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75 Movie Moments So Freakin' Disturbing, People Are Shocked They Were Ever Even Filmed
In several different posts over the course of 2021, we've asked our BuzzFeed Community to tell us about which movie scene(s) they believe are the most disturbing of all time — no matter the genre.* And, listen y'all, they DID NOT disappoint!
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*Horror! Drama! Sci-Fi! Heck, even some Disney movies are on here!
So — with that in mind and presented in no particular order — here are the most popular responses we received, all in one place for easy, accessible, nightmare-inducing reading:
*Also, WARNING: Given the nature of this post and the question being answered, there is some DISTURBING CONTENT ahead. We have opted to include stills from the movies and link out to the full scenes in the titles should you wish to view them. Please proceed with caution and take care of yourselves!
1.Midsommar (2019), The opening scene
"The family's death at the very opening of this was f'ed up."
2.Ghost Ship (2002), Also the opening scene
"When everyone gets sliced in half."
—Lauren Cavanaugh, Facebook
3.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), The backseat scene
"The shot in the remake after the backseat suicide. At one point someone references her brains looking like lasagna. I haven't been able to eat lasagna since."
4.Hellraiser (1987), The “Jesus wept” scene
"The realistic use of gore is terrifying."
5.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), The ritual scene
"When the guy has his heart ripped out of his chest by the leader of the group. It scared me as a kid, and — to this day — I skip over that part when I watch the movie."
6.Sinister (2012), The lawn mower scene
"I swear that movie is so messed up, and that moment truly sticks with you."
7.Se7en (1995), The crime scene(s)
"That movie crossed a line for me. My husband and I could barely speak to each other the week after we saw it. We were both so upset."
8.It: Chapter One (2017), The Georgie scene
"When Pennywise chomps Georgie's arm off. Most of us trusted clowns as kids, maybe even enjoyed them! The rest of the movie I could handle, but little Georgie bleeding out? NOPE."
9.Funny Games (2007), The remote control scene
"It left the audience with zero hope."
10.Terrifier (2017), The sawing-in-half scene
"When Art the clown saws that girl in half. It's the only scene to ever make my stomach squirm, and I watch a lot of gory movies."
—Jessica Grech, Facebook
11.Audition (1999), The torture scene
"The most messed up scene ever recorded."
12.Bone Tomahawk (2015), The graphic death scene
"I can handle gore, but that was too much!"
13.The Lovely Bones (2009), The bathroom scene
"It's so disturbing and sad. The entirety of that movie disturbs me, but it’s still a good movie."
14.Don't Breathe (2016), The assault scene
"When the blind man catches the main girl, takes her downstairs to the basement, and is about to...you know...with the turkey baster."
15.Fire in the Sky (1993), The abduction scene
"I saw it when I was WAY too young, and it has scarred me."
—Erin Fowler, Facebook
16.The Amityville Horror (2005), The bullet hole scene
"The scene in the remake with Ryan Reynolds where the babysitter is FORCED TO STICK HER FINGER IN THE BULLET HOLE OF A DEAD GIRL’S FOREHEAD. I tried stomaching that movie at a seventh grade Halloween party to impress some boys, but I am now 25 fucking years old and it still gives me the creeps."
17.The Mist (2007), The plot twist scene
"I'm a huge Stephen King fan and read the story years before the movie came out, so I thought I knew what would happen. Nope. They changed the ending, and — even though King himself has said he loved it — I hated it. I don't handle violence against children well at all, even if it's fake."
—Lori McElligott, Facebook
18.Green Inferno (2013), The cannibal scene
"It's got to be the scene when that guy gets cut up and eaten while still alive."
19.The Witches (1990), The reveal scene
"The grand high witch's face reveal was (and still is) bloody terrifying! I had nightmares for seven consecutive years after watching it and I still refuse to rewatch it to this day!"
20.The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017), The killing scene
"It disturbed me so badly, I almost couldn't finish it."
—Saru K, Facebook
21.Shaun of the Dead (2004), The disemboweling scene
"A character is disemboweled and torn limb from limb by zombies. I can deal with the rest of the over-the-top gore in that movie, but I have a thing about guts. I still can’t watch it."
22.Dancer in the Dark (2000), The execution scene
"I love Björk, but it was just too real for me."
23.Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), The Judge Doom scene
"When Judge Doom gets flattened and you realize he's actually a toon. The way his eyes change still gives me nightmares!"
24.Annihilation (2018), The bear scene
"When the creature used one of the dead character's voices to lure out the group. It haunts me."
—Laura Gibbs Hicks, Facebook
25.Braveheart (1995), The quartering scene
"The scene when William Wallace is drawn and quartered is SO hard for me to watch. I mostly watch it through my fingers."
—Tracie Laine, Facebook
26.The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014), The child eating scene
"I can't remember a single second of that movie, other than that damn snake woman!"
