Top 10 Horror Movie Deaths
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While it might seem weird to many to create a list of the best deaths, horror fans know that the deaths and gore are the best part of the film! You might be wondering what makes a horror film death good or bad, so let me break down my criteria. First, the death has to be well placed within the film. I hate any deaths that are simply there to catch the audience off guard (I’m looking at you Scream 2022). Second, the death must fit within the flow of the film. If it is a slasher film then most of the deaths will fall into this, but if it is a slower burn then the placement of the death is vital. Lastly, there must be gore. I love classic horror films that have little to no gore but for this list, these deaths are bloody and sometimes pretty nasty, I have included pictures, so please take this as a trigger warning. So, let’s take a look at 10 of the best horror movie deaths. Oh, and this should go without saying, but SPOILER WARNING!!!!
10. Father Maddox – 'The Exorcist: Believer' (2023)
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I will never understand the hate that this movie got. It was way better than the original Exorcist film, and it had some legitimately terrifying jump scenes. While there were plenty of memorable deaths, the one that sticks out to me the most is the death of Father Maddox. After he refuses to help the families perform the exorcists things go from bad to worse inside the home. When it seems like everything is crashing down he enters the home and things immediately seem to get better, and we begin to hope that the little girls can be saved. Then out of nowhere, the demon Lamashtu that is possessing the girls snaps his neck. It is one of the most jarring scenes in the film.
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9. Tatum – 'Scream' (1996)
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This is one of the most iconic deaths in the Scream franchise. While everyone is enjoying the house party Stu sends his girlfriend Tatum to get more beers from the garage fridge. While out there the door is shut and locked from the outside so she has no way to get into the house except to raise the garage door. Ghostface appears and blocks her escape. At first, she rolls her eyes and thinks that it is Randy trying to play a prank on her. Unfortunately, she quickly learns that she is wrong and when she tries to escape through the dog door in the garage door Ghostface raises the door, breaking her neck against the roof. What is even more sinister is that he leaves her body hanging there and both Sydney and Dewey are forced to see her like that later in the film.
8. Bob Simms – 'Halloween' (1978)
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This is one of Michael’s most iconic kills in the Halloween franchise. After Bob and Lynda have sex upstairs in the Wallace house, he goes downstairs to get them both a beer. The kitchen is dark except for the moonlight shining in through the french doors and when all seems calm Michael bursts out scaring both the viewer and poor Bob. Michael then stabs him so hard that it pins his body to the wall. Rather than leave, Michael stands there doing his iconic head tilt as he watches Bob die. This also leads to one of the funnier moments in the film when Michael puts on a sheet and Bob’s glasses to make himself look like a ghost, and then enters the bedroom where Lynda is waiting.
7. Jennifer Caulfield– 'A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors' (1987)
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This is easily one of the most iconic kills in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Jennifer is a young patient in the psychiatric ward who dreams of being a movie star. One night while watching TV and doing her best to stay awake she drifts off for a few moments. Unfortunately, that is long enough for Freddy to enter her dream and when she gets close enough to the scream his head pops out of the top, arms pop out of the sides, he grabs her, lifts her in the air, and delivers one his most iconic lines; “Welcome to primetime bitch”. Freddy then slams her head into the TV, killing her.
6. Opening Of 'Ghost Ship' (2002)
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This is one of the worst horror films I have ever seen, but no kill list would be complete without the opening of this film. I don’t think any other horror film has this many kills in one scene. The film opens with pink cursive writing telling you the name of the film while beautiful music plays. As the camera gets closer to the ship we see crew members and guests mingling around the ship and dancing under the stars. The captain begins dancing with a little girl and you are wondering if you put in the wrong movie. Then, a hand moves a lever and the music begins to change as a steel wire begins quickly moving along a wheel. We see that the wire is lining the dance floor and the music continues to get more imposing. The wire snaps and slices through the crowd, but instead of chaos everything gets eerily quiet before body parts begin to drop to the floor. The only person that survived was the young girl who was too short for the wire to reach. This scene is jarring and perfectly sets the scene for the rest of the film.
5. Emma – 'Trick ‘r Treat' (2007)
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Trick ‘r Treat is one of my favorite horror films, and there are so many great kills! I had to go with Sam’s very first kill in the film though because it perfectly sets up the rest of the film. After returning home from a Halloween Party Emma begins blowing out the jack-o-lanterns and taking down the decorations. Her husband warns her not to because it breaks the rules of Halloween, but scoffs at him and starts taking them down anyways. After a few minutes Sam launches out of the decorations at her, and we see blood spatter the white sheet ghosts. A little while later her husband comes outside looking for her only to find that her body has been chopped apart and hung like decorations on their trees. Her head has been turned into a jack-o-lantern and put under one of the sheets.
4. The Route 23 Logging Disaster – 'Final Destination 2' (2003)
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If you are a millennial then you know this scene all too well, and you still refuse to drive behind a logging truck. While on her way to Florida with her friends for spring break our main character has a premonition about a catastrophic logging disaster that takes the lives of many people. In a panic, she stalls her car on the entrance ramp resulting in many of the people she saw dying being unable to enter the road. While talking to a police officer the pile-up occurs just as she saw it except for the people who were stuck behind her on the ramp. Her car is hit by a car carrier killing her friends, but the officer is able to save her at the last minute. This scene is not only terrifying, but it also scarred an entire generation of people.
