Some directors love to turn films on their heads, by sneaking in sequences of bloody horror into their non-horror film. Sometimes these moments come from family friendly films, other items from your typical dramas and crime films. So if you ever though the film you’re watching could do with a few more heads exploding or people being devoured from the inside out, you’re in the right place. One thing all the films on our list have, is an out of place moment of pure grisly horror that the directors threw in for good measure. We look at Surprisingly Gory moments in tame movies.

Beethoven – Needles in Chest

Beethoven is a film about a loveable, but oversized, St. Bernard who becomes part of the Newton family. He helps the suburban family in many different ways such as scaring off bullies and saving one of the children when they fall into a pool. Whilst the family friendly film deals with teenage crushes and ruined BBQs, the films overriding plot deals with an evil veterinarian who runs a stolen dog ring in the interests of trying to test how destructive and “messy” a bullet is when fired at point-blank range. Dr. Herman Varnick wants to use large dog skulls for his experiments and fakes a bloody dog attack to get hold of Beethoven. It’s when the family attempt to rescue the kind-hearted St.Bernard that they accidentally launch a tray of syringes into the Varnick’s chest. For anyone with a needle phobia, this is pretty sick stuff. 

Agent Cody Banks (2003) – Nanobots

Agent Cody Banks is a 2003 American spy action comedy-thriller film. Frankie Muniz stars as a young spy on a mission to stop an evil villain’s plan to destroy the worlds defense systems. Dr. Brinkman’s plan backfires when he swallows the nanobots, which he was going to use to take down the network, but he accidentally swallows them in a fight. The nanobots literally devour him from the inside out, making him shrivel up and melt. Nasty stuff for a film aimed at a younger audience. 

Indiana Jones – Melting Heads

Indian Jones is a film about renowned archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones. Indy is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark is believed to still hold the ten commandments and Indiana finds that Nazis are also looking to acquire the ancient artifact. Whilst Indy discovers the Ark first, it is quickly stolen from him by the pursuing Nazis. When the Ark is open, they awaken ancient powers and sprites which literally melt their faces right off.  

Watership Down (1978) – Woundworts Attack

Watership Down is a animated fantasy adventure based on the novel by Richard Adams. The family film tells of group of Rabbits led by seer Fiver and their Leader Hazel, as they search for a new home. The film is unsettlingly dark for a family film, which does not dilute the violence and drama that takes place in Adams novel. The film sees plenty of death but none of this can prepare your for the shocking conclusion which sees a confrontation of an army of rival rabbits. The bloody battle not only sees rabbit tearing at each other’s throats, but also a vicious dog savagely ripping the poor Hares apart. It’s surprising that this film was passed with a PG rating.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) – The Burning

George Lucas draws the Star Wars film series to a close with this dark sci-fi adventure which finally sees Anakin Skywalker transform into the formidable Darth Vader. During an epic lightsaber battle with his mentor Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin is crippled and burned alive by lava. This Horrifying sequences is still one of the most shocking moments in the Star Wars Franchise. 

One Hour Photo (2002) – Bloody Eyes

Sy Parrish is a lonely photo technician working local SavMart, who develops an unsettling obsession with the Yorkin family, who are long-time customers of the store. Sy’s life starts to go down hill when he discovers that Will Yorkin is having an affair with an old school friend, and risk breaking up the perfect family (according to Sy). One nasty scenes sees blood gushing from Sy’s eyes, in a terrible and gory nightmare. This single moment is completely out of left field as the rest of the film is pretty subdued compared to this shocking sequence. With blood rushing up from under his clamped eyes, this scene would not be out of place in a film like Hellraiser, let alone a subdued thriller with no other scene of gore. 

The Addams Family (1991) – Sword Fight

The Addams Family is a 1991 American fantasy comedy film. This macabre and highly imaginative film is filled with memorable moments or dark comedy. In a glorious sequence at a school play, Wednesday and Pugsley perform a swordfight with an added treat for the onlooking audience, lashings of pulsating gore. This family film carefully balances horror and entertainment into a scene that produces laughs rather than screams, as the audience is left speechless and covered in fake blood, as the rest of the Adams family clap and cheer at the back of the hall.

Licence to Kill (1989) – Decompression Chamber

Licence to Kill (1989) is the sixteenth spy film in the James Bond film series and sees Timothy Dalton stepping into 007’s shoes. The film follows James Bond tracking down a drug lord smuggling dissolved cocaine in petrol , and is filled with the usual gadgets, girls and guns. In one scenes, a bond villain is killed in a horrifically bloody manner, which is very uncharacteristic for the James Bond series. Milton Krest is thrown into a decompression chamber where his head grows, bulges and finally explodes in a shower of visceral. 

127 Hours (2010) – Bloody Arm Removal

127 Hours is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston’s, who becomes trapped after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolate canyon in Utah. To survive, Aron is forced to amputate his own arm. The film is peppered with a healthy doses of flashbacks and fantasies, as Aron finds himself dying of starvation and thirst. The entire film is complete thrown of kilter when Aron decided the only way to survive is to remove his own arm. Director Danny Boyle gives us a long, painful and frenzied sequence as he cuts into his own flesh, blowing all the drama and fantasies out of the water. 

Trance (2013) – Headless Zombie

A fine art auctioneer, teams up with a criminal gang to steal a Goya painting worth millions of dollars, but after suffering a blow to the head during the heist he awakens to discover he has no memory of where he hid the painting. This semi-hysterical story bounces between fantasy and reality, past and present in a flick of an eye, but in a completely crazy sequence, we see one of the criminal’s head blown clean off, only to rise as a talking, headless, zombie. 

“Hello Horror Fans – These moments of grisly horror are a real SCREAM. It’s little scenes like these that make boring dramas and family films watchable. What are your favorite moments of horror in non-horror films? Share them with us below in the comments.

Keep Rotten”

“Morti” The Mortician