27.Alpha Dog (2006), The murder scene
"The scene when they kill the innocent brother of their rival after holding him hostage (and even befriending him). I have not watched that movie since."
—Emily Ball, Facebook
28.The Witch (2015), The baby scene
"This scene is within the first 10 minutes of the movie and I wanted to walk out."
—Sarah Myres, Facebook
29.The Jackal (1997), The target practice scene
"This is the most disturbing scene in movie history. Absolutely soul crushing and horrific to watch."
—Glen Dickson, Facebook
30.The Thing (1982), The dog scene
"The sounds alone made me uneasy."
—Elijah Roughley, Facebook
31.Sophie’s Choice (1982), The choice scene
"I will never be over it. It makes me sick just thinking about being put in that position."
32.Mirrors (2008), The mirror scene
"The scene when the sister was enjoying a nice bath and her 'mirror self' straight-up ripped her jaw right off. TBH, it took me a week to finish the movie after that, and I skipped that part."
33.Red Sparrow (2018), The torture scene
"That scene has scarred my mind. I will never watch that movie again."
34.Backcountry (2014), The attack scene
"I never see this movie on these types of lists, but the scene when the man gets eaten by the bear has permanently scarred me for life, and I refuse to watch that movie ever again."
35.Suspiria (2018), The ritual scene
—Francisca Almeida, Facebook
36.Saw II (2005), The needle scene
"A man pushes a woman into a pit of used syringes and she has to wade through them to find a key while being stuck by needles. All the while, she’s screaming and crying. It was horrifying."
37.Les Misérables (2012), Gavroche's death scene
"The way they panned over Gavroche's eyes after his death was absolutely horrible, and I still have to skip over that part whenever I rewatch the movie."
38.The Sixth Sense (1999), The kitchen scene
"The scene in the kitchen was SO unsettling to me."
39.American History X (1998), The curb stomping scene
"It haunts me to this day. The movie itself is so disturbing and sad, but that scene...man."
40.Hereditary (2018), The piano wire scene
"Everyone always talks about the car accident scene, but for me it was the moment Toni Collette saws off her own head with a piano wire. I was done at that point and had to cover my eyes for the rest of the movie."
41.Reservoir Dogs (1992), The ear cutting scene
42.Nocturnal Animals (2016), The "get in my car" scene
"I can't bring myself to watch that movie a second time, but the memory of that scene is still with me years later — especially when I’m in a car at night. Just thinking about it makes my heart beat really fast."
43.Eye for an Eye (1996), The phone call scene
"Sally Field's character had to listen on the phone while Kiefer Sutherland's character assaulted and murdered her daughter. I’ve never been able to forget that moment. It was horrifying."
—Bethany Belden Smith, Facebook
44.Martyrs (2008), The bathtub scene
"When Anna found that secret door and she finds that woman with the metal on her head and her waist. When she puts her in the bathtub and starts pulling the bolts out of her head, it makes me cringe just imagining it."
45.Looper (2012), The disappearing body parts scene
"There's a guy losing parts of his body in the present as they are chopped off in the past. I could barely make it through that scene and I didn't take in the rest of the movie. It unlocked a new, very specific fear in me."
46.Misery (1990), The hobbling scene
"It’s not even especially gory. I just hate hearing him scream."
47.Saving Private Ryan (1998), The beach scene
"I watched that movie when I was 12 and I felt like I was going to vomit. It was so awful and intense. The part where the man is lying on the beach, trying to hold in his intestines in while screaming for his mother especially fucked me up."
48.The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011), The birth scene
"It's so much worse than the first movie! The scene at the end where the pregnant woman is trying to get away from the main guy, and she gives birth in the car seat and...what happens after that...it's one of the most hideous things I’ve ever seen, and psychologically damaged me for life."
—Kelly Robinson, Facebook
49.Pinocchio (1940), The Pleasure Island scene
"When all of the boys turn into donkeys and the one boy calls out for his mother in the donkey voice. I can never watch that movie again!"
50.Pet Sematary (1989), The Achilles tendon scene
"The only right answer to this question is the scene when the neighbor is on the stairs and the kid comes up and slashes his Achilles tendon with his dad's scalpel. This scene is the sole reason why I rush up the stairs in the dark."
51.Saw IV (2007), The ice block scene
"When a character's head is crushed by two blocks of ice. I can still visualize it 10 years after seeing it."
52.Gerald's Game (2017), The "degloving" scene
"I watch a lot of horror movies and I'm not really all that squeamish. That said, I could have gone without seeing the degloving scene in this movie for the rest of my life."
53.Hostel (2005), The first torture scene
"That first full torture scene especially gets to me because I know a guy who resembles the guy in the chair!"
54.The Cell (2000), The horse (and iron) scene(s)
"I made it through the horse scene, only to have to abandon the theater when it was time for the iron scene with the kid. I left crying and have never finished it."
