By popular demand, I bring you the most requested list since I started doing these things for BD almost a year ago. We all love a good creative kill, and these are—in my opinion—the best of the best. I include the “opinion” caveat as a preemptive response to the inevitable stream of “Hey dude, you forgot to include [BLANK]” comments that is sure to follow. So enjoy, discuss, debate, and don’t forget to visit The Vault of Horror for more of my opinionated commentary!
Perhaps the greatest opening to an entirely unremarkable horror flick ever. A bunch of old-timey party-goers get abruptly vivisected by an improbably taut cable that comes loose aboard a luxury liner. There goes the conga-line.
If you’re a serial killer, and your prey is attempting to escape down a really long apartment building stairwell, you really can’t go wrong by dropping a running chainsaw down on them. You’re bound to hit something vital, just like Huey Lewis-lover Patrick Bateman does.
11. There Will Be Blood…and Ligaments, and Bone Shards…: Saw III (2006)
Despite its reputation for grimness, the original Saw really didn’t have a lot of graphic violence to speak of. The third flick in the series changed all that, heading decidedly into torture porn territory with that poor chap who gets the Stretch Armstrong treatment courtesy of a mechanized rack. Snap, crackle and pop ain’t just for breakfast anymore! (scene at the 3:30 mark)
When it comes to horror deaths, you have to love the good old exploding head. And the most memorable by far would have to be the classic scene from Cronenberg’s masterpiece, in which that cold-blooded bastard Michael Ironside causes some poor telepath’s cranium to go Hiroshima. This is why I felt no pity when Arnold ripped his arms off in Total Recall. “See you at the party, Richter!”
This is a tough one for any guy to watch, but you can’t say the scumbag didn’t deserve it. Our empowered protagonist hunts down the mastermind of her vicious group rape and slices off his twig and berries, allowing the newly gelded gentleman to bleed out slowly over the course of a few hours. That’s what you get for gangbanging Buster Keaton’s granddaughter.
Jason has racked up some pretty cool kills over his past 3 trillion movies, but this one is rivaled in coolness only by the liquid nitrogen scene in Jason X. Mr. Voorhees gives this poor horny ditz a wack against a tree like he’s dusting off an Oriental rug. Ouch! (scene at 1:20 mark)
Code blue quickly becomes code red in this mind-bending scene in which the doctor has his forearms bitten off when a giant gaping maw suddenly opens up in the chest cavity of his former colleague. I’ve heard of eyes in the back of your head, but never a mouth in the front of your torso.
It doesn’t get any more direct than a knife driven straight into an exposed heart. Let alone about 47 times. And then the nutjob hangs the broad too, for good measure. Talk about overkill…
To call Dr. Chanard’s methods unorthodox would be an understatement: In this scene, he hands a scalpel to a mental patient who’s convinced bugs are crawling all over him. The result? The desperate looney shreds himself as the doctor looks on. Come on now, doc, that’s just lazy!
4. Father Knows Best: City of the Living Dead (1980)
As far as overprotective dads go, this guy takes the cake. When he finds young Bob smokin’ a jay with his precious little girl, he proceeds to perforate his cerebellum with a massive drill, in that slow and agonizing way only Fulci does. Actually, now that I’m the father of a girl, I can’t say I don’t kind of relate…
Before he was Capt. Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp was a bloody stain on the ceiling, courtesy of one Fred Krueger. This is possibly the most famous of all horror movie kills. Is there really that much blood in the human body? Do we really care?
Of all horror movie baddies, nobody had it coming to him as much as Capt. Rhodes. When a gaggle of hungry pus-bags descend on the megalomaniacal captain for a raucous feeding frenzy, you can’t help but let out a satisfied chuckle. On the menu this evening—fillet of douchebag.
It’s back to Fulci for this nearly unwatchable ocular impalement scene. What can I say, the maestro just has a talent for realizing the most excruciatingly painful ways to die. And this one is a doozy—who among us isn’t squeamish when it comes to the eyes? And there’s just no let-up either—we watch in agonizingly slow detail as the wooden splinter passes through the eyeball and into the brain. No cutaway here, pansies!
For more news and opinions on the world of horror, including the story of a real-life Dexter copycat, a remembrance of Michael Crichton, and a look at the 50 greatest horror movies of all time, check out Brian’s daily blog, The Vault of Horror.
Best deaths ever have to include the handstand machete in friday 13th 3d and the opening car ramming from dead heat. Also kudos to midnight meat trains hammer attack and the arrow to the eye of wrong turn.
Thing is with all the horror movies out there it would be quite hard to narrow it down to a definative list but this group is pretty good. Glad that Johnnys death from NOES made it , everybody seems to remember that one.
The stabbing and being hung through the plate glass window is one of Argento's best and most beautifuly shot scenes, i agree with deathtiger about the sleeping bag scene..fucking crazy. It was so dumb when he did it again in jason x even though it was VR or some bullshit
Two Thousand Maniacs. The scene with the wooden beer keg where the force the guy in and they hold his hands and feet so he cant get out, and the they hammer nails into finally they roll it down hill. That shit should be on this list. The most simple disturbing creative creepy kill ever...
These are good, from a purely gore standpoint. But what about the death of Marion Crane in PSYCHO, perhaps the most memorable death scene in movie history period?
Yep, I knew someone was gonna bring up Psycho. Undoubtedly the most famous kill ever. But for this list I was mainly thinking memorable in the sense of creative or unusual. And while the shower scene is definitely creatively SHOT, when you get down to it, its just someone getting stabbed in the shower.
WHERE THE FUCK is the death of Quint in the film "Jaws"? One of the greatest kills in horror. To not have it at or near the top is blasphemous!!!! Being eaten alive has got to be one of the worst ways to exit this world. Think about it from Quint's POV. The terror in his eyes as he's reaching for Brody's hand. Sliding helplessly toward those snapping jaws, & staring your mortality right into it's fathomless black eyes. Hearing your bones & flesh cracking & tearing as the beast bites into you. The immense pain, & feeling your life slowly ebbing from your body. Even if you were still clinging to life, you're done for sure when the shark drags you into the abyss. I can't think of many situations much worse than that one. I am a little biased, because "Jaws" is my all-time favorite horror film. Just my two-cents!!!!
Good list. Glad to see City of the LIving Dead made the list. Think I wouldve included The lawnmower scene from dead alive but I understand why its not included.
Another one is in the film Abominable. The scene where the creature bites the guy's face off in one bite. Funny & gory at the same time!!! Jack's death in An American Werewolf in London is pretty good too!!!! "Hey, ass-monkey, eat this"----Abominable.
one that comes to mind at the top of my head is tom savini's death in maniac. when i saw that movie i thought this is one of the best death scenes in a horror movie ever.
The "drill" scene and the "viscera vomit" scene from City of the Living Dead tie for the same slot in my opinion. Speaking of head explosions...I'd also like to have seen the one from The Beyond where the little girl takes a bullet to the skull and her brains go chucking out. That was ridiculous.
There are so many good ones it would be hard to pick. But I would have loved to have seen Kevin Bacon get it through the throat from under the bunk (Friday the 13)I remember when I first saw that I was freaked out for weeks and shoved things under my bed...so no one could hide there lol
Good list. Expected to see some Dead Alive though...
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