2. Stuck In The Middle With You - Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Mr. Blonde - the psychotic thief played by Michael Madsen - has a loose trigger finger. During the film's infamous unseen robbery, he mows down the tellers for setting off an alarm, justifying that he wouldn't have done it if they had just followed his orders. Later, we learn that he has a penchant for torturing cops. "It's amusing to me," he confesses. As K-Billy's Super Sounds of the Seventies Weekend continues with the Scottish band Stealers Wheel, Mr. Blonde pulls out a knife and begins dancing a jig around Marvin the cop. We hear the lyrics "I got the feelin' that something ain't right," as this lanky man-child struts around: something is indeed not right. Vega approaches Marvin, grabs his face and draws his knife. The camera pans to the left, and we stare at the corner as Marvin's muffled screams fill the room. What works fantastically about this scene is that it creates a visceral and vivid sense of the torture occurring without even showing it on-screen. Which means that those cowards who shield their eyes with their hands will literally have the same experience as those courageous enough to see the scene through.