Food has been used as a gag reflex in horror movies for decades. Which of us hasn't squirmed when Jane brings Blanche her "lunch" in 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, felt sick during the force-feeding spaghetti scene in the 2003's, Se7en, or shivered during Hannibal Lecter's description of eating the liver of a census taker in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs?
See also: Ten Favorite Food Scenes From Movie Classics
Thankfully, most "food" in scary movies tends to be outrageous enough (human flesh) or humorous enough (killer tomatoes) to not interfere with our daily eating habits. Others, like the five listed here, are so familiar that seeing them in a horrifying light can ruin them for us forever. Thanks, Hollywood.
WARNING: Enter at your own risk. Video clips contain scenes of violence, gore, and just plain yuck-ness. Viewer discretion is advised.
5.) Smoked Meats Courtesy of Motel Hell
Forget your fondness for flavored dried, smoked sausages (also kindly looking farmers and backyard gardens) after you've checked in to this 1980 horror comedy film. On the surface, tender and marbled meat seasoned with secret herbs, stuffed into casings, and aged in a smokehouse by Farmer Vincent Smith and his younger sister Ida, may seem like a locavore's wet dream, but when you find out the secret ingredient and how it's processed, it's nothing short of a nightmare -- albeit of the drive-in movie ilk.
4.) Octopus Courtesy of Old Boy
If you have a fondness for seafood, especially octopus, it doesn't get any fresher (or more freaky) than it does in this 2003 South Korean revenge pic. It may be comforting (probably not) to know that this scene is one of the film's least disturbing ones. Less relieving is the fact that it's not computer generated and that four of the cephalopod mollusks were used in the making of it. (RIP)
3.) Steak Courtesy of Poltergeist
If the thought of a thick, juicy steak gets you drooling, this scene from the 1982 American horror film co-written and produced by Steven Spielberg will be enough to get you to vegetarian status in no time. Here's a helpful hint when spending the night in a house invaded by sinister spirits: Don't eat the food. Sheesh, as if the freakin' clown wasn't scary enough.
2.) Lemonade Courtesy of Cabin Fever
Ah, there's nothing more American than sipping a glass of refreshing lemonade purchased from children at a makeshift stand in a small town. Unless, of course, the lemonade's made with creek water and sold outside Old Man Cadwell's store in this 2002 American creep-fest. Then, naturally, it's the end of innocence, as well as all humankind. Oh, and that skin rash? You better see someone about that.
1.) Pea Soup Courtesy of Exorcist
Thanks to this 1973 shit-scary horror movie classic (fun fact: it was the first horror film to be nominated for Best Picture) there are few of us who can't eat a bowl of pea soup -- even think about pea soup -- without remembering this famous scene. If we've learned anything about demonic possession from this movie, it's that we should not ask questions to a demon inside the body of a little girl that's eaten a bowl of it. Why? Because the answer will come in the form of pea soup projectile vomit and a 360-degree head spin. Amen.
