10 Brutal Movie Torture Scenes That Made Our Toes Curl
6. Vice Casino
Martin Scorseses ludicrously detailed study of greed, crime and ambition in the world of a corrupt Las Vegas casino is an impressive if not overly long piece of storytelling. The film chronicles the criminal activities of two mobsters Sam Ace Rothstein (Robert De Niro) and Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), the former a talented bookmaker and the latter an aggressive mob enforcer as they attempt to oversee a highly profitable casino operation. While the audience is aware of Nickys temper, its not known exactly how cruel he is until we see him torturing a rival mob thug. The scene sees Santoro closing a vice on his victims head, hoping to get a name from him. The name is given, but only after the victims eye is popped out of its socket due to the pressure that Santoro willingly applies. Its a gory but effective example of how a torture scene can be used for characterisation.
