Sometimes, there are scenes in cinema that are so horribly violent, they worm their way into your brain and you never forget them. They might come out of the blue as a total shock or else they are the culmination of a long bubbling pot of inherent violence that simmers to boiling point and therefore does not come as a great surprise to us. What these scenes hope to achieve - to shock, disgust, appall - or to add a vital component to the narrative - varies from film to film. I think that in the films I have picked, the ultra violence is usually a plot device. I have not included any exploitation films on this list because they make their money out of being ridiculously violent on purpose. This is a relatively mainstream list as I'm sure you can't be bothered reading about crotch stabbings in the New York Ripper again!
10. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Butch the boxer has double crossed Marsellus, which is not a good idea as Marsellus is a man of violence. Butch is ready to flee but at a pedestrian crossing, he, by fluke, comes across Marsellus. There is a chase sequence between the two men and they end up in a pawnshop where they are both taken captive by Maynard and tied up in his basement. He calls his friend Zed and they take Marsellus into a room and rape him while the infamous gimp looks after Butch. Butch escapes and knocks out the gimp. He goes to leave the shop but a pang of guilt overcomes him and he goes back to get Marsellus who is being sodomised on a pommel horse. Butch slices up Maynard with a katana. Marsellus grabs Maynard's shotgun and shoots Zed in the crotch. Both Marsellus and Butch make a pact that Marsellus forgets about the double crossing and Butch leaves LA and they never talk about the incident to anyone ever. This scene not only contains enforced male sodomy but also ultra violent murders. It is a fascinating set up with Butch having a conscience and going back to save a man who would kill him in an instant if he could. It also shows that ultra violent perversions lurk in the most seemingly banal of places. What are the chances of you running into a sexually deviant pawn shop owner? Or a gimp?