Movie Moments That Scarred Us For Life

[Spartan Girl]

I know there is a thread for Most Disturbing Movie Moments, but I think this can apply to a variety of different movie scenes that wrecked us: sad, scary, gross, or just plain freaky. So what are some of the movie moments that no amount of brain bleach can get out of your head?

I don't think I was ever the same after Artax's death in The Neverending Story. What was more scarring is that we don't actually SEE it happen: it just cuts to black, then the next thing we see is Atreyu standing in front of the swamp alone, and we automatically realize what happened.

[Ohiopirate02]

I saw quite a few movies on HBO as a kid that I was definitely too young for.  My dad was one who believed in kids self-censoring, so it was up to us to decide if whatever movie or TV show was too much for us.  One of those movies was Poltergeist 2.  Reverend Kane scared the shit out of me as a child.  At first glance, he looked like an ordinary man, but the menace emanating off of him scared me.  Still gives me the creeps as an adult.   

[anna0852]

Se7en. All of it. What the hell were my parents thinking, taking not-yet-teenage me to see that movie?

[kiddo82]

I was just talking about this at work today!  La Bamba.  I must have been 7 or 8 when it was in heavy HBO rotation.  Why my parents let me watch it at that age I'll never know.  (In fairness to them my older sisters were probably watching it and I just happened to be around.  It is isn't like they parked me in front of the TV for family fun time with La Bamba.)  Anyway, all I know is afterwards I was pertrified of firey plane crashes.

Later on it was the hobbling scene in Misery which is much more self explanitory.  

[kiddo82]

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves when the Queen transforms into the old woman.  I had no idea how badly this moment scarred me until I watched Snow White recently for the first time in God knows how long and I immediately had flashbacks.  Back in the day, prior to home video release, we had one of those Disney specials recorded on a VHS that they used to run where they would show clips from the movies.  That Snow White scene was shown during that particular special and I remembered how much it messed me up as a child.  

[Popples]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit when Judge Doom's fake eyeballs pop out and his animated ones turned to daggers. That really freaked me out as a child.

[Annber03]

16 minutes ago, Popples said:

Who Framed Roger Rabbit when Judge Doom's fake eyeballs pop out and his animated ones turned to daggers. That really freaked me out as a child.

Same! 

We're not even going to talk about the scene with the shoe...

Edited May 28, 2022 by Annber03

[Blergh]

18 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves when the Queen transforms into the old woman.  I had no idea how badly this moment scarred me until I watched Snow White recently for the first time in God knows how long and I immediately had flashbacks.  Back in the day, prior to home video release, we had one of those Disney specials recorded on a VHS that they used to run where they would show clips from the movies.  That Snow White scene was shown during that particular special and I remembered how much it messed me up as a child.  

What do you think about the scene in which the Dwarfs come upon the fallen Snow White- then run after the Queen/Hag? What somewhat startled me was that these cutesy, bumbling souls had suddenly gotten transformed to these downright VENGEFUL lynchers- and despite the Queen/Hag having been the Queen AND having had the power to kill (and  to have hired others hunt down those she wanted dead), the Queen/Hag was downright SCARED of the Seven as it was clear that they weren't just going to yell and verbally dis her but she knew that they were going to literally tear her apart! Yes, she tried to roll the rock to crush them before it rolled back and did her in, but it was chilling to see not just them having been so transformed by their outrage but that this hithero invulnerable character believed her very life was in danger from them! 

And, yes, I say all the above quite understanding WHY they were livid and upset that she had killed someone they had sheltered and loved (and, yes, I admit that I was relieved that the stone DID get her in the end while the Dwarfs were unharmed by her attempt). 

Of course, I admit it also showed how the Queen's hubris wound up having completely overwhelmed her that she was willing to temporarily(?) destroy her own outer beauty to trick Snow White to consume the poisoned apple-despite the fact that her  motivation for murdering Snow White was ENTIRELY because she was upset that the girl had become more  outwardly attractive than herself! 

BTW, according to her surviving daughter Maria Sieber Riva, the legendary   beauty Marlene Dietrich dissed Snow White as 'the village idiot' and considered the Prince to have been 'gay' (in 1938!) . However,  Miss Dietrich ADORED the Queen!  

