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Ideally, a taser or stun gun is available for self-defense, and for apprehending bad guys. Still, let’s be real: They may be used in ways both good and bad. In some of the scenes on this list, these devices are used for good. In other instances, not so much. Whatever the case, here are some of the shocking moments in TV or film where stun guns or tasers were memorably employed.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #1: The 6th Day (2000)
Roger Spottiswoode’s The 6th Day is another sci-fi action flick that encourages us to question human technological advances. What do they mean? What dangers may lurk among them? The title The 6th Day refers to a Biblical verse, which is a few lines long. Nevertheless, the story needn’t apply to a specific person in a specific culture, but to anyone who might question the ability and reasons for human or animal cloning.
The 6th Day shows that it could indeed be a corrupt enterprise, just like anything else human beings touch. Does that mean there’s no reason to consider cloning at all? Probably not. If you’re infertile (if you will never again bear fruit in old age, or whatever), maybe you would want a genetic composite child, which might not be cloning, but still involves a human child produced in a bio-lab. However, The 6th Day comes along and speculates how, if we are not careful, we could all be cut down by such progress. This is by no means your garden-variety action flick, though it does have some fun moments.
At one point, the main character —the aptly titled Adam (Arnold Schwarzenegger) — sees an apparent clone of himself in his own home. Then he gets approached by some goons who prevent him from entering. Bewildered, Adam gets zapped with a stun gun by a goon named Talia (Sarah Wynter), and he appears to lose consciousness after a brief scuffle. However, as they drag Adam away from the house, he regains consciousness, zaps Talia and another henchman, Vincent (Terry Crews), and a chase scene ensues. This movie earns a bonus point, too, for the creepy doll named “SimPal Cindy” that ends up getting on the nerves of the henchmen. Fun stuff! The 6th Day also stars Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rapaport, Michael Rooker, and Robert Duvall.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #2: Screwed (2000)
In a saner world, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski’s Screwed would be a little less overlooked. While perhaps not a comedic masterpiece, it still has plenty of funny moments, and probably deserves more of a cult following. The film largely centers around a chauffeur/butler-type named Willard Fillmore (Norm Macdonald) who is sick of being mistreated by a pie company owner, Mrs. Crock (Elaine Stritch).
After opening his present on Christmas and receiving a lousy pair of cufflinks instead of a new suit, it’s the last straw. Tired of taking the backseat when it comes to Crock, Willard and his chicken restaurateur pal, Rusty (Dave Chappelle), decide to kidnap Crock’s beloved dog for ransom. The plot has several hilarious (and, at one point, even bloody) snags. In fact, even when Willard seems to finally get some ransom money in a briefcase, he has it stolen by a group of kids who zap him with a stun gun. Ouch!
Things get even dicier, though, as the two bumbling thieves rely on morgue worker Grover Cleaver (Danny DeVito) to plant an already-dead body for them, to fake Willard’s death. At the end of the day, these goofballs are attempting to teach Crock that you can’t have your Christmas cake and eat it, too. In this case, her empathy is missing, yet she wants to preserve her wholesome image to sell her pies, yet treats everyone like a real Grinch. Not cool!
Aside from the stun gun moment, some of the funniest parts of”Screwed involve Muffin. On that note, this movie should get some credit for having some rather dark humor while somehow not getting too sickening. In other words, it seems to get the comedic tone right even while having some morbid moments, which are probably not the easiest story elements to balance.
For example, at one point Willard is disciplined for his carelessness, instructed by Miss Crock that he will spend time in a literal doghouse. In a different context, that level of psychological power and cruelty would be entirely dark, dramatic, and hellish. Here, though, it seems the average viewer will be able to laugh at it, without feeling guilty, as it comes off as exaggerated for effect rather than some psychological horror sequence.
In a way, this might remind someone of the Dan Aykroyd-Santa Claus sequence from Trading Places, which also took a dismal low point and somehow elicited laughs. Interestingly, this movie is funny enough that one might forget it’s essentially a Christmas movie. However, if you do enjoy Screwed, consider watching it at that time of year when children secretly wait up for Santa to arrive with all those presents. However, be sure your children are kept away from any stun guns, as the little brats might end up on the naughty list.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #3: Snatch (2000)
Guy Ritchie’s film Snatch is somewhat about a diamond that has been stolen, but at no point does this feel like just another heist movie. At most points, the diamond is still intact, but rarely does it seem like the characters are. This film has the frenetic feel of a multi-car pileup, but one you won’t feel guilty watching.
