What are the worst movie deaths?

GamePlayer · Post by **GamePlayer** » 02 Apr 2008 23:20

A friend and I were having a discussion about fictional deaths in movies and we had a lot of fun choosing the worst ones. The criteria was somewhat non-specific and "worst" could mean vicious, gory, gruesome, disturbing and so forth. We also came to the realization that there were a lot of really horrible deaths to choose from and many of the worst deaths weren't even in horror films.

Here's some screen deaths that have stayed with me over the years.

Casino
Niki Santoro gets whacked
He may have been easy to despise, but I cringe every time I watch the vicious number done on him. Three thugs with metal baseball bats beat Niki into a broken heap then bury him alive. Scorsese does relentlessly vicious all too well.

King Kong
Lumpy is swallowed
Peter Jackson really freaked me out with this one because you could see it coming ever so slowly. Poor Lumpy gets stuck in a pit of giant slug-like critters and is worn down until his limbs are pinned and he watches helplessly as one of the monsters slowly swallows his head. Truly gruesome!

Alien
Kane gives birth
The original chest burster scene from Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror film still evokes disgust and horror. This one death plays on so many fears and it's so damn gory. Last time I watched Alien I still caught myself absentmindedly holding my stomach during the dinner scene.

Saving Private Ryan
Knifing Mellish
Not only was the fight in Spielberg's war film tense, but poor Private Mellish is fighting for his life against a German soldier while his comrade convulses to death right next to him. The German betters Mellish, and despite a protest to stop, a knife is slowly driven into the Private's chest. All we can do is watch poor Mellish gasp in horror for what feels like an eternity. This one disturbs me more than an hundred other graphic deaths.

Robocop
Murphy is gunned down
Director Paul Verhoven said in the Robocop DVD commentary that he had to show the crucifixion before he could show the resurrection. He didn't hold back. Poor cyborg-cop-to-be Alex Murphy suffers dearly when vicious criminals shoot off his hand and shower Murphy with dozens of shotguns blasts as he screams in pain. After the worst of the gun fire, evil Clarence Boddicker shoots Murphy through the head. When this nightmare death ended, the audience was screaming for vengeance.

orald · Post by **orald** » 03 Apr 2008 06:45

GamePlayer wrote:Alien
Kane gives birth
The original chest burster scene from Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror film still evokes disgust and horror.

How about the 4th movie, Ressurection(?), where the poor evolved alien gets sucked in bits and pieces through a tiny hole to outerspce? Poor buddy.

Saving Private Ryan
Knifing Mellish
Not only was the fight in Spielberg's war film tense, but poor Private Mellish is fighting for his life against a German soldier while his comrade convulses to death right next to him. The German betters Mellish, and despite a protest to stop, a knife is slowly driven into the Private's chest. All we can do is watch poor Mellish gasp in horror for what feels like an eternity. This one disturbs me more than an hundred other graphic deaths.

Yes, I always thought it was a real bad way to die, as the knife is only very slowly gets inserted into you.

Robocop
Murphy is gunned down
Director Paul Verhoven said in the Robocop DVD commentary that he had to show the crucifixion before he could show the resurrection. He didn't hold back. Poor cyborg-cop-to-be Alex Murphy suffers dearly when vicious criminals shoot off his hand and shower Murphy with dozens of shotguns blasts as he screams in pain. After the worst of the gun fire, evil Clarence Boddicker shoots Murphy through the head. When this nightmare death ended, the audience was screaming for vengeance.

Robocop is one of my favorite, if not THE favorite, movies. and this scene is one of the best in it. Also contributing to the scene is the gang's jokes and laughter while shooting him("Well, give the man a hand!", "Does it hurt? Does it?")
I'd also like to mention Emil's death, or more precisely the bit just before it when he comes out of the truck half melted from the toxic waste...only to shumble to the middle of the road and get splashed(yes, splashed *giggle*) all over from a head-on hit by Clerence's car.

Robocop 2 contains another gorry death scene(though I think it's mostly censored), that of the dishonest cop working with the gang, the leader of which tortures him to death for selling them out to Robocop for fear of being beaten up.

Starship Troopers:
Being a movie with giant bugs, there's no way for easy deaths here.
There's a scene with the giant fire-breathing scarab where it melts that black female officer's hand I believe, but I'm not sure if she dies, I think she gets rescued(boo!

).
I think the captain of the big spaceship ends by a door slowly closing on her abdomen, slicing her in half. This also happens in Sphere IIRC.
And of course, lots of people get stabbed and lifted in the air, with the bug's leg still through them.

Sphere:
Aside from the aforemention door cutting scene, I think someone gets stung to death by hoards of gellifish, a painful and frightening way to go.

Conan the Barbarian:
One of my favorites(laugh if you will, but Arnie will stomp you!

).
Conan's father death is of course dramatic and longer than most of his village, as is always the way with characters as they near the center of attention.
He gets a broadaxe stuck between his sholderblades, but then he's moaled by war-dogs(cute Rotveilers from the look of it

)- getting eaten and savaged alive is a slow way to go, even with an axe in your back.

Fantômas · Post by **Fantômas** » 03 Apr 2008 07:05

The last 10 minutes of The Departed.

I think all of the main Characters "get it"

Nekhrun · Post by **Nekhrun** » 03 Apr 2008 07:11

Padme Amidala from Episode II, or pretty much most of the Jedi for that matter.

