Say "American History X," and most people tend to think of one thing and one thing only: the curb stomp scene, which - years later - remains one of the most disturbing and outright uncomfortable scenes in movie history. This moment sees racist, skinhead Neo-Nazi Edward Norton taking a black kid who attempted to rob his house out onto the street and forcing him to bite the curb. "Now, say goodnight!" he yells as we close-up on the white teeth biting said curb, before Norton stomps on the top of his head, cracking his skull in two and killing him instantly. This scene is hard-to-watch if you don't know it, and even harder to watch if you know it's coming; the sort of movie moment that instinctively causes you to clench your own teeth together (and close your eyes) as it happens. Interestingly, the actual "moment" lasts less than a second and it isn't particularly graphic. The horror is all in the build-up and the implication of violence. It's hard to imagine a death more degrading as this one.
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.