Its characters, such as Franky “Four-Fingers” (Benicio del Toro), all get into trouble for one reason or another, and they’re all at risk of being killed, arrested, or literally fed to the pigs. That’s right. That last option is courtesy of Brick Top (Alan Ford), who you don’t want to make an unsuccessful bet with. If you run afoul of Brick Top…well, the character Turkish (Jason Statham) explains it in a voiceover: “It’s rumored that Brick Top’s favorite means of dispatch involves a stun gun, a plastic bag, a roll of tape, and a pack of hungry pigs.”
That’s not to say you’d want to upset New York jeweler and criminal “Cousin Avi” Denovitz (Dennis Farina), either. In fact, Snatch has more shady characters than you could shake a stick at, but they are all oddly likable — even Brick Top. This, of course, means it also has its share of dark moments, though this movie itself is like a jewel. It also stars Vinnie Jones, Brad Pitt, Rade Šerbedžija, Stephen Graham, Robbie Gee, Lennie James, and Ade.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #4: Forensic Files – Episode: Mistaken for Dead (2001)
This fascinating episode of Forensic Files (sometimes clunkily called Medical Detectives) features a bizarre, real-life plot involving a California doctor, identity theft, corpse theft, insurance scams, false claims of having AIDS, cremated remains, and sexual weirdness. In fact, the accused doctor in the case, Dr. Boggs, oddly kept sex toys in his work office!
Why was Dr. Boggs treating someone for chest pains despite being a brain specialist? Why was Dr. Boggs accused of attacking people with stun guns? What’s with the forged medical file? Watch this fascinating episode of Forensic Files and find out more!
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #5: Hannibal (2001)
Ridley Scott’s sequel to The Silence of the Lambs may have replaced Jodie Foster with Julianne Moore as Clarice Starling. On top of that, the film completely sidesteps the character of Jack Crawford (whose role one might have expected to be expanded, if anything). Still, “Hannibal” is definitely a better film than some give it credit for. As one might expect, Clarice becomes entangled with serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) once again, only this time, the cannibalistic killer is much less constrained.
Though the film focuses a bit on the internal politics of the Behavioral Science Unit, it all ties in with some memorable scenes of violence on Clarice’s path to track down Lecter. The movie provides little insight into how his mind has become savagely twisted, but we do see one of the people Hannibal had wronged: Mason Verger (Gary Oldman).
Mutilated and crippled by Lecter’s attack, this lone survivor of the madman has cooked up an elaborate revenge scheme to place Lecter under his control. Much like in the film Snatch, Verger has an affinity for pigs, and that figures into these bizarre plans! However, in order to incapacitate Lecter, Merger’s henchmen resort to using a stun gun. It works…initially.
“Hannibal” has other memorable and creepy moments aside from Mason Verger and his pig ploy. There is his mocking savagery against Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi (Giancarlo Giannini), and his brutal mind control dinner experiment with Paul Krendler (Ray Liotta), with Clarice herself as the special guest. Though Hannibal is not particularly violent against her, we know she is more sedated for his own safety than her own, and the course Lecter serves up is to die for!
By the film’s end, one can only guess how the battered and bruised Starling attempts to piece her life back together. The average witness to horrible crimes reels from seeing a murder, but what if you are seated at the dinner table with the murderer and he’s offering up a cannibal feast? Hopefully, one only has to imagine being forced to witness such a scene, but Hannibal lets viewers do so from the relative safety of their own homes. Still, after seeing these moments, one will probably be tempted to add more locks to their doors and maybe board up the windows.
Hannibal has a worthwhile sequel in Red Dragon, featuring Edward Norton in a command performance as Will Graham, a genius serial killer profiler. Still, Hannibal is worth a bit of reappraisal from critics and fans alike. This movie has a lot of dimensions and adds some interesting (even if not always perfect) details to the characters’ stories. It’s also sort of fun seeing Lecter’s cat-and-mouse moments with Chief Inspector Rinaldo Pazzi, which is perhaps one of the most underrated aspects of the entire Hannibal Lecter franchise.
Also, Gary Oldman is such a skilled actor that, even under all that Mason Verger makeup, his performance still comes through as totally legit, and the character is not a “monster” due to his disfigurement. In fact, is he really that much of a monster overall? Is his desire for revenge truly that difficult to understand, regardless of Mason’s own disturbing criminal history? Hannibal dares ask such questions, giving food for thought amidst all the thrills and shocks.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #6: Eight Legged Freaks (2002)
Directed by Ellory Elkayem, Eight Legged Freaks is basically exactly what you’d expect: A movie about giant killer spiders. It starts out with spiders behaving innocent enough, with an exotic spider collector named Joshua Taft (Tom Noonan) showing off his exotic spider named Consuela to a kid named Mike (Scott Terra). But then a barrel of toxic waste works its magic somehow and produces a bunch of extra-large, extra-hungry spiders. As one might expect, the film is not about how industrial waste could endanger spider species.
