20 Most Intense Movie Scenes Ever

4. The Fire Extinguisher - Irreversible

Picking just one super-intense scene from Gaspar Noe's controversial thriller isn't easy, especially as it also features a highly disturbing 10-minute rape scene.

However, for its utterly hypnotic quality, we'll go with the infamous sequence near the start of the film, where an apparent rapist is beaten to death with a fire extinguisher inside a nightclub.

Noe spares no detail as the man's face convincingly breaks apart while he's continually battered with the weapon, and this is after spending 10 minutes watching the protagonists walk through the nightclub with droning music and spinning camerawork, which Noe intended to make the audience nauseous.

The scene and the movie entire aren't for everyone, but the sequence's commanding power over the viewer is undeniable, and the absurd realism of the visual effects makes it incredibly tough to stomach.