Edited May 28, 2022 by Blergh

[Shannon L.]

How I ended up watching Theater of Blood at the age of 7 or 8 is a long story (my parents weren't aware of it-they'd have been very upset), but to this day, almost 45 years later, I can't stand Vincent Price or his creepy laugh (which is worse for me than seeing him).

[Spartan Girl]

This is a gruesome one:

The part in Fear when the brother whistles for Kaiser the dog, and he appears to come through the pet door, only to reveal that it’s the SEVERED HEAD BEING PUSHED THROUGH.

Yeah, I always hate it when poor defenseless pets are murdered. Case in point with John Wick: what made Daisy’s murder even more scarring was that she wasn’t even barking or biting Theon Greyjoy’s gang when they were attacking John. She just scampered behind couch crying because she was scared, and Theon just yanked her out to kill her just because.

The next time someone in that franchise tells John “it was just a dog,” he’d better proceed to tell them those gruesome details, then dare that person to say it again.

[mariah23]

15 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Same! 

We're not even going to talk about the scene with the shoe...

Third!

[kiddo82]

13 hours ago, Blergh said:

What do you think about the scene in which the Dwarfs come upon the fallen Snow White- then run after the Queen/Hag? What somewhat startled me was that these cutesy, bumbling souls had suddenly gotten transformed to these downright VENGEFUL lynchers- and despite the Queen/Hag having been the Queen AND having had the power to kill (and  to have hired others hunt down those she wanted dead), the Queen/Hag was downright SCARED of the Seven as it was clear that they weren't just going to yell and verbally dis her but she knew that they were going to literally tear her apart! Yes, she tried to roll the rock to crush them before it rolled back and did her in, but it was chilling to see not just them having been so transformed by their outrage but that this hithero invulnerable character believed her very life was in danger from them! 

And, yes, I say all the above quite understanding WHY they were livid and upset that she had killed someone they had sheltered and loved (and, yes, I admit that I was relieved that the stone DID get her in the end while the Dwarfs were unharmed by her attempt). 

I will honestly say that vengeful dwarves never registered with me.  Maybe I just never read more into it than good vs bad guys.  Now that you bring it up though it is a pretty disturbing 180.

There is also the moment where the queen passes by a skeleton from her dungeon who clearly died while reaching for a jug of water.  The queen just laughs and says "Thirsty?"  Didn't hit me as a child but as an adult I'm like, "Dude.  That's dark."

[Blergh]

On 5/28/2022 at 3:03 PM, kiddo82 said:

I will honestly say that vengeful dwarves never registered with me.  Maybe I just never read more into it than good vs bad guys.  Now that you bring it up though it is a pretty disturbing 180.

There is also the moment where the queen passes by a skeleton from her dungeon who clearly died while reaching for a jug of water.  The queen just laughs and says "Thirsty?"  Didn't hit me as a child but as an adult I'm like, "Dude.  That's dark."

 Although Nashville native (!) Lucille La Verne (1872-1945)'s character of the Queen transforming herself into the Hag was startling and disturbing onscreen, it should be noted that when she was asked how she had drastically changed her vocalization to the raspier and aged Hag, the 65-year-old performer replied, "Oh, I just took my teeth out!"

[Schweedie]

The scene in Watership Down when Holly is telling the others about how humans destroyed their warren is one I've never gotten over - the freaky visuals with the rabbits suffocating honestly still terrify me. I love that film, but 30 years later I still skip that scene.

[Scarlett45]

On 5/27/2022 at 7:04 PM, kiddo82 said:

Snow White and the 7 Dwarves when the Queen transforms into the old woman.  I had no idea how badly this moment scarred me until I watched Snow White recently for the first time in God knows how long and I immediately had flashbacks.  Back in the day, prior to home video release, we had one of those Disney specials recorded on a VHS that they used to run where they would show clips from the movies.  That Snow White scene was shown during that particular special and I remembered how much it messed me up as a child.  

My Mom's good friend had the same reaction to that scene as a small child. His twin was just fine, but he was in the theatre SCREAMING, he is now 75 and says it still creeps him out.

