I’m a big horror movie fan, and of course there are plenty of violent acts in most horror movies; but then there are also some pretty nasty scenes in non-horror movies or shows as well. A few come to mind…
Irreversible: the two obvious scenes are the rape and then the bashing in of the face.
Speaking of rape scenes, another obvious choice is from I Spit On Your Grave and another from Last House on the Left.
The Sopranos: Admittedly I haven’t really watched the show, but I remember a scene where an older guy seems to be having a heart attack, clutching his chest and all, while another guy is punching him in the groin. That’s just cold.
I don’t know about most violet ever, but the final battle in Rambo (the fourth movie. “Rambo IV”) was certainly pretty gruesome. They make liberal use of .50 caliber weapons. At close range. One poor fellow’s brain spends most of the scene smeared on a gun shield, on camera.
There’s a scene in American History X where Ed Norton’s character stops a couple of guys from breaking into his car at night. He shoots one in the leg (I think), and at gun point, makes him open his mouth and put his teeth on a curb. Then Norton stomps on the back of his head, killing him. It’s the slow motion scene and sound of the guy placing his teeth on the curb, and you can almost feel the grit in your mouth that does it for me. It’s a very effective scene, but one I’ve only watched once and I’ve have closed my eyes for it ever since.
The killing of Maddie by Leland Palmer/BOB in Twin Peaks is first on my list. The buildup to the scene, Maddie’s screaming, the surreal dancing aspect of it- all creepy to the max and makes the violence seem much more intense.
The curb-stomping scene is exactly what I think of. I close my eyes whenever it cuts from the guy’s fact to Norton stomping on the fake head. Very visceral. They make the audience feel his death.
The scene on The Shield when the Strike Force beat up Armadillo Quintero and burned his face on the coils of an electric stove. I had been spoiled about the scene and cringed the entire time.
Linda Blair was in a TV movie at age 14 called Born Innocent. The movie depicted her assault and rape with a broom handle by a group of girls. It was very shocking and very explicit for the time considering it was on television.