10 Goriest Quentin Tarantino Movie Scenes Ever

This frantic and squirm-worthy scene from 'Pulp Fiction' isn't really gory in the usual bloody sense of the word. But there were plenty of stories going around in 1994 that people were passing out in the theater as they watched John Travolta plunge a massive needle of adrenaline into a convulsing Uma Thurman's barely beating heart. Needless to say, it's not for the squeamish.

The crisscrossing of scenes in 'Pulp Fiction' was a key part of its success. It also confused lots of folks who were used to movies that went from Point A to Point B with no detours. After getting to know hitman/heroin addict/trophy-winning dancer Vincent Vega (Travolta) throughout the movie, we watch as he meets his grisly end stepping out of the can after doing his morning business.

Tarantino's contribution to 2007's 'Grindhouse' (which was later released separately as 'Death Proof') includes this heart-pounding scene that comes not long after one of the girls gives her killer what may be the hottest lap dance ever filmed. The sickening crunch of metal as the girls' car takes a head-on hit (again and again and again) is matched only by the carnage it causes, including a severed limb.

The 'Kill Bill' odyssey includes its share of bloody good moments. This is one of Tarantino's most wildly choreographed scenes, featuring some stylish swordplay between Thurman's vengeful Bride and a group of katana-wielding killers known as the Crazy 88 (even though there are only about 40 members). The Bride literally cuts them down one by one, leaving a crimson trail of body parts.

Lucy Liu's O-Ren Ishii is one bad-ass gal. After her parents are killed by a ruthless gang lord (in a terrific anime sequence), she rises to power to lead the ill-fated Crazy 88 (see No. 7). After diplomatically hearing out an associate's racist and sexist tirade, O-Ren hops on the table, swiftly runs across it, pulls out her sword and cleanly detaches the guy's head from the rest of his body.

Like most of Tarantino's movies, 'Inglourious Basterds' weaves together about a half-dozen different plot lines. The most explosive centers on one of the most hated men ever to walk the planet. When Brad Pitt's select company of Nazi hunters storms a movie theater and finds Adolf Hitler there, they make sure der Fuhrer is dead by drilling him with enough bullets to erase any trace of that dreadful mustache.

The handpicked group of Nazi killers in 'Inglourious Basterds' are a violent bunch (see No. 5). But none is as brutally ruthless, and seems to enjoy his work, as much as the Bear Jew, a baseball bat-wielding dude who turns bad guys' heads into mush. We hear about his handiwork from scared Nazis long before we see the man in action. We finally get a glimpse of what he's capable of, in all of his gut-churning glory.

Just when you thought the 'Kill Bill' movies couldn't get any bloodier -- what with guys losing their heads and various Crazy 88's severed limbs flying across the screen -- Thurman's left-for-dead protagonist gets even with longtime rival Elle Driver in a trailer-wrecking fight scene that culminates in Elle having her one good eye plucked from its socket and then proudly squashed under the Bride's bare foot.

This scene from 'Pulp Fiction' is all the more shocking because it comes out of nowhere. Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent are having one of their usual winding, expletive-laced conversations (this one swings from divine intervention to quitting the hitman business) when Vincent's gun discharges, smearing their backseat passenger's face and brains all over the seats, roof, windows ... pretty much everywhere.

We still can't listen to Stealers Wheel's 'Stuck in the Middle With You' without thinking about Michael Madsen's psychopathic Mr. Blonde, who calmly pulls a straight razor from his boot, dances over to a police officer he has bound and gagged and then slices off the poor guy's ear. Adding insult to the very bloody injury, Mr. Blonde cracks a bad joke into the piece of flesh that used to be attached to the cop's head.