49 Cringe-Worthy Scenes

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Movies can make us laugh, cry or smile, exposing its power to elicit genuine emotions from viewers. But sometimes movies can make us do different things entirely: shudder, flinch and twitch awkwardly as awful things occur right in front of our eyes. These sort of scenes can be defined as "cringe-worthy", which is actually harder to accomplish than one may believe. There may be a share fair of cringe-worthy scenes in movies like Saw or Hostel, but that's something we come to expect. Sometimes you don't ask for it, but nonetheless presented with a scene that will make you wish you'd done something else with your Friday night. So here we go cringe-worthy scenes you don't want to watch with your mother, or really anybody for that matter. Oh, and do I need to mention:

***SPOILERS***


4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
This movie is about a clandestine abortion. The entire fucking movie is cringe-worthy. I have nothing else to say.

127 Hours (2010)
Anybody who went into 127 Hours knew it was going to happen eventually, but there's just no way to prepare for somebody cutting into his own arm with a dull knife. But the worst comes when Aron Ralston realizes he must break his own arm and then painfully cut through a muscle tendon to free himself. And you get to watch it! Fun, right?

American History X (1998)
Curb stomping may be an American pastime, but in the wrong light...I guess it can seem sort of gruesome. Inhumane, if you will...downright abominable? Well, however much fun it can be, Derek Vinyard had to go ahead and ruin it by fueling his deathly stomp with racism, forever immortalizing a moment on screen that, no matter how hard you try, ya just can't shake it.

Antichrist (2009)
Leave it to Lars von Trier to use an image so cringe-worthy that it makes you balls jump back into your body. I don't have an analogy for the ladies, but I'm guessing that when you watch a woman's clitoris get cut off with a pair of rusty scissors...something happens down there.  

Beyond the Black Rainbow (2011)
There a few moments in this one, with people drowning in black muck and heads blowing up and whatnot, but it's that final scene where Barry goes apeshit and murders two innocent bystanders in a field where I finally say, "Yeah, I could've gone without seeing that."

The Big Lebowski (1998)
As a whole, there isn't much in The Big Lebowski that classifies as "cringe-worthy." But I can't help but flinch and curl just like The Dude when a feral ferret is dropped into his bathtub mid-wash. You don't fuck with the...Autobahn.

Black Swan (2010)
Hangnails........................................................................just, hangnails.

Blue Velvet (1986)
You can't say, "Baby wants to fuck!" without it sounding creepy, but Dennis Hopper takes it to another level, making for several scenes that are cringe-worthy, with the worst being a scene where he takes Jeffrey, kisses his face, sings a solemn tune, and beats the livin' daylights outta him.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Cringe-worthy for a whole 'nother reason. I don't care how many years pass, nothing will shake the sheer awkwardness of Mickey Rooney's rendition of Mr. Yunioshi--an old, angry Japanese man sputtering complaints. I make the same screwed-up face every time Rooney speaks as when Edward Norton curb stomps that poor kid.

"Miss Gorightry!"

*FACE PALM*

Bruno (2009)
Sometimes blood and gore (or rabid rodents) aren't required for cringe-inducing scenes. Bruno isn't the greatest movie ever made, but damn, it has its share of hoaxes on celebrities that make you put your hands over your face and ask, "How could he do this?" The Ron Paul sex tape attempt was pretty bad, but when he wheels out a naked man as a food platter for Paula Abdul, you realize that you're actually capable of feeling sorry for Paula Abdul. Weird...

Bug (2006)
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO DON'T PULL THAT TOOTH OUT!

Oh, and:

"I am the Super Mother Bug!!!"

Sorry, had to do it.

Casino Royale (2006)
Torture is the source of many scenes that will inevitably come to be featured on this list, but damn imagine taking a knotted rope to the balls repeatedly. As Le Chiffre cuts a hole in the seat of a chair and ties Bond to it, we know something horrible is coming...we just don't know how horrible. But hey, at least he didn't lose his junk (see Teeth).

A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Oy...the rape scene in A Clockwork Orange is an unrelenting, intrusive piece of cinema that refuses to let you feel anything but uncomfortable. Brilliantly shot, Stanley Kubrick shifts between the screaming woman and her rope-bound husband scrambling on the floor for an unforgettable scene you wish you could just go ahead and forget already.

Deep Red (1975)
Ah, horror films are just too easy, aren't they? Pretty much every murder in Deep Red can cause a bad case of the cringies, but their culminations always take it to the next level. It speaks volumes of Dario Argento's masterful hand over the genre, as he meticulously builds each murder scene, concentrating on the minor details before impaling one of his victims through the throat with a piece of broken window. Also, let's not forget the murderer's demise, as her(?!) head is pulled from her body as the elevator rises with her necklace firmly attached.

Deliverance (1972)
When your entire film is a psychological tale stemming from a single event, that particular scene better fucking deliver. Not only does Bobby's unfortunate encounter with incestual hillbillies in the woods fit the bill, but it's damn near unwatchable. "Squeal like a pig!" was just a bit much, don't you think?

