Welcome to Day 13 of Spooky Season!! I’m back with part 2 of my all-time favorite horror movie death scenes! Whether it’s the characters, special effects, dramatic effects, uniqueness, overall impact, or all of the above, these death scenes are some of the reasons I love the horror genre so much! I hope you enjoy and let me know your favorite horror movie death scenes!! (TRIGGER WARNING!!) (MAJOR SPOILERS!!!)

Elizabeth’s Erosion – Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)

Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) lived a content life, working at the Department Of Health and living with her boyfriend, Geoffrey (Art Hindle). After picking up and bringing home a strange flower she didn’t recognize in any of her books, she started to notice that Geoffrey was a completely different person. As days went by, her paranoia grew as the people around her seemed like emotionless strangers. Her instinct was on point because all the people in her city were replaced by aliens who were looking for a new home. The strange flowers duplicated the New Yorkers as they slept, leaving only a few humans who tried to leave before they were duplicated, too. Elizabeth and her friend, Matthew (Donald Sutherland) ran far, but not far enough. When Matthew left to see if they could escape via ship, Elizabeth unfortunately couldn’t stay awake. When he found her, he tried to wake her up, but it was too late. To his horror, her body decomposed right before his very eyes. I absolutely love the special effects in this moment. The way her face sort of crumbles and falls into itself is truly chilling to see.

The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill – Creepshow (1982)

After discovering a meteor that crashed onto his farm, Jordy Verrill (Stephen King) believed that his luck finally turned around and that he was going to make a pretty penny with it. After he splashed water on it to cool it off, it broke in two and unleashed his deadly fate. The weeds that lied within the meteor grew and expanded at an accelerated rate all over the farm. Since Jordy touched the meteor, he became infected and the weeds started growing all over his body as well. After the itching became unbearable, Jordy realized he had no choice but to give them water and let them continue to grow. After a night of Hell, Jordy, completely covered in weeds, knew that there was nothing he could do but end it all. He grabbed his shotgun and pleaded with God. The way he pleaded was so haunting and it was all a very devastating moment.

Shelly: The Boy Who Cried Killer – Friday The 13th: Part 3 (1982)

Shelly Finkelstein (Larry Zerner) was looking forward to a vacation with his friends and a date with a beautiful woman. Shelly was the kind of guy who had very low self-esteem, so he tried to fill that void with jokes and pranks. As they were all at the cabin, Shelly pretended that a killer hit him in the head with a cleaver, got a friend’s car windows destroyed, and jumped out of the lake with a hockey mask to scare his date. Long after people were done with his antics, that’s when local serial killer, Jason Voorhees (Steve Dash) got to him. As his friend, Chili (Rachel Howard) was making popcorn, Shelly stumbled into the room with a slit throat. Thinking it was just another lame prank attempt, Chili scolded him, then went about her business. Shelly died realizing he played around too much for anyone to actually take him seriously when he needed it the most.

Rhodes’ End Of The Road – Day Of The Dead (1985)

Captain Henry Rhodes (Joseph Pilato) and his men were tasked to aid a group of scientists who were assigned to figure out how to stop the zombies who’ve taken over the world. One of the scientists, Logan (Richard Liberty) theorized that it’s possible that they could be tamed, or rather “domesticated.” His greatest success story came in the form of Bub (Sherman Howard), a zombie who was able to not only control his cravings for human flesh, but also retain some humanity. When Rhodes found out Logan was using the flesh of the soldiers who previously died for Bub’s training, he shot Logan down without hesitation. Later, Bub got loose and found Logan’s body. Distraught, Bub found a gun that was left behind and went to hunt down Rhodes. Once he found Rhodes, he shot him as he tried to run away. Injured, Rhodes inched his way to a door at the end of the hall. When he opened the door, he was face-to-face with a horde of zombies. As he was being torn apart, he yelled at the zombies to choke. It was such a great send-off for a horrible character!

Stella’s Stopped Suicide – Silver Bullet (1985)

Stella Randolph’s (Wendy Walker) life turned upside down when she found out she was pregnant. When she tried to tell her boyfriend, he immediately denied it was his and just left her. Abandoned and heartbroken, Stella saw no hope for the future. On a quiet evening, while her mother was downstairs, playing a nice little tune on the piano, Stella gathered a bunch of pills and a glass of water. What she didn’t know was that a werewolf that’s been terrorizing the town found out about her intentions to take her own life in a peaceful manner and decided to give her a much more agonizing death. It crawled up to her window as she downed her pills. It crashed into her room and threw her all around. What really gets me about this scene is you can literally feel every scratch and cut that Stella feels. It’s like you’re feeling it with her and that’s what makes this death scene so powerful in my opinion. Plus, her mother’s scream as she came across her body sounded so genuine, it was so haunting.

