Top 10 Horror Movie Deaths

Horror stories and great kills. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. Cheech and Chong. Sodom and Gomorrah. Society has always had a fascination with death. Ghost stories and other horrific tales of things that go bump in the night have been around ever since man first learned to communicate. Back in 1897 this form of storytelling was taken to a brand new level in Paris, France, with an innovative type of horror entertainment dubbed Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol. Actors, writers, F/X men, and producers took their first stabs at showcasing these tales, complete with ghastly on-stage deaths. Audiences were hooked. Our love affair with over-the-top kills continues to this day, and when it comes to horror movies, the gorier the better.

Sit back, dearest reader, and let us highlight ten of the most memorable kills in horror movie history. Oh, you may want to bring a raincoat and a mop. Things can get pretty messy around here.

10) HELLRAISER Chain Rip: “Jesus wept!” Those were the final words uttered by Uncle Frank right before he was torn to bits by the Cenobites in Clive Barker’s demonic opus, HELLRAISER. Can you think of a better way to start off our little look back than having someone split into pieces via hooks and chains? Didn’t think so!

9) HATCHET Half-Head Rip: Adam Green’s ode to Eighties-style slasher movies was a winner with most fans the world over because he got the formula 100% right. The film was bloody, at times scary, and all the time fun. His character of Swamp Monster Victor Crowley displayed quite the talent for dispatching those around him, the most memorable of which was when he grabbed his intended victim around the head, inserted his hands and fingers into the woman’s mouth, and tore her head completely in half. It is near impossible for anyone not to stare at the screen slack-jawed as this happens. This was one of the better kills in the last thirty years. I’m thinking we haven’t seen the last of Crowley. You can’t keep a good killer down for long.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Bed Blood Geyser: Without question one of the most prolific modern-day killers is the evil and charred Freddy Krueger. The whole notion of “dying in your sleep means you die for real” is truly the stuff of *ahem* nightmares. Despite several films under his belt, two TV shows, one crossover movie, and now a remake on the way, Freddy’s most memorable moment to date came when he snatched a snoozing Johnny Depp into his mattress, only to have the then youngster erupt into the Old Faithful of gore and grue. Can the proposed remake top this moment? I guess we’ll find out soon enough, but my money is still on the original film.

7) FRIDAY THE 13th PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD Sleeping Bag Kill: Ironically enough, one of Jason Voorhees’ most vicious kills comes without a single drop of onscreen blood. It was in PART VII that he shoved a helpless premarital sex-having horny teenager into her sleeping bag and then whipped her into a tree, creating one of the most sickening thuds movie audiences are ever likely to hear. Bravo, Jason. Bravo.

6) THE OMEN Glass Sheet Decapitation: Oh, you little devil! With Big Red himself looking over everyone’s favorite bundle of Antichrist joy, Damien Thorn, you knew anyone who stood in the way would be dispatched horribly; and boy, were they ever. With 1976’s THE OMEN director Richard Donner gave audiences what would become probably the most famous decapitation scene ever, tricking audiences into seeing it even if they had covered their eyes. How’d he do that, you ask? It’s all about the seconds, baby! Usually people who cover their eyes only do so for a few seconds. Knowing this, Donner extended the severed head spinning through the air scene so that even the most chicken-hearted out there got a fine dose of shock! Genius!

5) ZOMBIE Splinter to the Eye: Time to add a dash of Italian seasoning to our list in the form of Lucio Fulci’s unofficial sequel to the George A. Romero classic DAWN OF THE DEAD. There’s no way in the world any viewer of this film can avoid wincing and cringing as one of the undead blasts an arm through some wooden shutters, grabbing its victim by the head and pulling her face-first into a large wooden splinter that ends up going right through her eye. Bellisimo!

4) SCANNERS Head Explosion: When it comes to head damage, nobody does it better than David Cronenberg did in this 1981 masterwork. This was the head explosion heard, seen, felt, and loved around the world. Good old practical effects shot in gloriously gory slow motion? I’m sure we speak for fans everywhere when we say that we’ll take that over the now standard CGI crap any day!

3) JOHN CARPENTER’S THE THING Neck Stretch Spider Head: Now that we’re getting down and dirty, let’s switch gears a bit. While not a traditional kill per se, it’s impossible not to mention this scene from John Carpenter’s re-envisioning of the 1951 science-fiction standard THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD. In fact, no list of kills or other horror related fodder should be without it. This masterpiece of three-stage effects is still very much mind-blowing. From the monster chest teeth to the most unbelievable tendon snapping neck stretch ever put to film to the climactic spider head walk, few things can top this one in terms of shock factor.

2) DAY OF THE DEAD Body Tear: George A. Romero is one of the true masters of the horror genre, and with his DEAD films he’s given us more than our fair share of ghoulishly glorious moments, but none better than the Captain Rhodes body tear from the finale of the third entry into his gore-soaked franchise. Remember, kids — CHOKE ON ‘EM! CHOOOOOOKE ON ‘EMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

1) DEAD ALIVE Lawnmower Mayhem: Before Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson made blockbuster fare like his remake of KING KONG or three little films you may or may not have heard of called THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, he belonged to the world of low-budget horror. With his film DEAD ALIVE (or BRAINDEAD as it is known abroad), he gave us probably the most blood-soaked scene to ever grace the silver screen featuring a lawnmower and dozens of hungry zombies. It’s impossible to describe this bit of cinematic insanity; it’s just something you have to see for yourselves. Believe me, horror heads; it will be worth your time.

There you have it. Some of the greatest kills ever put to screen. With so many to choose from, it was hard to narrow them down, but I think we totally hit the right bases. Who knows? Maybe sometime down the line this list will follow suit with horror trends and get itself a sequel … or at the very least a remake!

We’ve done our part so now do yours and give us your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Byline: Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton

Take These Music For Your Halloween Party!!!

Make your Halloween-party mix tapes with perennial classics, rock staples and offbeat gems. Download ‘em (iTunes has the overwhelming majority for individual sale), load up your player of choice, hit shuffle … and let the spooking begin.

“Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” Bauhaus: A grimly fiendish epic about the most famous portrayer of Transylvania’s blood-lusting count. Play it loud. (”Crackle,” 1998)

“Disturbia,” Rihanna: This dark ‘n’ bumpin’ track has fast become a party essential. (”Good Girl Gone Bad,” 2007) Read more …

Top 50 Scariest Movies Of All Time (11-01)

10. ‘Audition’ (1999)

Synopsis: Hold an audition to meet women? Check. Meet the girl of your dreams? Check. All your friends say they have a bad feeling about her? Check. And so begins this horror classic featuring a lonely widower making some very bad choices when it comes to affairs of the heart. How bad? Her idea of a friendly date involves a rubber apron and medical bag full of pins. Ouch.

Trailer:

9. ‘Halloween’ (1978)

Synopsis: It was all downhill from here on out for Jamie Lee Curtis. And we mean that. Would she ever scream like this again? Hide in a closet while a very persistent Michael Myers spent about, oh, say, 78 minutes trying to hack through the door? Did we mention she’s related to the killer? Little known fact: John Carpenter wrote the theme song himself. Genius like that doesn’t come along many times in a lifetime, folks. Read more …