Disturbing movie scenes can leave a lasting impression, whether it’s because of gore, chilling dialogue, or unsettling themes. Nonetheless, they often catch us off-guard and leave us with a sense of fear and dread. Here are 18 of the most disturbing movie moments that will give you sleepless nights and leave you speechless.
Midsommar
The film follows Dani (Florence Pugh), a grieving young woman who seeks solace by joining her boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) and his friends on a trip to a remote Swedish festival. But what begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into a frightening experience as the group becomes involved in a series of disturbing rituals. But the film’s opening scene manages to establish an unsettling tone for the rest of the film. After losing her battle with mental illness, Dani’s sister takes her own life by filling her home with carbon monoxide, taking their parents’ lives with her. This graphic scene and Dani’s heartbreaking screams in the next take set the stage for the following unsettling events.
Misery
Based on Stephen King’s book, Misery is an unsettling slow-burn that leaves viewers feeling as isolated as the film’s protagonist. After author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is rescued following a car accident, Paul endures psychological and physical torture at the hands of his biggest fan, Annie (Kathy Bates), a mentally ill nurse. Witnessing Annie’s taunts and teases toward a bedridden and trapped Paul is unsettling alone, but the infamous ankle-breaking scene sends shudders down any viewer’s spine.
The Stepfather
The Stepfather follows Stephanie (Jill Schoelen), a young teen who becomes suspicious of her new stepfather, Jerry (Terry O’Quinn). The Stepfather relies on tension and suspense to depict the disturbing nature of Jerry’s behavior. The opening scene is no exception, where a blood-covered Jerry is cleaning up and giving himself a new appearance. As Jerry prepares to leave the house and begin his new life, viewers witness a shocking backdrop that depicts his family’s tragic demise. We are instantly met with a deranged psychopath who clearly shows no remorse for the horrors that unfolded off-screen.
Sinister
Sinister is a spine-tingling paranormal horror directed by Scott Derrickson. The film follows true-crime author Ellison (Ethan Hawke), who moves his family to the site of a gruesome family murder to research his latest book. While exploring the house, Ellison discovers a box of old home movies, each depicting the murder of several families. There are several disturbing scenes in Sinister, but these tapes intrigued and terrified viewers. Specifically, the “Lawn Work” tape shows a family tied to stakes in their backyard while a lawnmower plows toward them. Although the scene cuts out, the screams leave little to the imagination and are enough to make anyone feel unsettled.
Annihilation
The film follows biologist Lena Double (Natalie Portman), who, along with a team of female scientists, enters a strange zone to uncover the truth behind her husband’s 12-month disappearance. While exploring this bizarre phenomenon, the team encounters and fights several mutants, but none are as terrifying as the mutant bear. While restrained to chairs, the scientists are confronted by a bear who absorbs the DNA and characteristics of other animals. As it emits unsettling cries that mimic human voices, the scene is deeply unnerving and instills a sense of fear in the characters and viewers alike.
The Witch
The Witch follows a Puritan family as they are exiled from their colonial plantation and forced to build a new life on the edge of a secluded forest. An unsettling slow burn, The Witch offers many disturbing moments. But none live up to the emotional and graphic baby scene, in which a coven of witches abducts the youngest member. In this scene, the witches are depicted performing a grotesque and horrifying ritual, during which they grind the baby’s flesh into a paste to create a potion.
The Lovely Bones
Based on Alice Sebold’s novel, The Lovely Bones is a heart-wrenching story about grief and trauma. The film follows 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan), who is abducted and murdered by her neighbor George Harvey (Stanley Tucci). An emotional and captivating story, the most disturbing scene places Susie in the home of her murderer as she watches him bathe in her blood. What’s most disturbing about this scene is Susie’s scream as she realizes her demise and vanishes into the in-between, lost and confused.
Saw II
The Saw franchise is best known for its gory and brutal kill scenes, as characters are pitted against time in deadly traps to uncover anecdotes or keys to escape Jigsaw. But Saw II offered a unique trap that stuck in viewer’s minds long after watching. In the scene, Amanda (Shawnee Smith) is thrown into a pit of hypodermic needles and is forced to thrash her way through the sharp objects to acquire a key. What makes this even more disturbing is that she was thrown in unwillingly by a fellow prisoner, making the scene all that more unsettling. As she cries in pain, fans can’t help but sympathize.
