What is it about this scene, exactly, that makes everyone so uncomfortable? After waking up in the home of his "Number One fan," former nurse Annie Wilkes, injured novelist Paul Sheldon is held captive and forced to write a new book. But things get horrible when Annie fears that Paul might escape, so she takes a "precautionary measure." It lasts for just a couple of frames, and there's no blood - just a quick shot of a man's ankles moving into positions that they were never supposed to after a crazy woman places them between two wooden blocks and hits them with a sledgehammer. It's the stuff of nightmares - stuff that somehow manages to be even more disturbing than what was in Stephen King's original novel (Annie actually cuts off Paul's leg, but the hobbling just feels even worse). There's a serious cringe-factor associated with this scene that means nobody in their right mind could watch it with their eyes fully open. It's definitely one for the "peer out from between your fingers" approach, because it's plainly awful to experience. No thanks.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
