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The 15 Grossest Horror Movie Scenes Of All TIme

Recently I did a list of the Scariest Movie Scenes Of All Time. But what about the Grossest movie scenes? They deserve their own classification. Gore can either be terrifying, used for dark comedic effect, or simply be a showcase for revulsion.

With that in mind,  here are the The 15 Grossest Horror Movie Scenes Of All TIme, from the morbidly effective to the excessively ridiculous.

If you’d like to own any of these films, click on the movie image to buy from DVD/Blu-ray from Amazon.

*SPOILER ALERT! Since the scenes mentioned are usually the climax to the film, expect spoilers from time to time. And if you don’t have a strong stomach avoid the YouTube clips.

15. ‘The Devil’s Rain’ (1975)-The Melting scene


This ‘Satanic Panic’ film sucks, including the climactic scene where a Satanic cult melts. It’s tame enough that I saw it on afternoon TV as a kid, but it’s disgusting because the melting flesh looks like boiling snot and/or expired milk and always leaves me queasy.

<img src="thedevilsrain.jpg" alt="Devil's Rain Gross Melting Scene" />

 

14. ‘The Shining’ (1980)-Nasty Old Lady


Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) thinks he’s getting lucky in the Overlook hotel when a beautiful woman lures him into her hotel bathroom. They kiss…during which she transforms into a rotting, laughing, nympho Grandma. Blecchhhhh.

The Molden Girl

 

13. “Bloodsucking Freaks” (1976)- The brain sucking scene

This controversial film is about a theater that shows graphic depictions of torture, thought to be staged, but that are in fact real.

The grossest scene has to be where a demented bastard sucks out brain tissue with a straw the same way kids do to jello.This film is so vile you’ll want to take a shower afterwards.

“Brainfreeze!”

 

12. “Creepshow” (1982)-The Roach Infested Corpse Scene


The last segment of ‘Creepshow‘  (“They’re Creeping Up on You!”) is truly revolting; a germophobe tries in vain to rid his apt of the resilient nasties, only to wind up being internally consumed, by them, until they eventually explode through his body.

 

11. “Society” (1992)-The ‘Shunting’ Scene


This film has the rich literally feeding off the poor (talk about class warfare). It’s so perversely grotesque that it was shelved for  years.

The film’s sickest scene shows the upper class engaging in ‘shunting‘, where they transform into an amorphous, liquified mass, and suck the nutrients out of their victim. Check it out if you dare. NSFW.

 

10. “Maniac” (1980) –The Disco Boy Scene

This serial killer flick is yuck from top to bottom, but most noteworthy is when the maniac blows off a guy’s head with a shotgun. (The victim is played by FX master Tom Savini). Oddly enough, the movie inspired the lyrics to the 80’s pop song ‘Maniac’.

 

9. “The Evil Dead” (1981)-The Pencil Scene

I never thought a pencil could be terrifying, but that changed after seeing one jabbing into an unsuspecting victim’s ankle. Talk about lead poisoning! Wah wah wah…

 

8. “Prometheus” (2011)-The Self Surgery Scene 


This film sharply divided audiences (read my review), but one scene that is undeniably effective is when Naomi Rapace’s character uses a self-surgery machine to perform an emergency C-section to remove her alien fetus before it kills her from the inside. It’s so unsettling that someone fainted at the IMAX theater where I saw the midnight showing.

 

7. “The Fly” (1986)-Footlose scene

How to pick the grossest scene from a David Cronenberg movie, a director whose filmography focuses on the most grotesque aspects of bodily functions?  But ‘The Fly‘ remains one of the sickest, especially the scene where the half human-half insect creature dissolves a man’s foot with his acidic saliva.

<img src="the-fly-disgusting-movie.jpg" alt="the-fly-most-disgusting-movie" />

 

6. “The Human Centipede: First Sequence” (2010)-Bathroom Break


Available on Netflix Streaming.

3 people are sewn together ass to mouth by a mad scientist. When the ‘head’ has to relieve himself, the poor woman sewn to his rear has no choice but to devour his waste.  At least he apologizes. I’m still waiting for one from the writer/director for this irredeemable yuckfest.

‘Bottom’s Up’….

