I love a good death scene. Try to tell me it’s not the highlight of any horror movie. Even if the plot sucks, a good enough kill scene can make up for it. And the bloodier, the better. The more unique, the better. The more cringe worthy, say it with me… While there are many death scenes that deserve praise, there are some that have stuck with me since seeing them. They’ve stayed in my mind, and still give me chills to think about. Good chills, but chills nonetheless. So without further adieu, and in no particular order, I give to you: My Top Ten Favorite Kills.
1. Victim: Jack Burrell (Kevin Bacon)
Death: Stabbed through throat
Film: Friday The 13th (1980)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉💉
This one is sentimental to me, because Friday The 13th was my first slasher. While I’d seen bits and pieces of horror films that my sister or dad had on tv, Friday The 13th was the first movie I chose to rent when my mom finally let me pick something out from the horror section. I can still see, in my mind, that beautiful turnstile of horror VHS tapes that I would gravitate toward, before being called over to a more family friendly section of the store. I’d look through titles like Attack of the Killer Tomatoes and Evil Dead, and dream about one day watching one. Anyway, onto the murder stylings of Pamela Voorhees. In the scene I want to talk about, we just watched Jack and Marcie commit a cardinal sin of horror films. After Marcie leaves to find a bathroom, Jack finally notices blood dripping from the top bunk. It’s coming from earlier victim, Ned, but before he can discover that, Mrs. Voorhees stabs an arrow up through the mattress, through the back of his neck, and finally, to our viewing pleasure, through his throat. The look of startled horror, the blood, and of course the tip of the arrow piercing through his skin, makes this kill an instant classic. I get teary eyed just thinking about it.
2. Victims: Diane (Janet Kidder) and Russ (James Gallanders)
Death: Stabbed by mirrored ceiling
Film: Bride of Chucky (1998)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉💉
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Chucky franchise; a little too corny for my taste. This is a prime example of a death scene making a movie way more memorable than it should have been. It’s also a second example of why you really shouldn’t have sex in a horror movie. This time, we watch Diane and Russ, in cheesy 80s style bedroom attire, on a motel waterbed. But before things get too far, we see Tiffany hurl a champagne bottle toward the mirrored ceiling, (because of course this motel has one) sending glass flying down onto the couple. The scene becomes quite a literal bloodbath as the glass pierces through the couple and also the matress. It’s such a surprising treat in an otherwise ok at best film.
3. Victim: Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan)
Death: Crushed in garage door
Film: Scream (1996)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉
This whole scene is gold and I give credit to my personal Jesus, Wes Craven. It starts off light and playful, with Tatum searching the garage for more beer. Still assuming the man in the mask blocking her way back inside is someone she knows, she gets in some really great lines. But don’t let her doe eyed delivery of “Can I be the helpless victim?” and “Please don’t kill me, Mr. Ghostface. I wanna be in the sequel.” distract you from noticing that she puts up a pretty damn good fight. I’m not even mad at how obviously choreographed the fight scene is, because she pulls it off so nicely, opening the freezer door on his face, throwing beer bottles at him, and ducking down at Just the right moment as he runs toward her, causing him to fall over her body instead. Her only mistake is thinking her curves will fit through the garage doggy door. Ladies, can we all please agree that the very last thing you want is to be cornered or stuck somewhere? Stop hiding in rooms with only one exit and stop running upstairs! Tatum almost made it, but of course did something stupid in the end, and in her own classic words, “Bam! Bitch went down!” Ghost face watches her struggle in the doggy door, then simply switches the garage switch to ON. The door slowly rises with Tatum stuck inside, and stops with her face being crushed. It’s creative, yet so effortless. Her lifeless, hanging body makes for a great visual in that moment, and also later when she is discovered by friends.
4. Victim: Jamie Lloyd (J.C. Brandy)
Death: impaled on corn thresher
Film: Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉💉💉
This is one of the most brutal deaths I can think of. It’s also one of my favorites. Let’s get right into it. Michael picks her up by the neck. He forces her back into a corn thresher. We see it protruding through her body. Spitting up blood, she reaches both arms out to her uncle, and he reaches back… to force her body further into the corn thresher. “You can’t have the baby, Michael.” She sputters. Oh yeah, can we talk about the fact that this girl’s just given birth? This is so not her night. The cherry on top? He Turns On The Corn Thresher. Done.
