10 Movies Much Better Than The One Thing You Remember Them For

What You Remember It For: The curb stomp

American History X is a hard movie to watch, an inherent factor of its decision to explore subject matter that will make any decent person feel uncomfortable.

The scene that represents this most is the movie's infamous curb stomp, which sees Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) brutally murder a thief by having him place his mouth around a curb, before stomping on the back of his head. The act itself is horrifying enough, but Derek's look of pride and satisfaction makes an already sadistic scene downright haunting.

The stomp has spawned countless online think pieces and breakdowns over the years, and for many, memories of American History X are nothing but violent and bleak, which completely undermines the fact that the second half of the film is a redemption story.

After getting out of prison for committing this murder, Derek is a different man, and attempts to teach his brother why supporting the neo-Nazi movement is wrong. This doesn't excuse Derek of his past mistakes, but it's heartwarming to see that a person as lost as he was is capable of change.

The latter half of the movie is its strongest because of this, but the prolific nature of the curb stomp has resulted in this depth and superb character development being lost.