Hidden Horror - Hung, Drawn & Quartered

Sometimes you can be watching something from outside of the horror genre when 'crash, bang, wallop!' a little slice of horror just ups and slaps you in the kisser. I love these little surprises, and when they appear out of nowhere like that they are all the more powerful. As in real life when something sudden and violent occurs, it can be a real jolt ,knocking you sideways. Obviously it goes without saying that it's alot safer when this is happening to someone on screen, but the overall feeling, that little rush of I don't know what occurs and triggers something. This is basically alot to do with horror movies in general and why they are so popular, the difference being of course that you know what to expect when you sit down in front of a Horror movie, so the thrill comes from the anticipation of this feeling.

The clip I have included here is from the Helen Mirren mini series 'Elizabeth I', which till this point had been your usual Costume Drama affair, with it's plots, politics and treachery. then Bam! these poor guys are off to be 'Hung, Drawn and Quartered', a phrase I was familiar with but had never really given much thought to. Obviously the power of this scene is completely removed by presenting it in isolation like this, but if I asked you to sit through a four hour mini series just to see 45 seconds of old school Elizabethan torture I may find myself on the chopping block.