On 5/28/2022 at 3:03 PM, kiddo82 said:

I will honestly say that vengeful dwarves never registered with me.  Maybe I just never read more into it than good vs bad guys.  Now that you bring it up though it is a pretty disturbing 180.

There is also the moment where the queen passes by a skeleton from her dungeon who clearly died while reaching for a jug of water.  The queen just laughs and says "Thirsty?"  Didn't hit me as a child but as an adult I'm like, "Dude.  That's dark."

(bolding mine)That was dark.

[Shannon L.]

The horse head in The Godfather and the rabbit in Fatal Attraction.  ::shudder::

[Mabinogia]

On 5/28/2022 at 2:36 AM, Blergh said:

What do you think about the scene in which the Dwarfs come upon the fallen Snow White- then run after the Queen/Hag? What somewhat startled me was that these cutesy, bumbling souls had suddenly gotten transformed to these downright VENGEFUL lynchers- and despite the Queen/Hag having been the Queen AND having had the power to kill (and  to have hired others hunt down those she wanted dead), the Queen/Hag was downright SCARED of the Seven as it was clear that they weren't just going to yell and verbally dis her but she knew that they were going to literally tear her apart! Yes, she tried to roll the rock to crush them before it rolled back and did her in, but it was chilling to see not just them having been so transformed by their outrage but that this hithero invulnerable character believed her very life was in danger from them! 

No matter how deserving the character might be I am always quite disturbed by that kind of lynch mob scene. It really shows that even the most gentile, kind souls can be driven to do the most horrible things if provoked. Watching as a child I thought the Dwarves were just the sweetest natured, kindest beings, a little rough around the edges from not having a mother figure in their lives, but kindhearted at their soul. To watch grief turn them into an angry mob, very reminiscent of the villagers in Frankenstein, truly chilled me more than anything the Queen did. 

I think it is because I expect the Evil Queen to do evil things. She's the bad guy and while she deserved what she got in the end, it was very disturbing to me to see the effect she had on otherwise kind men. Like, of all the terrible things she did, turning the Dwarves into near murderers was the most chilling. 

I can watch evil people do evil all day and not be bothered by it but I hate seeing good people pushed into doing evil things because it is against their nature and it means that the evil person has in some way infected them. 

And that was really dark. Sorry. 

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Shannon L. said:

The horse head in The Godfather and the rabbit in Fatal Attraction.  ::shudder::

Same here. Along with the dog being killed by the kids in Dead Man Walking. I can't stand to see animals injuried or killed in shows or movies. 

Edited June 7, 2022 by andromeda331

[Browncoat]

I went to a special showing of The Wizard Of Oz last night, and realized just how traumatized I was as a child by that whole tornado scene.  The flying monkeys didn’t bother me much back in the day, but damn, that tornado terrified me!

[Guest]

For me it was Dumbo. That scene when the kids are making fun of his ears and then when his mother gets locked up. I refuse to watch the movie because I can’t stand to watch that again. 

I suspect that there was something in Pinocchio that scarred me because I have the same level of aversion but don’t remember what it was. 

12 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

No matter how deserving the character might be I am always quite disturbed by that kind of lynch mob scene.

Same. 

[Spartan Girl]

1 hour ago, Dani said:

For me it was Dumbo. That scene when the kids are making fun of his ears and then when his mother gets locked up. I refuse to watch the movie because I can’t stand to watch that again. 

I suspect that there was something in Pinocchio that scarred me because I have the same level of aversion but don’t remember what it was. 

Gonna go out on a limb and guess that it was Pleasure Island, all those kids getting lured away with promises of candy and games and even booze, only to be turned into donkeys and sold off while theirs crying for their parents?

Yup, that freaked me out too.

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Gonna go out on a limb and guess that it was Pleasure Island, all those kids getting lured away with promises of candy and games and even booze, only to be turned into donkeys and sold off while theirs crying for their parents?

Yup, that freaked me out too.

Probably. I have a very vague memory of him turning into a donkey. I’ve mostly blocked that whole portion of the movie.

Now I’m realizing the parallels between this and what I hate about Dumbo. 