 

5.“The Beyond” (1981)-Eye Gouging

Lucio Fulci is another director so synonymous with gory films that picking a singular moment is difficult, but the eye gouging scene from ‘The Beyond’ sticks out…get it?

 

And check out the WTF moment in Fulci’s ‘Zombi‘, where a zombie fights a shark!

 

4.“The Exorcist” (1973)-The Crucifix Scene

Few scenes are as disturbing as when the young possessed Regan mutilates herself  while masturbating with a crucifix…in front of her Mom….and then wipes the blood on her Mother’s face. Yeesh.

 

3. “Antichrist” (2009)-The junk destruction scenes

Lars Von Trier’s ‘Antichrist‘ features graphic images of genital mutilation, which is why I’ve avoided seeing it. But my good friend Dave Dierksen has, and said it deserves inclusion. Here’s his descriptive summary:

“If you were to pick the scene where Willem Dafoe stumbles upon a fox eating itself, only to have the fox turn to him and bellow “CHAOS REIGNS,” you’d be wrong. That may be the funniest scene in any movie ever. No, for my money, grossest scene goes to either (1): Charlotte Gainsbourg smashes Dafoe’s junk with a large board and then jerks him off until he ********** blood; or (2): Gainsbourg cuts off her **** with a pair of dirty scissors, in EXTREME close-up. So it’s your basic rom-com, but with a twist!”

 

2. “Make Them Die Slowly” aka “Cannibal Ferox” (1981)-The junk cutting scene

If you want to have a genital torture double feature, watch this and ‘Antichrist‘ together (but why would you, you sick bastard?).

My good friend (and film critic) Jack Sommersby has assaulted my senses by exposing me to several of the films I’ve listed, but making me watch “Make Them Die Slowly” was the coup de gross. It’s also one of the first “found footage” horror films (speaking of, check out my review of the new film “V/H/S”).

The Italian film, about some bad people getting their comeuppance by cannibals is so extreme, it’s been banned by several countries and the film starts with a warning:

“The following feature is one of the most violent films ever made. There are at least two dozen scenes of barbaric torture and sadistic cruelty graphically shown. If the presentation of disgusting and repulsive subject matter upsets you, please do not view this film.”

And they ain’t kidding; boobs on meathooks and partial decapitated brain eatings are par for the course here. But the scene that gives every guy phantom pains is when the tribe chops off a guy’s manhood and eat it. Traumatic!

It maybe called ‘Make Them Die Slowly‘, but it’ll make you puke quickly.

 

1. “BrainDead” aka “Dead Alive” (1992)-The Custard Scene

Peter Jackson’s movie is one of the grossest, but done so over the top that it makes you laugh while you stifle your urge to vomit.

Yum

Lionel is a son whose mother is turning into a zombie, and he can’t bear to put her down. Unexpectedly they’re greeted by a couple who are old friends of the Mother. Lionel tries to distract them from her condition by offering them custard. Right before the husband eats it, bloody pus shoots out of the mother’s wound and in the bowl…and the man slurps it up unknowingly.

After which the Mother eats her own ear when it falls into her custard bowl.  It’s the gold standard of gross-out horror:

 

Honorable mention: “Dead Snow” (2009)-The Outhouse Scene

I have to mention this Nazi Zombie movie, even though the most disgusting scene doesn’t involve Zombies.

A fat guy goes into an outhouse to take a dump. Unexpectedly, in walks in a gorgeous woman who has sex…with said fat guy….while he’s taking a dump. The gore that follows can’t match this shit scene.

 

So that wraps up The 15 Grossest Horror Movie Scenes Of All TIme! Agree? Feel I have some glaring omissions? Give me your list below.

And be sure to check out my lists of Scariest Film Scenes, Great But Forgotten Horror Movies, Best Halloween Party Music Playlist and Best Worst Movies.

22 comments

  2. Uhh… it’s a fox, in the ‘chaos reigns’ scene… Weird that someone who watched the movie wouldn’t know that.

    Reply

  3. What’s funny about the “Bloodsucking Freaks” scene is that it causes the master of the torture house to become repulsed! I mean, this guy who’s inflicted numerous tortures on women finally witnesses something that offends *him* — causing him to order the demented dentist’s death!

