10 Most Controversial Opening Movie Scenes

4. Nocturnal Animals

Nocturnal Animals
Focus Features

The introduction of Nocturnal Animals is pretty much what the wider populace assume all art-house filmmaking is. The sequence is unapologetically button-pushing, cutting between a group of large women dancing to the soundtrack. Oh, and all of them are naked.

Most moviegoers went into Nocturnal Animals expecting a pretty straightforward thriller, yet this surprising opening throws everything off balance. Initially devoid of any context (it's later revealed that it's part of an expressive art installation run by Amy Adams' character), viewers are subjected to the graphic nudity for a couple of minutes, without anything on screen to divert their attention.

Naturally, not only did the opening receive a backlash because of the actual explicit content itself, but because of accusations that it was exploiting - or even making fun of - the women who were brought in to perform the dance. Consequently, the intro was cut in some territories entirely, perhaps highlighting just how superfluous it was to the narrative at hand anyway.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.