3. Lewis Romero – 'Final Destination 3' (2006)
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The Final Destination films have some of the craziest deaths of any horror franchise, but this one may take the cake! After surviving a roller coaster derailment at the beginning of the film Lewis is training harder than ever to ensure that his football career continues exactly as it should. While working out and declaring the death fears him a domino effect occurs in the weight room resulting in two swords falling and cutting the cords on his weight machine. He isn’t harmed so he believes that death can’t get to him, and he lifts the weights only for them to swing down and crush his head. After seeing this movie it took me a long time before I was willing to touch another weight machine.
2. Karen Nelson – 'Halloween Kills' (2021)
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This is one of the most flawlessly filmed and expertly written deaths in any horror film. The only reason it isn’t number one is because nothing can compete with the number one pick. At the end of the film, many believe that they have finally destroyed Michael. Karen, Laurie Strode’s daughter, had led the trap that “captured” Michael, and she had been the one to remove his mask and tauntingly hold it up to him. While in Judith Myer’s old room, Michael appears behind Karen and kills her in a shot-for-shot replica of how he killed his sister in the same room at the beginning of the original Halloween film.
1. Glen Lantz – 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (1984)
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This is the most iconic horror death of all time, and it is not even close. After the deaths of their friends at the hands of Freddy Krueger, Glen and his girlfriend Nancy are doing everything they can to stay awake and form a plan to stop the killer. Unfortunately, Glen falls asleep and Freddy is more than happy to make him his next victim. Glen’s waterbed opens up and Freddy pulls him creating a geyser of blood that Glen’s mom then walks in and sees. This death was ahead of its time and had some of the best graphics of the 80s.
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10 Horror Films That Are Worth The Hype
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We have already discussed horror films that are over and under-hyped, but that doesn’t mean that every horror film falls into one of these groups. There are plenty of fantastic horror films that get all the hype they truly deserve! For the finale of this series, let’s take a look at 10 horror films that are worth 100% of the hype that they get.
10. 'The Shining' (1980)
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This is one of the best horror films of all time, and it deserves all of the hype that it gets. While the making of this film had some serious issues, it does not take away from how outstanding the directing and acting are. This also has one of the best and most satisfying endings in any film ever.
The Shining is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
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9. 'Dracula' (1931)
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This is a timeless classic for a reason. While I prefer the 1992 film with Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, there is no denying how influential this film was in the creation of the horror genre we have today. Bela Lugosi is a legend for a reason, and the swagger and charm that he brings to the film is why this character has stayed with fans for so long.
Dracula is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
8. 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)
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This film deserves all of the hype that it gets and more. It not only had one of the best marketing campaigns of all time, but it also created the found footage horror genre that we know today. It wasn’t exactly ethical how they got such great performances from the actors, but it still gave us some of the best horror acting we have ever seen and gave us the best directing in a found-footage horror film.
The Blair Witch Project is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
7. 'IT' (2017)
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I mean absolutely no disrespect to Tim Curry and the original made-for-TV IT, but this film far exceeds the original. The young actors in this film are spectacular, the directing is amazing, and the atmosphere is perfect. This is one of my favorite horror films because of how terrifying it is even when you have seen it a hundred times.
IT is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
6. 'Late Night With The Devil' (2023)
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This film doesn’t get a ton of hype from mainstream horror fans, but it does get a ton from indie horror fans. It is ridiculous how little marketing this film got because if more people knew about it, it would be one of the most popular horror films of the last decade. The ending of this movie is terrible, but even that can’t take away from how amazing the rest of the film is. It feels like you are watching a documentary and a found footage film all in one which is not something I have ever seen before. The acting is amazing, and it has some of the best directing we have gotten in a long time.
Late Night with the Devil is available to rent on Apple TV.
5. 'Fear Street' Trilogy (2021)
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I grew up with these books, so I was ecstatic when it was announced that we were getting a trilogy. These films don’t only get hype from horror fans, but also from fans of the original novels. The decision to use the entire series of books as inspiration rather than focusing on just one book was pure genius. The writing and directing of these films are incredible, but it is really the acting of the young actors that makes them so great!
The Fear Street Trilogy is available to stream on Netflix.
4. 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' (1984)
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This film is a classic for a reason. Robert Englund created a character that is not only larger than life but one that will never be able to be portrayed by any other actor. The film itself is a masterclass of acting, writing, and directing, but it is Englund’s character that truly makes this film so great.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
3. 'A Quiet Place' (2018)
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It took me six years to watch this movie because I did not believe that it could possibly live up to all of the hype that it was getting online. I was so wrong! This film is absolutely spectacular and easily one of the best horror films of all time. It is a completely original idea which is rare in the horror genre these days, and the acting is spectacular. One of the best things though is the atmosphere and how it plays a vital role throughout the film.
A Quiet Place is available to stream on Paramount +.
2. 'Halloween' (1978)
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This is one of the best horror franchises of all time, and I am so glad that social media has helped it get even more hype than it already had. The acting and atmosphere of this film are really what make it so great, but you would be hard-pressed to find anything wrong with the film.
Halloween is available to rent on Amazon Prime.
1. 'Scream' (1996)
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This is not only the best horror franchise of all time, but it is also one of the best horror films. Not only did this film breathe new life into the dying slasher genre, but it also created an entirely new subgenre of slasher comedies. There is not enough space for me to list all of the things that I love about this film, but it is definitely worth all of the hype that it gets.
Scream is available to stream on Max.
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