10 Amazing Movie Scenes That Came Totally Out Of Nowhere

When incredible cinema just sneaks up on you.

Burn After Reading Brad Pitt
Focus Features

Generally speaking, most movies maintain a pretty consistent tone throughout: you know what you're getting from the jump, and the filmmakers stick to that vibe until the very end.

But every so often, directors decide to toy with viewer expectations and deliver a scene that, while awesome, just comes completely out of left-field and blindsides everybody.

Perhaps it's an incredible dramatic scene in a primarily comedic film, or a hilarious, strange, or surreal aside in an otherwise straight-laced drama.

Whatever the circumstances, these 10 movie scenes have two things in common: they're absolutely fantastic, and not a single person watching ever saw them coming.

It's easy to imagine studio executives raising their eyebrows while watching these scenes for the very first time, and perhaps even attempting to get said scenes cut in extreme cases, but alas, in each instance they of course made it into the final film.

If nothing else, these movies provide perfect proof that no film is above surprising the viewer, and that no matter how much you think you've got everything pegged, you can always be bamboozled with something totally unexpected...

10. Everybody Goes To Jail - Clerks II

Burn After Reading Brad Pitt
TWC

Clerks II is for the most part a more-of-the-same sequel which revels in the same dick-and-fart-jokes and pop-culture references that made the original comedy such a hit.

It does have spicings of seriousness, though, what with Dante (Brian O'Halloran) pondering his romantic future and looming fatherhood, and considering the value of his increasingly strained friendship with Randall (Jeff Anderson).

But the most jarring tonal 180 arrives at the conclusion of the infamous "donkey show" sequence, in which Randall pays for a bestiality show as a going-away present for Dante.

The police end up arriving on the scene, though, and sending Dante, Randall, Jay (Jason Mewes), and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) to jail for their participation in the illegal escapade.

It sounds totally hilarious and on-brand for the series, right? Except, what follows is one of the most unexpectedly moving and dramatically brilliant scenes Kevin Smith has ever cooked up.

The 10-minute jail scene sees Dante venting his frustrations with life at Randall, all while Randall lets his guard slip and confirms just how much he loves his friend.

Given that the original Clerks was rightly dinged for its amateur performances, it's shocking just how brilliant O'Halloran and Anderson are in this scene, bringing enormous gravitas to a fraying friendship at a critical moment.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.