[Mabinogia]

8 hours ago, Dani said:

For me it was Dumbo. That scene when the kids are making fun of his ears and then when his mother gets locked up. I refuse to watch the movie because I can’t stand to watch that again. 

Same. I can't watch the movie again because both those things just gutted me. 

[AgathaC]

On 6/7/2022 at 8:53 AM, Dani said:

For me it was Dumbo. That scene when the kids are making fun of his ears and then when his mother gets locked up. I refuse to watch the movie because I can’t stand to watch that again. 

Oh yes. I saw that movie once as a kid. Once. More than enough.

Actually, anything involving animal cruelty or death is scarring. I avoid all animal movies (and books) for that very reason — once I see it, it remains burned into my brain. My animal story theory is they fall into two types:

1) The animal has a miserable existence before finally finding happiness

2) The animal has a happy life and dies

Either way, I don’t need to see it. I’m sure there are exceptions but I choose not to risk it.

Other things:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We watched an animated version when I was in about 4th grade. The part where Aslan… well, you know. I vividly remember being in the library and actually crawling to a dark corner and curling up to sob in a fetal position. My 3rd grade teacher noticed and took me outside, where she tried to assure me it would be ok. I wailed “but it still happened!” When my sister got the more recent live-action movie on DVD, I flatly refused to have anything to do with it.

The Fox and the Hound. I was gutted.

Poltergeist and the clown doll. My parents were watching it and I walked into the room at the wrong moment. I actually like the movie now, but… If I hadn’t already been scared of clowns, that would have done it.

I forgot those Snow White moments but they came rushing back, so, thanks!

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, AgathaC said:

The Fox and the Hound. I was gutted.

Yeeeeeeees. I've only ever seen that movie once, when I was little, and that was a big reason why. 

Quote

I forgot those Snow White moments but they came rushing back, so, thanks!

Oddly, based off what my mom's told me, my most terrifying moment involving that movie didn't even have to do with the movie itself. When I was, like, three, four years old, my mom took me to a showing of that movie at our local theater. I liked Disney movies, so she thought, hey, let's go to the theater to see one. Fine. 

Except before the movie even began, they had all their trailers for other films, and apparently, according to my mom, there was one for some action movie that featured a lot of loud explosions. Why they were showing an ad for a movie like that before a Disney film, I don't know, but they did. And at that age, I was TERRIFIED of loud noises. 

So I apparently started freaking out and crying over the noises, and my mom took me out of the theater and took me home. And all the while I was saying, "I WANT TO GO TO THE YELLOW CAR!" over and over (when I was little I referred to things by their colors, and we had a yellow car at the time, so...:p).. 

So yeah. That clearly didn't go as planned :p. I have since seen Snow White, though - it's been some years, but I do remember there being some rather creepy moments in it, yes. 

[andromeda331]

5 hours ago, AgathaC said:

The Fox and the Hound. I was gutted.

So was I. 

[Annber03]

On the note of sad movies involving animals, let's throw All Dogs Go to Heaven into the mix. I mean, granted, the title of that one told you straight up what you were in for, but even so... I remember crying my eyes out at that movie when I was a kid. 

Same with the original Land Before Time. If you've seen that one, you know. Seemed to be a thing in the '80s, movies about animals that made children cry. 

Edited June 18, 2022 by Annber03

[Scarlett45]

On 6/7/2022 at 8:53 AM, Dani said:

For me it was Dumbo. That scene when the kids are making fun of his ears and then when his mother gets locked up. I refuse to watch the movie because I can’t stand to watch that again. 

I must be sadist, because 3yrs old me ended up in crying fit when they threw Dumbo’s mommy IN JAIL! I watched the live action version on Disney+ and texted my friend “Live-action Dumbo BROKE ME.” And she texted back “I cannot watch, I’m not brave like you!”
 

My sister likes Dumbo a lot so I see clips when take care of her and she has it on. I just focus on the end when Dumbo gets his mommy a fancy train car and flies behind. That scene makes me happy. 

11 hours ago, AgathaC said:

The Fox and the Hound. I was gutted.

That one I do mot watch- too traumatizing. 

