13 Horrific Horror Movie Moments That Come Out Of Nowhere

12. The Black Phone - The Beating

Summer of 84
Universal

The most disturbing moment of The Black Phone didn't actually involve Ethan Hawke's child killer antagonist at all.

Instead, it was this unflinchingly brutal depiction of domestic abuse in which the protagonist's father (Jeremy Davies) violently beats his daughter (Madeleine McGraw).

Director Scott Derickson later revealed that he had to fight to keep this scene in the film and it's not hard to see why. It is a seriously nasty and hard-to-watch sequence, especially thanks to the fantastic acting from Jeremy Davies and Madeleine McGraw, and while the film as a whole is very, very solid indeed, it is this early scene that really lingers with you long after the film concludes.

Contributor

Film Studies graduate, aspiring screenwriter and all-around nerd who, despite being a pretentious cinephile who loves art-house movies, also loves modern blockbusters and would rather watch superhero movies than classic Hollywood films. Once met Tommy Wiseau.