Otis’s Ocular Shock – Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (1986)

Otis (Tom Towles) was a very despicable person. Out on parole, Otis roomed with his old prison friend, Henry (Michael Rooker). Henry was a serial killer who hunted down any woman he would find and made them suffer in unimaginable ways. Realizing Otis had that very same darkness in him, Henry took him under his wing and taught him how to murder and never get caught. Not long after Otis’s sister, Becky (Tracy Arnold) came to stay with them, Henry took a liking to her… and so did Otis. Henry kept Otis from hurting Becky for a good while, but it didn’t last forever. While Henry went out for a pack of cigarettes, he came back to find Otis raping and strangling Becky. After a lengthy brawl, Otis was about to kill Henry when Becky grabbed a weapon and stabbed him right in the eye! As Otis was screaming and flailing, Henry was able to finish the job. Although Otis didn’t suffer enough in my opinion, it was still a very satisfactory death. Some good riddance to some bad rubbish!

Cavanaugh’s Comeuppance – Creepshow 2 (1987)

Andy Cavanaugh (Don Harvey) was a true rebel without a cause. He was a wealthy, spoiled kid who harassed the townsfolk with his 2 friends just for the fun of it. Within a dying town, Andy’s friend, Sam (Holt McCallany) decided it was time for the 3 of them to head out to Hollywood after robbing the shop of a sweet old couple who was gifted his tribe’s most valuable possessions. When the couple refused to hand the valuables over, Sam shot and killed them both. This woke up the wooden statue outside of the shop that contained the spirit of an ancient Native warrior. As the warrior was waking up, the trio went to their separate homes to pack up. As Andy tried to sneak out to garage, he found that his rad Firebird was completely destroyed. As he gazed at all of the damage, the warrior came up from behind him and chopped him up. I absolutely love shadow deaths. We watch their silhouettes as Andy is getting killed and his blood is hitting the shadows. It’s a really cool and effective method!

Maggie’s March Out The Window – Child’s Play (1988)

Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) was desperate to get her son, Andy (Alex Vincent) a famous Good Guy doll for his birthday, but she couldn’t save the money for it at the time. Karen’s best friend, Maggie (Dinah Manoff) came across a peddler outside of the shop they work at who was selling a Good Guy doll in pristine condition. What they didn’t realize at the time was the doll they bought for a 6-year-old kid contained the soul of Chucky (Brad Dourif), a notorious murderer. As Karen was working, Maggie was watching over Andy and when Chucky tried to watch the news, Maggie turned the tv off and sent Andy (and Chucky) to bed. Her quiet and peaceful night soon became a nightmare as Chucky ran around the apartment, scaring her. Once Maggie convinced herself she was just imagining things, that’s when Chucky hit her in the head with a small hammer. Shocked, she took the most dramatic stumble all the way across the kitchen then crashed through the window and fell stories down onto a parked car. I love how dramatic it was, I love the slow motion, and I love Maggie’s scream as she’s falling!

Wayne’s Last Episode – Natural Born Killers (1994)

Wayne Gale (Robert Downey Jr.) was the star of a show called American Maniacs, where he exploited victims of violent crimes and the people behind those violent crimes. After he aired an episode on crazy killer couple, Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis) Knox, the Knoxes became international sensations. A year after they were arrested, Wayne stopped at nothing to set up a live interview with Mickey for the whole world to see. The interview had a decent start, but a disastrous conclusion. Mickey’s words incited a riot in the prison they were in. Many cops and prisoners were brutally killed and it was all live on camera. After taking Wayne, his crew, and a few guards hostage, Mickey tracked down Mallory and they used Wayne and his camera to escape. When it was just the 3 of them left, Wayne gave them one last interview, and to his surprise, they told him it was going to end with them shooting him. He tried pleading, bargaining, running away, but it did no good. Finally realizing there was no way out of it, Wayne stood, lifted his arms, and gave one last war cry before being gunned down.

Soaring Cici – Scream 2 (1997)

Cici Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was having a peaceful night in her sorority house while all of her sisters were at a party. Her TV time got interrupted by a mysterious caller who she first believed to be her boyfriend. It wasn’t long before she realized that the caller was not only not her boyfriend, but possibly a genuine threat to her. She tried calling campus security but the call kept getting cut out because she tried staying outside of the house. While she was distracted by one of her sisters who came back home, the caller was able to sneak into the house and execute his plan. All alone again, Cici picked up the calling phone and the killer popped out of the nearby closet, chasing her upstairs. She put up a decent fight, but the killer shoved her through a glass door, stabbed her multiple times, and to top it all off, he threw her over the railing and she died hitting the house’s driveway. It was a savage takedown, but I think it’s the set up that I loved the most. I remember being so creeped out, even more than when I watched the first film.

Buffy’s Big Break – Scary Movie (2000)

Buffy Gilmore (Shannon Elizabeth) was the most popular girl at B. A. Corpse High. She was a beauty pageant winner, she was dating a jock, she really seemed to have it all. One year after she and her friends hit a man and tossed him into the sea, they all started to get stalked by a killer in a ghostface costume. After she witnessed the horrific butchering of her boyfriend, Buffy quickly disparaged that there was actually a killer in town and she even made fun of her friend, Cindy (Anna Faris) for believing that they were all in danger. All alone in the school’s locker room, Buffy was suddenly accosted by the killer. Thinking it’s all one big joke, Buffy put her acting shoes on and performed her heart out as “helpless cheerleader.” She was so committed to the bit, that she broke her own leg, making it impossible to actually run away. She mocked the killer the whole time, even after he decapitated her and threw her head in the Lost & Found. Buffy was a complete b***h but I respect her ability to have the last word, even after dying.

