The last one I can think of at this current time is Dead Space 1. That game gave me a lot of anxiety and the Necromorphs almost made me sick at times. I know most of those games deal with monsters, but I still felt a lot more shocked per se playing/watching those than I did Harvester.
I think what draws away from some of Harvester's shock value is the fact that it's completely over the top, there's some humor, and it knows it's going to shock people with it's flat out weirdness. I was personally more shocked and disturbed by Torque's visions of murder in the Suffering games than I was retrieving an "adult" magazine for a deputy at the sheriff's office who needs some "alone time", and upon being discovered is beat with a newspaper. Yeah, it's completely odd, weird, and gross, but at least I can laugh at that for it's sheer oddity.