Top 10 Exact Movie Moments That Caused People to Walk Out
#10: The Chestburster
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“Alien” (1979) H.R. Giger’s design for the legendary Xenomorph alien was grotesque enough when it was just a guy in a costume. But its first appearance, as a newly-hatched infant, is the moment many filmgoers decided to bail. About a third of the way into the sci-fi horror classic “Alien,” John Hurt’s character Kane has been unknowingly impregnated by the alien. When the monster crashes through Kane’s stomach and slithers out of his bleeding innards, it was enough to make the more squeamish viewers flee the theater altogether. Though the camera doesn’t linger on the gore too much, there’s still just enough to make your stomach turn.
#9: The Tent Scene
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“The Blair Witch Project” (1999) It’s difficult to overstate how novel this movie was. Found footage is an obvious gimmick now, but many people really believed this movie captured the last days of a group of documentary filmmakers investigating the title urban legend. Its handheld photography was so new that it gave viewers motion sickness, which only heightened the building hysteria around the film. One scene in particular, where the characters’ tent is attacked by unseen forces, was the final straw for many. As it’s nighttime, we can’t see much, and what we can see is unfocused and constantly moving around the screen. It is a confusing, scary, and disorienting moment that left vulnerable viewers nauseous.
#8: Jennyanydots
“Cats” (2019) Even fans of the original Broadway show were intensely skeptical of the 2019 film adaptation. There’s no way a movie could live up to the spectacle and tomfoolery of the show. This early number, led by Rebel Wilson, confirmed those fears. As Jennyanydots, Wilson’s vocals are clearly lacking, but the scene is a cavalcade of misjudged jokes and horrors previously unknown to the moviegoing public. Jennyanydots mercilessly chomps down on CGI cricket dancers and basically skins herself mid-number. For people who went in knowing very little about “Cats” and expected a lighthearted musical comedy, it was a bridge too far.
#7: Home Invasion
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“A Clockwork Orange” (1971) In Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of the Anthony Burgess novel, the cruelty is the point. Vicious, sociopathic outlaw Alex and his gang of deranged “droogs” revel in terrorizing and debasing their fellow human beings. The entire movie is an exercise in endurance. How much cruelty can you watch? Early in the film, Alex and his droogs break into a writer’s home, beat him within an inch of his life, and assault his wife while Alex cheerfully crows out the lyrics to “Singin’ in the Rain.” It’s a relentless scene. Forcing the audience to stare at abject evil is a big ask, and this was the moment many decided “A Clockwork Orange” wasn’t worth the price of admission.
#6: Allie’s Death
“Terrifier 2” (2022) Art the Clown is easily one of the most evil horror villains of the last several years. The “Terrifier” series by Damien Leone is all about making its audience squirm in complete disgust. Nothing about the way he dispatches his victims is easy, efficient, or merciful. The scene where he brutally murders Allie is several unflinching minutes of extended violence. But that’s not even the cruelest part. It’s when Art begins pouring salt and bleach over her disfigured body that really separated the viewers who were buying what this movie was selling, and those who couldn’t handle it.
#5: The Crucifixion
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“The Passion of the Christ” (2004) Mel Gibson’s epic film version of the life and death of Jesus Christ was truly a spiritual experience for Christians and non-Christians alike. Where previous films made the crucifixion a theatrical but relatively bloodless affair, Gibson’s camera lingers on Christ’s wounds and suffering. For many Christians, it brought them even closer to their faith. For other audience members, it was a work of art that was just too brutal and brimming over with unnecessary violence. David Edelstein was one of many critics who were unimpressed by the violence, dubbing it “The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre.” No matter your faith, the crucifixion scene is a hard watch.
#4: “One of Us”
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“Freaks” (1932) MGM was attempting to compete with the blockbusting Universal monster movies when they dreamed up this little horror show. Set among traveling circus performers, the beautiful trapeze artist marries a sideshow performing dwarf for his inheritance. Unfortunately, 1932 audiences were immediately horrified by the sight of any body difference on screen. The scene where the performers accept Cleopatra, the trapeze artist, as one of their own had many audiences siding with the movie’s villain. During test screenings, people became so ill that there was talk of lawsuits. According to the film’s art director, audiences didn’t walk out. They ran out. Needless to say, the movie was a financial disaster.
#3: The Arm
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“127 Hours” (2010) James Franco plays Aron Ralston, the real-life rock climber who spent five days trapped by a large boulder. The movie about Ralston’s real brush with death and his desperate escape spares none of the gory details. For five minutes, we’re forced to watch every move he makes as he endeavors to amputate his own arm to free himself of the boulder. Director Danny Boyle makes sure we get several closeups of his incisions and the blood and meat of his exposed arm. The stinging of the musical score as he severs tendons and nerves is almost too much to take. There were several reports of audience members fainting and vomiting during it. Those who were lucky enough to keep their wits simply walked out.
#2: The Ear
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“Reservoir Dogs” (1992) Quentin Tarantino would show us a lot of blood and violence throughout his career, but no one knew what to expect from “Reservoir Dogs,” his first feature. In the most disturbing scene, Michael Madsen’s sociopathic bank robber taunts a captive policeman with a song and dance before severing his ear with a straight razor. Unlike the director’s later work, the violence is played mostly off-screen. That is until Madsen brings the severed ear into the frame and talks into it. You know, because he’s a funny guy. Early film festival screenings saw several walkouts during the scene. Tarantino, of course, took this as a compliment.
#1: Head Spin
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“The Exorcist” (1973) Few movies have inspired as much publicity about its audience’s experience as 1973’s blockbuster horror classic, “The Exorcist.” Noted for its unrelenting scares and convincing special effects, the movie caused scores of audiences to become so scared and so sick they had to leave the theater. And the ones who stayed were stunned by what they saw. One of the movie’s most terrifying and nausea-inducing moments is when the possessed girl’s head spins around. Marking a point of no return for the demonic possession at the center of the story, it’s a moment of obscenity, sacrilege, and body horror that movie audiences found impossible to shake.