    I saw “Creepshow” at the theatre when I was 12, and that scene just about gave me a damn heart attack it was so unexpected. What gives it a lot of graphic vitality is this awfulness playing out in that sterile white room — a very visceral contrast! (By the way, it’s criminal that there’s a 2-disc special-edition available in the U.K. but not here, where all we have is the non-special-edition single disc. Inexcusable.

    With “Maniac,” I still consider the special features on the Anchor Bay disc the best of any DVD. It rivals “Bloodsucking Freaks” as the horror film that makes New York look as sleazy as the dirtiest men’s-room stall!

    Totally agree on the “Evil Dead” pencil number. Why is it that with all the stuff involving knives and chainsaw, it’s a damn pencil as a weapon that makes us flinch? If I were to own the film, it would be the non-Blu-Ray DVD from Elite Entertainment, which released it in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio while Anchor Bay did a stupid thing by releasing it in 1.85:1, when that was *not* the ratio Raimi shot it in! As a result, the compositions are off. Never seen anything like this, and it angered many fans.

    With Fulci, while the one in “The Beyond” is great, I’d say the standout Fulci grossout is the one from “The New York Ripper” where a hooker is tied up in bed and the killer slowly slices her eyeballs with a razor blade. (Oh, and of course there’s the fake-obvious wooden head that gets shot at the very end!)

    Awesome list, man! And I’m still very proud for having introduced you to some of these. I’ll list it as one of my proudest accomplishments in my testimonial. And, of course, eFilmCritic appreciates the attention!

    Reply

    • Ah, yes ‘The New York Ripper’! The ‘Creepshow’ scene is just a nightmare..my wife refuses to watch that scene. And since you were the gateway drug for my hardcore gore exposure, I had to give credit where it’s due….I still flinch when I think about ‘Make Them Die Slowly’!

      Reply

  4. Oh, and let’s not forget the ultra-disgusting scene from “Xtro” where that poor woman gives birth to the full-size man! Especially when he bites off the umbilical cord! Yuck!

    Reply

  5. Yeah…Xtro was on my long list…I just decided to whittle it down since I have so much to cover this month…that movie is such a freakshow!

    Reply

      • Enter if you dare!!

        I have to study the human body thoroughly, for my major so I see everything inside and outside and nothing really “grosses me out”. However, this movie literally made me run to the trash can!! Some of the characters look a little repulsive throughout the movie, but the real gore doesn’t begin until around the final 30 mins. But it’s the grand finale that will get you!! The movie itself is extremely dull and drags on.
        It has been around six, maybe seven years but I will never forget that horrible movie!!
        Hopefully you can find it. On the cover of the box it said it was banned in 43 countries (not sure if that’s true or just a money making scheme). I saw it at a blockbuster store that one time and I’ve never seen it anywhere since?

        Find it and let me know!! 🙂

        Reply

  17. You mentioned Human Centipede I, but not Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) with the kneecap surgery scene? I’ve scene thousands of horror movies over the years and that was a rare moment where I had to look away, even in B&W.

    Also definite honorable mentioned should go to My Bloody Valentine (2009 version), Salo (120 Days of Sodom) and Cannibal Holocaust.

    Reply

    • After seeing the first Human Centipede, I decided to skip the sequel. Yuck. Cannibal Holocaust is definitely an honorable mention. Still need to check out the MBV remake!

      Reply

  18. Not sure how you could leave “The Devil’s Rejects” rape scene off of this list? A woman being raped by the man that just murdered her husband, while he “WEARS” her dead husband’s FACE that was, literally, cut off is just about the foulest thing I’ve seen outside of Hostel. Speaking of disgusting scenes missing from this list, the Asian woman almost losing her eyeball to a torch has got to be up there.

    Reply

  19. How about my favorite Quentin Tarantino death, where his dick rots off? Planet Terror, not your average zombie movie.

    Reply

    • Funny you mention it: Body Melt is on my list of best worst movies…dunno why I never thought of it for this! I’ve always heard good things about Street Trash. Adding it to my list of films to catch up with!

      Reply

  23. I’m trying to think of a movie, it was made around the 80’s. I remember this chick was facing a guy and all of a sudden his penis starts growing and it’s a human head and neck. Just can’t remember anymore of it lol. Anyone know the name of the movie ?

    Reply

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