10 Most Horrific Horror Movie Scenes Where Nobody Dies

10. Paul Gets Hobbled - Misery

Without question, the most memorable scene from Misery is the infamous "hobbling" sequence, where deranged fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) takes a sledgehammer and uses it to break the ankles of captive author Paul Sheldon (James Caan).

Nobody dies in the scene, and there's not even a single splash of blood, but director Rob Reiner does a fantastic job of milking the sequence for every nauseating drop of gut-wrenching tension.

James Caan's brilliantly terrified performance as Paul, who is well aware of what is about to happen, is juxtaposed with the cool determination of Bates' Annie, who eschews the over-the-top camp you might expect in favour of eerie calm. And the act of the hobbling itself, as depicted in the scene, isn't cartoonishly violent in the slightest. Instead, the visuals and sound of Paul's ankles breaking are disgustingly realistic, truly making the audience feel like they're intruding upon something that is actually happening.

No matter the film's cathartically violent climax, where Paul finally kills Annie, it's the hobbling scene that's taken root in the collective consciousness over the last 35 years.