Dogtooth (2009)
She looked like she was having so much fun with that Flashdance reenactment! Guess not, as the oldest daughter (unnamed throughout) runs into the bathroom to smash out her dogtooth with a freakin' dumbbell of all things, in what is a grippingly cringe-worthy scene and the culmination of her tale.

Downfall (2004)
Another one of those "oh my god, oh my god, oh my god" moments. I don't remember names, but the scene in particular involves a woman forcing a set of children to drink some sort of poison before they go to bed, because that's the sensible thing to do in their situation. It's a painfully tragic scene, as one child actually know what's happening, and watching it will practically defines the term "cringe-worthy."

Drive (2011)
Thank God Ryan Gosling was in this movie. For as Driver stomps a man's head to bits on an elevator with his lover trembling behind, the Eighth Wonder of the World (aka Ryan Gosling) pulls back and light bathes his puppy-dog face, which, strangely, is still sort of adorable covered in blood. It helps to erase the memory of what happened like 5 seconds before that...well, almost.

Eraserhead (1977)
If I had to choose one David Lynch scene for this list (not that I'm doing that), I would choose the baby-open-heart-surgery-gone-horribly-wrong scene from Eraserhead. Henry wasn't Father of the Year or anything, but damn that seems like some wildly irresponsible parenting. You could probably go ahead and throw in that scene with the chicken while we're at it--most awkward dinner table EVEEEERRRRR...

The Evil Dead (1981)
Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead is a wee bit on the goofy side, but it can can as unforgivable as horror films get. And there's nothing like a good ole catfight! Until one of them shoves a pencil in the other's ankle. Just look!

Fish Tank (2009)
I decided to just go ahead and list both of Andrea Arnold's movies right off the bat, just so you know what you're getting into. Her second appearance on the list isn't quite as bad, but will still have you saying, "OH MY GOD" over and over. When the 15-year-old Mia dances in front of the thirty-something Connor, you hope that anything besides sexual tension is building. But it is, and they act on it. I'm shuddering right now just thinking about it.

Funny Games (2007)
Another awful one. I've only scene the remake, but I doubt any scene from the original can match the head-massage-inducing scene where we realize young Georgie has been blown away by a shotgun. After sitting through an uncomfortable torture scene where we hear nothing but Georgie's screams, we later sit in awestruck silence as the camera focuses on the television and nothing but Nascar recaps and his mother's sobbing penetrates the background as the camera slowly reveals Georgie's corpse on the ground. God...damn it.

The Hangover Part II (2011)
It's a shitty movie, but there are a fair share of "What the fuck?" moments throughout The Hangover Part II. But the most painful scene to watch is discovering Stu shared an intimate time with a transsexual stripper the night before. We're almost as horrified as he is...

A History of Violence (2005)
David Croenberg does a great job in displaying the horrors, reality and randomness of violence, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch. What comes to mind? How about when Tom repeatedly bashes in somebody's nose with the butt of his hand? Yeah, that one about did it.

I'm Still Here (2010)
Apparently mockumenaries lend themselves to cringe-worthy scenes, as the rules are almost boundless. But I had trouble watching when Joaquin Phoenix's assistant decided to take a dump on him while sleeping. I knew it probably wasn't real, but I still reached out with my hands, thinking I could somehow stop it from happening.

Inglourious Basterds (2009) 
For a two-and-a-half hour film filled with blood, gore and shooting, the most cringe-inducing moment comes in the film's final moments, when Aldo takes a knife and cuts into Hans' forehead. Thanks, Quentin Tarantino.

Irréversible (2002)
Believe it or not, it's true: a movie chronicling the rape of a woman in reverse-chronological order is, yeah, sort of depressing and near-unwatchable. Cringe-worthy, if you will.  Irréversible: great for first dates and movie-watching on the subway.

Jackass: The Movie (2002)
Aha, um, each and every minute of all three films? But I have to pick one, so I'll go with the paper-cutting scene in the first film, where each of the Jackasses take turns giving themselves paper cuts in between their toes, fingers and on the edges of their lips. And whenever it re-runs on MTV or Comedy Central, I still can't watch it...

The Kid With a Bike (2011)
It had to happen eventually. With Cyril's capricious behavior and history of acting out, the second he attains that pair of scissors--however tiny the incision in his foster mother was--we know the result will be less than entertaining.

Killer Joe (2012)
Sure, sexual abuse can be traumatizing, as seen in Irréversible, but there's something innately sick about the chicken leg scene from Killer Joe that makes you shudder inside. When Joe forces Sharla to go down on him...and suck his chicken drumstick, the entire awkwardness surrounding the scene (including an orgasm from Joe) is enough to make you cringe.

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
It's not really a gory film or anything, but an early scene that features Christina screaming always gets to me. Director Robert Aldrich cleverly only shows her struggling legs, as they flail around and her toes curl while she is tortured by some unnamed dudes dressed in black.

