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Top 30 unforgerrifying moments in world cinema: part three

Updated: Dec 6, 2021



We've reached the final part of my top thirty unforgerrifying moments in World Cinema (read part two and part one). Today, we celebrate scenes with the best shock-scares, cracks of creeping tension, or long, lingering shots of something so wrong that it mentally scars us forever.


If there are some moments of madness that I've foolishly excluded, let me know. I’m more than happy to waste a few more hours with scenes of torture, dismemberment, cannibalism, violence, body horror or - if I’m lucky - all of them at once. For now, enjoy the top ten and remember, in space, no one can eat ice cream.


10, Martyrs (2008), Pascal Laugier, France


Linked with the New French Extremity movement, Martyrs follows Anna’s quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped her as a child. The latest test subject to discover the unknowns of the afterlife, Anna is imprisoned in a chamber, during which she is repeatedly beaten and degraded.


Told she has progressed further than any other test subject, Anna has reached the "final stage" and will suffer no more. Her prize for such a feat? It’s not a chequebook and pen.


9, Audition (1999), Takashi Miike, Japan


Masked as a romantic drama, Audition is a personal favourite and the only film to contribute two moments of unforgettable dread to this list. Ryo Ishibashi plays a middle-aged widower persuaded by his friend, a film producer, to devise a mock casting audition in which young women audition for the part of his new wife.


Despite struggling to locate the references on her resume, the widower is enamoured by the mysterious Asami (Eihi Shiina). He calls her, not realising that she’s been sitting in her empty apartment, home to just a sack and a phone, for four days since the try-out.


After more dead-ends, the truth about Asami is revealed and one of the greatest orchestrated shock-scares in horror history exposes more than anyone ever bargained for.


8, [Rec] (2007), Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza, Spain


It may be short, but [Rec] manages to maintain the suspense throughout its brief running time, keeping you sat firmly on the edge of your seat, with a cushion conveniently placed on your lap (you will need it).


A team of local TV reporters are following Firemen on night duty. Obviously, a routine rescue takes a sinister turn. With something evil spreading throughout the building, it isn’t long before the TV crew is forced to hide in a penthouse suite. They’re not alone. An attic, a small boy and night vision is only the beginning.


7, City Of God (2002), Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, Brazil/France


Two boys growing up in a violent neighbourhood take different paths: one becomes a photographer, the other a drug dealer. Despite being peppered with them, the most devastating moment arrives when Lil’ Dice (Douglas Silva) demands that a gang wannabe shoot one of two street kids from a burgeoning posse. The others can only look on in horror as the assassin debates the target to fire at first.


6, Irreversible (2002), Gaspar Noé, France


Events throughout one traumatic night in Paris unfold as the beautiful Alex (Monica Bellucci) is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger, resulting in two men trying to avenge the crime. A horrific scene with a fire extinguisher will have you peeking between the cracks of your fingers. But Irreversible will always be remembered for the brutal, agonising scene in the underpass.


5, A Serbian Film (2010), Srdjan Spasojevic, Serbia


Banned in Spain, rejected in Norway and outlawed in Australia. Off-limits in New Zealand, with Malaysia and Singapore following suit on the same day, this tale of rape, necrophilia and child abuse follows an ageing porn star that agrees to participate in an "art film" to make a clean break. Only, it isn’t an art film at all.


At times absurd, the list of atrocities crafted by director Srdjan Spasojevic is lengthy. But one of the few moments to justify its reputation is immediately after Milos (Srdjan Todorovic) is forced to watch a film of a woman giving birth. Horror has never been so horrifying.


4, Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo del Toro, Spain/Mexico


Pan’s Labyrinth follows Ofelia, a young girl uprooted to a remote military outpost commanded by her new stepfather, a sadistic general in Franco’s army during the harsh realities of the Civil War. Powerless and lonely, Ofelia discovers a neglected labyrinth behind the family home. Here she meets Pan, a fantastical creature who challenges her with three tasks he claims will reveal her identity.


A fairy-tale for grown-ups, there are more than just devilish sprites, cheeky fauns and twisted witches on offer here. The terror comes from the real world rather than that of Ofelia’s imagination – a place so violent and bleak it’s little wonder she accepts the challenge.


The scene-stealer, however, is pure fantasy. Ofelia is confronted by the Pale Man, a hideous monster she awakes by stealing his food. Timing is everything. You know it’s coming, but even then, as the creature finally jerks into life, reaching for his eyes and inserting them into the palms of his hands, you still won’t be prepared for the nerve-shredding chase that follows.


3, Inside (2007), Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury, France


Okay, I’ll stick my neck out and say that this is one of the most gruesome and disturbing films you’ll ever see, merely because directors Bustillo and Maury have concocted a believable horror story that doesn’t try to be shocking for the sake of it. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have its stomach-turning moments, it is horror after all. And boy, it has plenty. No amount of Gaviscon will help soothe Sarah’s pain.


Four months after her husband dies in a car accident, Sarah (Alysson Paradis) is visited on Christmas Eve by a mysterious loony (Beatrice Dalle). Alone and desperate to save her unborn child, fighting to stay alive as others around her fall at the madwoman’s sadistic hands, all she can do is watch and scream as the stranger unwraps a present with nothing but a pair of scissors. She doesn’t even read the tag.


2, Ringu (1998), Hideo Nakata, Japan


Adapted from the novel Ring by Koji Suzuki, starring Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada and Rikiya Otaka, this impressive scare-fest is about a cursed videotape that kills the viewer seven days after watching it. Sounds ridiculous, right? I mean, what the hell is a videotape?


A reporter, Reiko (Matsushima), investigating the popularity of the video curse among teenagers, discovers the tape inside a cabin, foolishly watches it, receives a phone call and then assumes that she has a week to live.


The terrifying scene in question involves her ex-husband, Ryuji (Sanada). Believing that they’ve solved the riddle, Ryuji is chilling at home when his television switches on by itself, showing the image of a well. He watches as Sadako crawls out of it toward the camera…


1, Audition (1999), Takashi Miike, Japan


And so, we reach the most unforgerrifying moment in World Cinema. We know the story: Ryo Ishibashi plays a middle-aged widower persuaded by his friend, a film producer, to devise a mock casting audition in which young women audition for the part of his new wife.


Thanks to a sack and a phone, we’ve already worked out that Asami is a bit of a fruitcake, but she’s a jealous one at that, so when she finds a photo of his late wife at his house, she drugs him, injects him with a paralysis agent that leaves his nerves alert before torturing the poor sod. For ages.


His downfall, failing to love only her, results in extreme violence with look-away brutality involving a wire saw, hundreds of needles and a giggling Asami muttering "Deeper, deeper" repeatedly. Next time, swiping left might be the solution.

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