NWI Awards: Best Scene

When a single scene leaps from the film you're watching and grabs you by the the throat is a great thing to experience. Even if it may not sound like it due to my choice of a particularly violent metaphor, the best individual scenes of 2008 then...




Best Scene




7) Gommora - Lady gets Whacked

Reasonably innocent kid delivers a neighbour lady's shopping to her weekly, only when she supposedly ratted out a member of his newfound gang he participates in her assassination. Brutal in its realism.




6) There Will Be Blood - Exploding Oil

After one of his Oil wells unexpectedly explodes, Plainview is ecstatic at what this means, so much so that it dwarfs his concern for his adopted son who was badly wounded in the explosion. Visually breathtaking and emotional devastating.




5) The Dark Knight - Dent's transferred to holding

The Dark Knight has plenty of scenes that leave you gasping, but the one that most definitely does it for me is a big action centrepiece. Whilst this may point to my dramatic ignorance, its such a well done scene its hard to not be impressed by it. Beginning with a Car chase through a tunnel, continuing with Batman K.Oing the Joker's 18 wheeler in what must be the stand up and scream 'Yeah' moment of the year, and ending with Ledger standing down Bale in what must be he single most character defining moment he has. Breathtaking cinema.




4) REC- Night Vision

It is tradition to end a hand-held DV horror movie with a sequence in green night vision, but REC takes this cliche and reinvigorates it in one of the single most scary scenes in the entire history of horror movies.




3) Waltz With Bashir - The Dream


Throughout its investigative narrative, we keep returning to this same scene of soldiers rising from the sea as flares and explosions smother the city around them. Expressionistic and beautiful.




2) The Orphanage - Knocking game

Its a completely cynical and thought out horror movie moment, but it works like a charm. As our plucky protagonist dares creepy kid ghosts to come out, she plays the game that they so loved when they were alive to get them to reveal themselves. Be prepared to scream like a girl.




1) No Country For Old men - Gas Station

Chigurh has a conversation with a gas station attendent. Best scene of the year hands down. I refuse to spoil it.