Margot at the Wedding (2007)
There are a few "You've got to be fucking kidding me" moments throughout Margot at the Wedding, but that doesn't necessarily meet the requirements for "cringe-worthy." The best example though is a small moment that leaves as quickly as it comes, and it comes when Margot extends her leg and motions to kick Maisy down the stairs out of pure annoyance. Maisy recognizes her intentions quickly, and we watch them uncomfortably stare at each other. Oh, the joy.

Martyrs (2008)
So...yeah! Martyrs is this movie about a girl who gets tortured for a few years as a child by a mysterious league of suburbanites. Well, everything cringe-worthy takes place AFTER this revelation, from Lucie murdering an entire family with her shotgun to her own suicide in the backyard. But the worst? Upon discovering a girl trapped away in a cell, Anna places the girl for a bathtub in a sweet, somber moment, only to ruin it by proceeding to pry out each embedded nail in the poor girl's head.

Match Point (2005)
You'll actually cringe for a solid ten minutes during this one, mostly because we realize Chris is planning on killing Nola with a shotgun early on. Director Woody Allen proceeds to show the intricacies of the situation, as he clumsily gathers the weapon and its bullets, but the worst twist comes when we realize he plans on killing a neighbor to make it look like a robbery killing. Can't Allen just go back to dissecting funny little complications in toxic relationships?

Million Dollar Baby (2004)
How did I miss this one? Good Lord, no boxing match should end like this. I'll watch Tyson bite off Holyfield's ear any day of the week over this.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Captain Vidal wasn't necessarily the nicest guy, but why did he have to go ahead and bash that poor boy's face in? With the butt of his gun, no less...just flip that thing around and put him out of his misery. Guillermo Del Toro isn't exactly known for his restraint, basically guaranteeing that we'll have to watch the entire ordeal. Oh, and there's that scene where Vidal's face is ripped Joker-style. But hey, the little girl's story is sorta sweet, right?...right?

Pulse (2001)
If you haven't seen Pulse, stop reading this and go watch it right now. If not for witnessing one of the scariest and deeply layered horror films of the Aughts, then for its most cringe-worthy scene, featuring a slinking silhouette of a ghost slowly lurking its way down a hallway, and then creeping itself over a chair and peering into the frame.

Red Road (2006)
I'm kicking it off with a bad one: after a rough sex session with Clyde, we learn Jackie had something other than sex on her mind. She escapes to a bathroom, takes a finger-ful of sperm from the freshly used condom and...well, you saw it. Or did you? Maybe you shouldn't. She then proceeds to bash her own head with a rock to make the escapade look like rape. Talk about fucking cringe-worthy...

Requiem for a Dream (2000)
I can only pick one moment? Hmmm...well, I'll skip the part where we see Harry's heroin-ridden arm (and just kindly provide a photo of it below) and go with the "ass to ass!" scene that they had to cut out of the theatrical versions because, well, who wants to see that? I didn't, and I'm pretty sure I just sat there the whole time wincing and wishing it wasn't true.

Revolutionary Road (2008)
I'm not sure if I actually have to write this one out...well, one thing's for sure: this movie legitimized the notion that wire hangers should simply NOT exist.

The Shining (1980)
That whole door-chopping scene. Have you heard of it? Each and every chop with the axe produces a twitch. Congrats Kubrick, you've done it again.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
You just don't get used to a pale barber slicing open several people's necks with a shaving knife, no matter how many times you see it. Director Tim Burton shows it a lot too, making for his bloodiest film and most cringe-worthy endeavor.

Teeth (2007
Do you feel bad for a guy who gets his dick bitten off? Maybe, unless he's the evil step-brother raping his step-sister...and the step-sister just discovered a unique superpower *down there*. 

The Tenant (1976)
The entire time Trelvosky approaches the open window in his room, dressed in women's clothes and suicide on his mind, I'm doing my best impression of The Thinker sculpture, except I'm biting my fist, twisting my face, and wishing it wasn't happening.

There Will Be Blood (2007)
There's this part in There Will Be Blood where Dainel and Eli are in this bowling alley and they decide to play a game of tag. Then Daniel becomes a little too playful and grabs this bowling pin and playfully proceeds to bash Eli over the head with it. Then you sit there and wonder why it all just fucking happened.

Werckmeister Harmonies
Both the greatest scene and culmination of Béla Tarr's masterful Werckmeister Harmonies is a sinister series of events, featuring several town members rushing a local hospital and beating its patients. Not exactly unwatchable, but one of those slow-burn cringes that just won't seem to fucking end.

Winter's Bone (2010)
It's the climax of the film, and it's also the part you wish you didn't have to watch. After finding her father's carcass in a lake, Ree then realizes she must take a chainsaw to his body in order to retrieve it. The sound is cut off and all we see is Ree screaming while struggling to pry her dad's body from the water. As Rebecca Black would say, it's "fun fun fun fun fun fun fun..." That's how I'm choosing to end this list, by the way.