10 Hardest To Watch Horror Movie Moments

10. Stop! Hammer Time! - Misery

It may not have featured excessive gore or elaborate special effects, but there's something to be said about the sheer simplicity of seeing a sledgehammer meeting an ankle.

Rob Reiner's Misery - itself adapted from Stephen King's 1987 - centres on romance author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) and his biggest fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). When Paul has an opening act car crash that leaves him with broken legs and a dislocated shoulder, it's Annie - who is also a nurse - who happens to find him, bringing Paul into her home to care for him.

From there, things take a more sinister turn when Annie is unhappy that Paul's latest manuscript features profanity and that his latest book also kills off her favourites character, Misery Chastain.

With nobody knowing where he is, Paul is forced to write a new tale that brings Misery back to life before Annie will free him from his imprisonment. After discovering that Bates' character has previously been tried for the deaths of several small children, Sheldon starts to plot his escape.

It's here, after discovering what Paul has been up to, that Annie Wilkes brutally smashes both of his ankles with a sledgehammer in a truly wince-inducing moment.

Authored by Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.

First Posted On: 31st Jul 2021

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