10 Hardest To Watch Horror Movie Moments

Considering the very nature of the genre, the vast majority of horror movies out there can at times prove a little tough to watch.

For most horrors, there's always some sort of threat, some sort of danger, some sort of bloodshed, and some sort of twisted death waiting around the corner. That's par for the course with this murky corner of cinema. And as such, horror hounds have come to know what to expect from such films, with it forever proving harder and harder to truly unsettle certain horror enthusiasts.

While it may be tricky to leave an audience reeling in disbelief, discomfort and distress these days, it's not an impossible task - as the movies featured on this list highlight.

Here, the spotlight is one ten movies that served up some of the hardest scenes to watch in the entire history of horror. We're not talking Michael Myers returning to Haddonfield, Event Horizon's twisted finale, or Regan MacNeil doing certain things with a crucifix. No, the films featured here are all just a tad more excessive than those sorts of acts.

Before you go any further, be warned, this list features some extremely uncomfortable, horrific experiences that some may be distressed by. Seriously, consider this a major trigger warning.

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.