10 Hardest To Watch Horror Movie Moments

Those horror movie moments too twisted for the vast majority of audiences to stomach.

by Andrew Pollard
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Bloody Disgusting

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.

10. Stop! Hammer Time! - Misery

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Columbia Pictures

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.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.