[JustHereForFood]

On 6/18/2022 at 11:41 PM, Annber03 said:

On the note of sad movies involving animals, let's throw All Dogs Go to Heaven into the mix. I mean, granted, the title of that one told you straight up what you were in for, but even so... I remember crying my eyes out at that movie when I was a kid. 

Oh, I was scared by this one. It was the idea that you can easily end up in hell that scared me (and aside, was probably my main gripe with Christianity, but that would be a different kind of rant). 

Speaking of hell, there was a movie for kids that scared the hell out of me (pun intended) which I saw as a kid, shortly before Christmas no less. I don't know the name and haven't been able to identify it since then. I think the name was translated as Tooth Fairy to my language, but that doesn't help me identify it. It was about a young woman, a dentist who dies and goes to some limbo where they decide if you go to heaven or hell. Some people tell her that because she was a dentist and therefore caused people pain, she should go to hell (yes, really), but she can change that by doing a sort of charity work, so they make her a tooth fairy. A lot of BS follows, as she befriends some kids who are losing their milk teeth, blah blah, she ends up screwing the assignment somehow and is sent to hell. At the last moment though, she is given a second chance, I don't remember why (not because someone realized she didn't actually do anything bad of course) and if I remember correctly, she is actually returned to right before she died. This was a movie for kids FFS and the whole idea about an innocent person going to hell scared the absolute crap out of me (not to mention that I had some gripes about even "guilty" people going to hell, but again, different rant). I can't believe anyone thought it was OK to make that movie. Does anyone recognize it perhaps? It had to be made before 2000, that's around the time I saw it on TV. The main character was blonde.

[elle]

3 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

Oh, I was scared by this one. It was the idea that you can easily end up in hell that scared me (and aside, was probably my main gripe with Christianity, but that would be a different kind of rant). 

Speaking of hell, there was a movie for kids that scared the hell out of me (pun intended) which I saw as a kid, shortly before Christmas no less. I don't know the name and haven't been able to identify it since then. I think the name was translated as Tooth Fairy to my language, but that doesn't help me identify it. It was about a young woman, a dentist who dies and goes to some limbo where they decide if you go to heaven or hell. Some people tell her that because she was a dentist and therefore caused people pain, she should go to hell (yes, really), but she can change that by doing a sort of charity work, so they make her a tooth fairy. A lot of BS follows, as she befriends some kids who are losing their milk teeth, blah blah, she ends up screwing the assignment somehow and is sent to hell. At the last moment though, she is given a second chance, I don't remember why (not because someone realized she didn't actually do anything bad of course) and if I remember correctly, she is actually returned to right before she died. This was a movie for kids FFS and the whole idea about an innocent person going to hell scared the absolute crap out of me (not to mention that I had some gripes about even "guilty" people going to hell, but again, different rant). I can't believe anyone thought it was OK to make that movie. Does anyone recognize it perhaps? It had to be made before 2000, that's around the time I saw it on TV. The main character was blonde.

That sounds a lot like the movie Toothless (1997) with Kirstie Alley.  It also stars the kid from Sleepless in Seattle. 

— A dentist is cast into limbo after her death in a bike accident and is given the assignment to act as The Tooth Fairy as her action to be admitted into heaven. —

The key issue is that she lacks compassion, which is part of the joke of her chosen profession.  I think I caught the end of it while waiting for something else to come on.  It was a Disney movie, not sure if ever was the theaters.

[JustHereForFood]

21 minutes ago, elle said:

That sounds a lot like the movie Toothless (1997) with Kirstie Alley.

Thank you, I looked it up and that's it! Not that I ever want to see it again, but it's always good to identify a movie when you can't remember or don't know what it is.

Thinking back on it, I don't know if I ever saw something that terrified me more at the time, especially the ending when she was being transferred to hell. And it was Disney? OMG!

[topanga]

The Warriors (a great film) made me think that all of New York was dirty, scary, and full of gang members who wanted to kill me or assault me. I suppose part of the city was like that in the '70s, but I thought the entire place--all 5 boroughs-- were hell on earth. I never visited until I was an adult (Times' Square was cleaned up and Disneyfied by then).