5. Victim: Jessica Caulfield (Penelope Sudrow)
Death: Head slammed through TV screen
Film: A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉
It might not be obvious yet, but my favorite kills aren’t just the bloodiest or the goriest. In fact, the number one thing that gets me is creativity. This next one is not the most amazing kill. But it’s cool, and different, and is the epitome of a Freddy Krueger kill. Let’s run through it. Jennifer is an aspiring actress, stuck in Westin Hills Asylum, believed to be suicidal, thanks to Freddy trying to kill her in her sleep. We see her sitting in a common area, dozing off while watching tv when Freddy appears. She gets up to fix the TV only to find that it grows arms and picks her up off of the floor. Then Freddy’s head grows out of the tv, and says to her, two wonderful lines: “This is it, Jennifer, your big break in tv!” followed by the now iconic, “Welcome to Prime time, bitch.” He then slams her head through the TV screen. When they find her, they just see her alone, body hanging from the tv. How anyone could do that themselves is beyond me. The use of shape shifting on Freddy’s part, and the cheesy one liners that make every kill fun, make this one a classic Elm Street kill. Bonus point: Robert Englund improvised that last line. Bravo, Krueger.
6. Victim: Georgie Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott)
Death: Arm ripped off, dragged into storm drain
Film: IT (2017)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉
I’m not crazy about either version of IT. I think it’s an alright premise and was basically a made for tv version of ANOES. The remake was fine and I look forward to seeing part 2. But whether you like either version better or neither, you can’t possibly argue that Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise was terrifying. He just perfected the role in a way I don’t think anyone could have done better. (No disrespect to Tim Curry, a legend and true comedic genius). My only wish was that the absolute terror in the storm drain scene followed throughout the rest of the movie. But it’s fine, we get this scene. Let’s talk about it. Georgie loses his paper boat down the storm drain. He peers inside and meets Pennywise the clown for the first time. Georgie is visibly uncomfortable but Pennywise doesn’t let him leave without handing him his boat back. Georgie reaches as far as he can but finally has his arm bit off. Watching Georgie crawl back across the street, in the rain, blood trailing behind him, is so visually pleasing. Then Pennywise reaches out and grabs him, dragging him down into the drain. It’s a cinematic masterpiece and the two of them are terrific together.
7. Victim: Aimee Davison (Amy Seimetz)
Death: Throat slit with wire
Film: You’re Next (2011)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉
I can’t really talk too much about this movie, because, while I always meant to rewatch it, I haven’t seen it since it came out. That’s what makes this one so cool. I’ve only seen it once, I barely remember anything else from this movie, and yet this scene has stayed in my memory. From what I do remember, it takes place during a family reunion at a vacation house. They start being attacked from outside of the house and Aimee decides to make a run for it, but just as she crosses the threshold of the door, she runs straight into a wire that was set up, slitting her throat and sending her backwards. This was so unexpected and so gross that it kept me talking about it for days. And now apparently, years.
8. Victim: Detective Allison Kerry (Dina Meyer)
Death: “The Angel Trap”
Film: Saw 3 (2006)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉💉💉💉
Any Jigsaw trap is bound to be disgusting and intricate. This one had me at “The device you are wearing is hooked into your rib cage.” Detective Allison Kerry is hot off the case of the Jigsaw killer when she finds herself a victim in one of his games. She’s been so dedicated to her work, that it’s led to her neglecting her family. One of the best things about a Saw movie, is John Kramer’s recorded messages to his victims, starting with I wanna play a game. So read the following in his voice. I’ll wait.
“Up until now, you have spent your life among the dead, piecing together their final moments. You’re good at this because you, like them, are also dead. Dead on the inside – There is a simple key that will unlock the harness, Kerry. It is right in front of you. All you have to do is reach in and take it. But do it quickly. The acid will dissolve the key in a matter of seconds… make your choice.”
