As horror fans, we see a lot of pretty gruesome things. We see stabbings, dismemberments, disembowelments, flayings and countless other scenes of graphic violence on a weekly basis. We crave movies to get a hard-R rating and have creative and/or really gory kills. My point is, we can take a lot. Some people may call us weird or demented, but I just think it makes us interesting. But do you draw the line somewhere? I love some good carnage as much as the next person but there is one thing I can’t stand: pus.
I can take pretty much any type of gore a movie throws at me. Sure, fingernail stuff makes me a little uneasy, and I’m not a huge fan of things involving eyes either, but pus actually makes me want to gag. Whenever I see one of those Buzzfeed posts about popping zits I want to hurl my computer across the room. So imagine how I felt when I went to go see Eli Roth’s Hostel back in 2004 and there was a horrifying scene involving a severed eyeball and a whole lot of pus.
Blech. Words cannot describe just exactly how I felt when I first saw this scene, but I can tell you that I have averted my eyes from the screen every time I watch Hostel (which isn’t very often…I’m one of the very few people who actually prefers Hostel: Part II). Not only is here eye hanging out of her face, but the pus just oozes out once he cuts the eye off.
The only other scene that has really made me gag like Hostel did is probably the infamous custard scene from Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive. That scene alone is part of the reason why I almost couldn’t finish the movie. I powered through it though, so don’t worry.
Am I alone here? Does the sight of pus gross anyone else out? I guess my reason for this brief article is because I’m curious to know: What grosses you out? What body part can you not stand to see be eviscerated or what bodily fluid do you never want to see on the screen? I know I’ve already mentioned fingernails and I’m sure that bothers some of you as well. Let me know in the comments below!