—Aubrey Bolack, Facebook
55.The Green Mile (1999), The electric chair scene
"The execution that goes wrong, you know the one. It makes my heart and stomach sick just thinking about it."
56.Dante's Peak (1997), The boat scene
"It scarred 13-year-old me for a good month and I still remember it over a decade later."
57.The Blair Witch Project (1999), The "stand in the corner" scene
"I know that it's not gory or anything, but the end scene when Heather is frantically searching for her last friend, and all of a sudden she finds him facing the corner and the camera falls. That scene has haunted me for so long. I still think about it 20 years later and haven't seen it since."
58.Mother! (2017), The baby scene
"If you’ve seen it, I think you know which scene I’m taking about. If you haven’t seen it: a baby gets murdered and eaten."
59.Pan's Labyrinth (2006), The face smashing scene
"The captain smashes in the face of a suspected rebel. I thought after one or two hits, it would stop, but then it just kept going. I didn't know a lot about the movie, so I thought it would just be, like, a gothic fairy tale. That scene felt like it came out of nowhere and really set the tone for the rest of the film for me."
60.Poltergeist (1982), The investigation scene
"For me, it's the scene where the investigator tears his face off. It's the only movie scene I can never rewatch."
61.Psycho (1960), The shower scene
"It's the all-time scariest scene in a movie. People were scared to shower after that."
62.Event Horizon (1997), The vivisection scene
"There's a horrible scene where Jason Isaacs' character is hung up and vivisected. It's been years and I still wish I could unsee it — and worse, the only reason I watched the movie in the first place was because he's one of my favorite actors!"
63.The Butterfly Effect (2004), The dog scene
"I couldn't finish this movie because — at the very beginning — there's a scene where a boy is about to set a dog inside a bag on fire."
—Fabiana Giorgio, Facebook
64.The Grudge 3 (2009), The ghost brush
"The scene when the older sister is brushing the younger sister's hair until she falls asleep, then, when she walks out of the room, you see a hand start brushing her hair again. It zooms out to show the little ghost boy in bed with her. Not even the worst part of the movie, but scared me enough to sleep with a pillow over my head for years."
65.Goodnight Mommy (2014), The bed scene
"The tied-to-the-bed scene was pretty intense. The twin sons start demanding the woman posing as their mother (or is she?!) tell them where their real mother is."
66.The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), The barn scene
"The scene when Emily is counting to six, six times. On the sixth, she starts naming the demons that are possessing her body. When she got to the last demon, I had to close my eyes and ears, because I assumed it was Lucifer, and I really did not want to hear his name. Anything with possession scares me, but that scene actually terrified me and I haven't watched that again."
67.Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The "dream" scene
"The entire 'dream' sequence, from the boat to the ticking clock, from the chanting to the eerie soundtrack, from the SUPER creepy (and nude) old people to Satan’s eyes at the very end. It’s masterfully done, but YIKES."
68.The Hills Have Eyes (2006), The breastfeeding scene
"I am a huge horror fan and don't get shocked or grossed out easily, but I definitely didn't see this scene coming and it was super fucked up. I realize this isn't exactly a great advertisement for the movie, but it's actually a very good remake."
69.Nightbreed (1990), The surprise murder scene
"This is a random movie, but there's a scene that to this day I still think about. A woman goes into the kitchen and opens the freezer door. When she closes the door, there's a man in a creepy burlap mask standing there and he brutally kills her, then her husband. It was terrifying, and I never watched it again, but it got me hooked on horror movies."
70.Overlord (2018), The Nazi lab scene
"When the soldier goes into the Nazi lab and hears a French woman pleading for help. He pulls back the curtain and it’s just a head and a spine, and there are artificial lungs to keep her alive. I think about spine lady most days."
71.Doctor Sleep (2019), The baseball boy scene
"The torturing of the baseball boy really got under my skin. Jacob Tremblay was born to act."
—Dani Af, Facebook
72.Creepshow (1982), The roach scene
"The roach infestation scene messed me up as a kid. I now have a serious fear of bugs."
73.Hannibal (2001), The brain eating scene
"That was pretty horrifying. I recently rewatched the movie and I found that scene even less bearable to watch than when I was a teen."
—Anaïs M. Senseï, Facebook
74.House of 1000 Corpses (2003), The finale scene
"This was the last horror movie I ever saw. I don't even remember how I got talked into going to see it, but the scene at the end when the girl finally gets out and tries to hitchhike away. She gets picked up by that creepy dude and she doesn't even realize she's on her way back to that horror house. It traumatized me forever."
—Taryn Graham, Facebook
75.And finally: Tusk (2014), Literally ANY scene
"Frankly, I wish I could unsee that whole movie."
—Ana Della Vedova Casaux, Facebook
All right, you've survived all of their picks — but now, it's your turn! What do you believe is the single most disturbing movie scene of all time? Share your pick(s) in the comments below!
Some entries were edited for length and/or clarity.