Fire in the Sky
Based on the alleged alien abduction of Travis Walton, Fire in the Sky explores the aftermath of Walton’s disappearance, including the disbelief of the townspeople. Easily the most disturbing moment in the film is the abduction scene, during which Walton is subjected to several terrifying and invasive procedures by extraterrestrial beings. The combination of eerie visuals, intense sound effects, and the sense of helplessness experienced by Walton creates a deeply unsettling and memorable moment in the film.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
The Killing of a Sacred Deer follows successful surgeon Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell), who befriends a teenage boy named Martin (Barry Keoghan). As their relationship develops, it becomes clear that Martin harbors a deep-seated resentment towards Steven for a past event involving his deceased father, who was a patient of Steven’s. The most disturbing scene sees Martin presenting Steven and his family with a horrifying ultimatum. Martin explains that members of the family will progressively become paralyzed from the waist down and eventually die unless the father makes a devastating decision.
Funny Games
Funny Games revolves around a wealthy couple, Anna (Naomi Watts) and George (Tim Roth), and their young son, who are on vacation at their secluded lake house. But their vacation is shattered when two polite but sadistic young men appear at their doorstep seeking help. In one of the film’s most disturbing scenes, one of the intruders, Paul (Michael Pitt), addresses the audience directly, grabs a remote control, pauses the film’s action, and asks the audience whether they think the family will survive the ordeal. An incredibly disturbing scene due to its unrelenting tension, psychological manipulation, and the audience’s realization of their own complicity in consuming violence as entertainment.
Nope
Since his venture into the horror genre, Jordan Peele has mastered the art of innovative storytelling, infusing his films with social commentary that tackles issues such as race, identity, and privilege. But Nope took a different turn, as Peele’s first pure-horror film about an unidentified extraterrestrial species terrorizing a small community. The film takes a rather dark turn about halfway through with the abduction of the townspeople. The abduction is depicted in a harrowing and graphic manner, with the victims struggling and screaming as they are violently taken against their will.
Seven
Directed by David Fincher, Seven is a brutal and gruesome tale about the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are based on seven deadly sins. Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as two detectives on the hunt for John Doe (Kevin Spacey), each crime scene they visit becomes increasingly macabre, mirroring the sin itself. But none of the murders offer the same grotesque and brutal imagery as the sloth scene. The detectives discover the victim, an obese man, who has been tied to a bed for an extended period of time. The victim’s tormentor has kept him alive in this state for months, prolonging his suffering as a twisted experiment in the sin of sloth.
Gone Baby Gone
A dark and twisted tale, Gone Baby Gone explores the dark world of drugs, corruption, and loyalty. The film follows private investigators Patrick (Casey Affleck) and Angie (Michelle Monaghan), who are hired to find Amanda, an abducted four-year-old girl. An unsettling film as a whole, the most shocking scene sees Patrick attending the home of the alleged abductors, only to witness the body of Amanda in the bathtub. Given its upsetting nature, the scene depicts very little gore but shows just enough to leave viewers feeling disturbed and unsettled by the demise of the young victim.
Final Destination 2
Fans of the Final Destination franchise will know how realistic and scary these films can be, turning real-life scenarios into deadly situations. But out of all of the demises characters have met throughout the franchise, none quite stand out as much as the log truck scene in Final Destination 2. Thanks to this scene, most millennials still refuse to drive behind a log truck. Nothing will if the image of a large log flying through your windscreen isn’t enough to make you squirm.
Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan’s Labyrinth is a fantasy horror following Ofelia (Ivana Baquero), a young girl who, with her mother, moves into her stepfather’s house. She embarks on a magical journey to complete three dangerous tasks when she meets a fairy. Although the film offers many disturbing moments, none live up to the bottle-in-the-face scene.
The Mist
Based on Stephen King’s novel, The Mist follows a group of trapped small-town residents who take refuge in a grocery store when a mysterious mist filled with deadly creatures descends upon the area. But it’s the film’s ending that shocked viewers. Differing from the book, the ending was a gut-wrenching twist that even Stephen King himself wasn’t expecting.
Tusk
Body horror has become increasingly popular, and Tusk offers a more tamed-down version with a comedic backdrop. Don’t let that fool you, however, as the film centers on a deranged surgeon (Michael Parks) who is on a mission to turn his house guest (Justin Long) into a walrus. The image of an amputated man sewn into a walrus suit, forced to clap and perform tricks for fish, is an image many viewers will find hard to forget.