Spicelon · Post by **Spicelon** » 03 Apr 2008 08:53

The cop/bounty hunter dude in Pitch Black - gets his head and a good part of his shoulders bitten off in one take. The shot wasn't really scary, but not a good way to go.

orald · Post by **orald** » 03 Apr 2008 10:22

Nekhrun, I don't think you got what GamePlayer meant with this thread, it's not about lame deaths, it's about deaths that are really really a bad way to go in terms of pain, fear etc.
Same for Fantomas unless that part of the movie you mentioned had horrible deaths, but your post sounded to me more like "their deaths were lame". Maybe I'm just projecting from Nekh's post though.

Jurrasic Park 2(or 3?)- everyone who's a victim of those foot high dinosaurs. Talk about being eaten alive.

Same goes for the Mummy movies with their flesh eating scarabs.

Any of the bad guys(including hired goons) who die in James Bond movies- the torture comes from the fact you were beaten by a lame ass "secret" agent(when was the last time an agent used his real name everywhere and shouted about his "secret" job to all the world to see?).
Especially those that die after the usual capture of said "secret" agent, and the costumary escape.

Oh, lots of nice gorry, horrible deaths in Event Horizon, people being slaughtered, skined and Sam Neill(dp?) pokes his own eyes out and stuff.

Fantômas · Post by **Fantômas** » 03 Apr 2008 10:27

10-4

GamePlayer · Post by **GamePlayer** » 03 Apr 2008 10:37

orald
I watched Alien 3 or Resurrection upon release but never again. For me, the franchise doesn't exist beyond the two Ridley/Cameron films. But I do remember the big half-alien critter getting jello'd out the air lock. That was a bad way to go

Emil's death in Robocop is another excellent choice. When I chose Robocop for this topic, I had to work out which death was worse for me

fantomas
A little non specific, but I think I know what you mean. I appreciated The Departed for the frankness and sudden viciousness of the deaths. No build up or dramatic moments, just bang! Quite scary.

Nekhrun
Hmm, probably be better if you described a particular death. Actually, Anakin's "death" (yeah I know, it doesn't really qualify) was really creepy.

Spicelon
I vaguely recall that film from the theatres, but I think I remember the scene in question. Not a bad choice.

SandChigger · Post by **SandChigger** » 03 Apr 2008 11:08

Actually, the woman who gets picked up and ripped into two screaming halves by the swarm of nasties in Pitch Black (before the suns have completely set) died pretty horribly, too.

One of my favorite movies, btw. (The Chronicles of Riddick was a major disappointment.)

orald · Post by **orald** » 03 Apr 2008 11:12

Pfft, theaters, who goes to theaters nowdays?

GP, I never cared much for any of the Alien movies TBH, just like I enjoyed Star Wars but I'm not a Warsie.

Another horrible, horrible death was when I did go to theater and saw Pipin sneaking up a tower(?) to light the watchfires of Gondor.
The death in that scene was the original LoTR being horriblly raped to death.

How about the bad guys all melting etc in Indianna Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arc when they opened it. Dead Nazies FTW.

orald · Post by **orald** » 03 Apr 2008 11:16

SandChigger wrote:Actually, the woman who gets picked up and ripped into two screaming halves by the swarm of nasties in Pitch Black (before the suns have completely set) died pretty horribly, too.p

You mean that nagging bitch? I was glad she got out of the way.

(The Chronicles of Riddick was a major disappointment.)

The Chronicles of Riddick? What's that? I know of no other Riddick movie except Pitch Black. And neither does anyone else. Understood? There's no such movie.

Post by **Freakzilla** » 03 Apr 2008 11:26

I thought Quinn's death in Jaws was pretty gruesome.

How about shooting the zombie baby in the recent Dawn of the Dead?

Spicelon · Post by **Spicelon** » 03 Apr 2008 13:14

SandChigger wrote:Actually, the woman who gets picked up and ripped into two screaming halves by the swarm of nasties in Pitch Black (before the suns have completely set) died pretty horribly, too.

One of my favorite movies, btw. (The Chronicles of Riddick was a major disappointment.)

Great film, and one can't say that about very many Vin Deisel movies - if any.

orald · Post by **orald** » 03 Apr 2008 16:20

Spicelon wrote:Great film, and one can't say that about very many Vin Deisel movies - if any.

Well, there's Saving Private Ryan too, if we consider it his film for having a role in it.

Oh, that reminds me, another movie for my d/l list.

Rakis · Post by **Rakis** » 03 Apr 2008 23:29

Hmmmm...

The journalist who gets beheaded in the Omen...you knew it was coming but still kewl...

The girl who gets hit by a bus in Final destination...you don't see it, but a big splash...

That teacher in The Birds

The chopper's crew in Predator

That's it for now...

valys · Post by **valys** » 04 Apr 2008 08:33

Rakis wrote:The girl who gets hit by a bus in Final Destination...you don't see it, but a big splash...

Pretty much all of the deaths in there are... bad ways to go.

Fantômas · Post by **Fantômas** » 04 Apr 2008 08:48

Jack Black

@ the beginning of the movie when Brad Pitt gets hit a couple of times in traffic.

Ouch!

J A C U R U T U

What are the worst movie deaths?

What are the worst movie deaths?

Re: What are the worst movie deaths?