Boom! Stick your hand in acid or be torn apart. She goes for the key, but pulls out her hand in agony. She grabs the key again and this time she gets it out. She fumbles with the lock only to realize that it doesn’t work. Oh, right, John Kramer is close to death at this point and orders Amanda Young and Detective Mark Hoffman to set this trap up, only they rig it so that Kerry never stood a chance. The timer hits zero and the contraption flies open, ripping her ribcage open with it. Horrific.
9. Victim: Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke)
Death: A series of unfortunate events (and a knife to the chest)
Film: Final Destination (2000)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉
The second best thing about the Final Destination deaths are that they are inescapable. Once you cheat death, you’re marked, and death Will find you. The absolute best thing about the deaths is the way we get to see them play out. The best ones show multiple ways that the person could die before they ultimately do. This is one such death, with multiple leading factors.
At the beginning of the scene, Ms Lewton, a survivor of the Flight 180 crash, is packing up her house to leave town when death comes for her. She is in so much distress that she freaks out when she sees the high school logo on her mug and throws out the hot water she just poured into it. Realizing she needs to chill the eff out, she does what she should have done in the first place, and pours vodka into the mug instead. The mug cracks due to the temp change, and she walks around with it, unaware of the contents spilling out around her. So now seems like a good time to lean over the computer to get the bubble wrap (…where do You keep it?) and leak liquor into the hard drive. The computer sparks and smokes, and she leans in to investigate just as the whole thing explodes, sending shrapnel into her neck. Like any idiot, she pulls it out of her neck, making the bleeding worse. She walks around holding her throat, now trailing blood instead of vodka. She bumps into the record player and it starts to play (nice touch). The computer sparks again, catching the vodka trail on fire which leads to the stove, making the vodka bottle explode and sending her to the floor. She reaches her arm up, at the counter towards a dish towel, and grasps it. But of course, the towel has been resting on the knives. (This chick has no idea where to put shit). A steak knife comes hurling at her and lands in her chest. Just then, Alex shows up, but before he can help, a shelf collapses and the oven explodes, sending a kitchen chair falling onto her, driving the knife further into her chest.
This scene ends with two great moments. The first being Alex, as he flings the chair off of his teachers body, and rips the knife out of her chest (why do people in movies always do this??). He sees that she’s already dead, looks at the bloody knife in his hand, and realizing what this looks like, drops the knife and runs out the door. The second great moment is Billy Hitchcock (Sean Michael Scott) driving by on his bike, letting out a dumb and innocent “Oh hey, Alex!” just as the entire house explodes and Alex continues running down the street. The look on his face is priceless and gives a great comedic moment to the ending of this brutal kill.
1. Victim: Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss)
Death: At the hands (hand?) of Freddy Krueger
Film: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Blood-O-Meter: 💉💉
This is the second and last time Tina meets Freddy in a dream. “Please God”, she whispers as he appears to her in the alley. He holds up his glove and says “This is God.” Classic. After putting her through the usual Freddy terrorizing, like cutting his own fingers off to scare her, and scraping his knives against the wall, he goes in for the kill. Now tossing around and screaming in her sleep, her boyfriend finally wakes up, but all he sees is her struggling with an invisible attacker. Once he sees knife marks appear on her chest and blood pouring out, he is understandably freaked out. He watches in horror as she is thrown around the room and dragged up the walls and ceiling. He stays there helplessly screaming her name while a concerned Nancy and Glen pound on the door. Finally, Tina’s lifeless body falls onto the bed, splashing blood into the air. This scene is so iconic now, partly thanks to the rotating room they used in filming this. It makes sense that a third favorite death scene of mine is directed by Wes Craven. This isn’t meant to be a love letter to him, but it’s further proof that he just knew how to do horror right. And let’s face it, my whole life is a love letter to him.
And that’s it! Let me know in the comments which deaths you would have added.
Til next time,
🔪Madame of Horror
Madame of Horror 
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