Blood on the Dance Floor

Come on and get down on it! Tonight we're gonna dance like no one's watching -- and they're not, because they're too busy kung fu fighting. Let's explore the moments when boogying gets brutal and the bullets rip to the sound of the beat. (And for once I'm not including Secret of the Ooze on the damn list.) Burn the mother down, y'all.

- Paul

Collateral

It seems like I'm starting off strong but this is actually the goofiest entry in this lineup. Once guns are ablaze, the crowd starts doing laps with no one heading for the exit. Actually, I think more people join the chaos as it escalates, possibly materializing from the bathroom and the bar(?). In fact, I'm pretty sure you can spot some folks still dancing even at the end of the scene. I admire their dedication to the groove. 

Airplane!

I guess we can call this the second goofiest entry -- but the violence is no joke. Apart from the brawling girl scouts we get a legit stabbing, which in turn designs some new dance moves. These patrons are even more invulnerable than the ones in Collateral. 

The Terminator

It doesn't matter how much Arnold and his scowl stand out in a crowd because everyone's too busy dancing to Ricky Phillips and Tryanglz. Also blending into the ambience of Tech Noir is a big shiny gun with a laser on it. Actually the shootout also lends to the atmosphere. So really, nothing to see here. 

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

In lieu of actually storming a New York dance club and fuckin' shit up (which probably would've been cooler), we instead get a tense one on one that ends with a brief but savage thrashing. Oh Eva, your screentime was far too short. 

The Dark Knight

Maybe the greatest lesson in "less is more". This very short scene, in which Batman confronts Eric Roberts, carries the style of the entirety of one of the Schumacher films, but obviously it's much more effective in the framework of the Nolan universe.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II

This entire list could've been twice as long and been all "school dance" scenarios. Instead I settled on one, and it's the one that's the weirdest. À la Freddy's Revenge, Vicki is possessed with the ghost of Mary Lou, until Mary Lou decides to burst out of Vicki's body at the prom. Then it becomes a bit of Carrie, but again, weirder. 

It's a Wonderful Life

Not any real violence here, but there's malicious intent (at least, I used to think that). Stay with me: during the graduation dance, a heartbroken Alfalfa is approached by a nameless instigator who happens to have the key to open the gym floor, revealing the swimming pool underneath. I'd always proclaimed that this guy was Lucifer himself, but really that doesn't make any sense - his actions almost directly bring George and Mary that much closer together. At any rate, this guy was wielding the powers of fate. (Eventually everyone voluntarily jumps into the pool, but he jumps somewhere else.)

Jacob's Ladder

There really isn't a moment in this movie that isn't just generally upsetting, but there are definitely a handful of scenes that are "extra" - winged demon bat grinding to James Brown's "My Thang" is near the top of that list. It's all disgusting and disorienting enough, and then the punchline just ruins your life forever.