However, spiders aren’t the only possible dangers lurking around in this film. A character named Ashley (Scarlett Johansson), at one point, defends herself from a jerk named Bret (Matt Czuchry), zapping him in the crotch with a stun gun, causing him to urinate all over himself!
Yes, like so many other doomsday scenario films, people still end up being their own worst enemies. It could be an onslaught of giant spiders, a plague of zombies, or maybe an asteroid discovered to be on a collision course with Earth. Still, when the end of the world is imminent, the human race will jeopardize its own survival just as much as the initial threat. Eight Legged Freaks also stars David Arquette, Kari Wuhrer, Scott Terra, and Doug E. Doug.
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #7: Mansquito (2005 TV Movie)
AKA MosquitoMan, Tibor Takács’ Mansquito is about, you guessed it, a mutant mosquito man who terrorizes human victims. At one point, Corin Nemec’s character Lt. Thomas Randall uses his trusty stun gun and zaps the bloodsucking beast (Matt Jordon), who was originally a prisoner named Ray Erikson who was accidentally hybridized into the dreaded creature. Among the basic disgusting elements of Mansquito is that, in addition to attacking people for blood, it also wants to dip its proboscis into a female mate, Dr. Jennifer Allen (Musetta Vander). On that note: No means no, Mansquito!
Obviously, a Mansquito is a gross concept. People can be threatening enough already, but imagine a man/mosquito mix perching over someone and jamming their biological bloodstraw into someone until the victims’ internal organs stop working! Gross! Plus, don’t mosquitos tend to spread viruses and whatnot? One would imagine a virus eventually becomes extremely dangerous with mansquitos flying around!
No one would say this was the best sci-fi horror film of the last 25 years. In fact, it’s weaker than some similar films out there. Still, it’s plausible that, for some people out there, Mansquito is a rare treat that does everything they want a movie to do. Maybe such a person needs therapy or some more time outside in the real world, but maybe cheesy sci-fi movies are therapeutic in themselves, right?
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #8: Iron Man (2008)
In Jon Favreau’s Iron Man,”the antagonist Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) uses a Sonic Taser on Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) in his quest to take over Stark Industries and flood the world with even more advanced deadly weapons.
The unique type of “stun gun” becomes a key moment in Stark’s life, and in his company. Stane is a fairly memorable villain, and part of why he’s memorable is that represents both greed and the use of high-tech gadgetry to gain an advantage over others. He’s not a good man!
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #9: The Hangover (2009)
Right now, Todd Phillips’ The Hangover seems like a quick stop in cinematic history, but for a time, everyone was talking about this movie. It’s a memorable example of people partying too hard, forgetting what they did, and inevitably being confronted by the consequences. There are definitely some mysterious circumstances, and the story’s events only get stranger as details are revealed. Basically, The Hangover embodies the slogan “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” But does it?
Somewhere in all of this, the main characters end up getting stun-gunned by officer Rob Riggle. Oh, and they risk violent death, too, having stolen Mike Tyson’s tiger at some point! The Hangover stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, and Jeffrey Tambor. Even if you don’t particularly like the movie, you’ll probably remember it when you’re done. It’s just one of those kinds of movies!
Stun Gun or Taser Scene #10: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Episode: The Gang Reignites the Rivalry (2009)
In this classic episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the gang attempts to reignite a rivalry between itself and another bar owner, Art Sloan (Noah Bean), in a flip-cup drinking competition called “Flipadelphia.” They relentlessly antagonize their competitor, maliciously pranking him to convince him to compete with them again.
However, Dennis (Glenn Howerton) and Frank (Danny DeVito) gain new enemies at Dennis’s old fraternity, after being viciously pranked by a younger generation of frat boys who tase them. Feeling immensely disrespected and humiliated, the gang fully intends to have its revenge.
It’s a classic example of hypocrisy by the Paddy’s Pub jerks, who only care about bad behavior when it negatively affects them. Dennis justifies all his own cruel fratboy pranking but says, “But you don’t stun gun a guy who was a goddamn legend!” It’s a very funny Sunny episode, in case you haven’t guessed.
What is your favorite stun gun or taser moment from this list? Which ones did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