Terror Through The Slats – High Tension (2003)

Eager for peaceful study sessions with no distractions, best friends, Marie (Cécile de France) and Alex (Maïwenn) traveled to Alex’s isolated family farm. That isolation brought anything but peace as Alex and her family were targeted by a sick psycho (Philippe Nahon). After Alex’s father (Andrei Finti) was murdered at the front door, Marie snuck around the house to find a phone to call for help. After hearing some noise coming towards her, she quickly hid in the nearby closet. Through the slats, she saw Alex’s mom (Oana Pallea) stumble in, holding the phone, trying to call for help. Then, the killer walked in and slit her throat. Then, to add more misery, the killer cut off her hand. She still wasn’t dead when Marie tried to help her. This poor woman suffered so much. I tell you, the way blood poured out of her throat with every breath she took is forever instilled in my mind, and so is the moment when she stared right at Marie through the closet slats. It was actually my first impression of this film as I saw this scene in a horror compilation years ago, and it’s still an unforgettable scene!

Scott’s On The Run! – Wrong Turn (2003)

After their friend, Jessie (Eliza Dushku) suffered a break-up, Scott (Jeremy Sisto), his fiancé, Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and their friends dropped everything to take her on a camping trip to cheer her up. As they were driving deep into the woods, they blew their tires after driving over a trap planted by crazy backwoods cannibals. With a fellow stranded traveler, Chris (Desmond Harrington), the group trekked on foot to find help. After a long walk, they finally reached a strange house. Unfortunately, the house belonged to those who set the trap. As they tried to sneak out and run, Chris decided to create a diversion so they could steal the cannibals’ truck. Chris tried to get them to chase him, but he failed, and it was up to Scott to lure them away. As Scott ran like mad through the woods, the group got the truck and drove around to find him. Once they reunited, Scott was suddenly hit with multiple arrows. What was brilliant about this scene was we don’t see the arrows hit him at first. We don’t know why he suddenly stopped running, and then we finally see the blood as the third arrow hits him.

Paul And Jessica’s Peril – The Descent (2005)

Paul Carter (Oliver Milburn) was a seemingly happy family man who had an adventurous wife, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), and an adorable daughter, Jessica (Molly Kayll). After Sarah and her friends completed their latest water rafting adventure, she, Paul, and Jessica were on their way back to their hotel. As Sarah was talking to Jessica about her birthday party, Paul was driving distracted, thinking about his secret affair with one of Sarah’s best friends, Juno (Natalie Mendoza). As Sarah asked him if he was alright, Paul took his eyes off of the road and swerved into the other lane, crashing into an oncoming car. The pipes on the other car shot through and pierced Paul and Jessica, sparing Sarah. This is one of my favorite scenes because it was such a shock moment that I guarantee noone saw coming! We see the horror of Paul getting pierced, then it cuts to outside of the car, where we see his eerie twitching.

Wendy’s Woes – The Devil’s Rejects (2005)

Wendy Banjo (Kate Norby) was on tour with her husband, Adam’s (Lew Temple) singing group. When the group stopped at a motel, they were almost immediately taken hostage by crazy siblings, Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Otis (Bill Moseley). While they were waiting for their patriarch, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Otis took Adam on a little gun run and left Baby with Wendy. Wendy tried her best to call for help, but it was futile. When Baby was distracted, Wendy bolted out of the motel room, but she ran right into Spaulding and was brought back to the room. Wendy realized she was all alone when Otis barged into the room wearing Adam’s face. Long after the Firefly family bailed, a maid came across the carnage, and she found Wendy alive, wearing Adam’s face. Wendy ran all over the place, screaming and crying, and she ran out to the road and got hit my a massive truck. This was one of the first death scenes that truly surprised me. For some reason, I believed she was going to be ok once I saw they left her alive. It was a brilliant way to throw me off guard!

Frankie Finally Has A Fan! – Final Destination 3 (2006)

Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton) was a skeevy guy who perved on young high school girls. While he was stalking two high school besties with his camcorder, he got on a roller coaster with them, hoping to get a flashing shot on the ride. When one of their classmates, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) had a premonition that the roller coaster was going to crash and they were all going to die, a group of classmates, along with Frankie, left the ride and were spared… for the time being. It wasn’t long after that Wendy realized that Death wasn’t finished with them, and after a few of the survivors suffered horrible accidents, Frankie was next. While in a drive-thru, Wendy and her friend, Kevin (Ryan Merriman) became trapped by other cars while a truck with no driver came barreling towards them. Unable to drive away, they kicked out the windshield and escaped just in time for the truck’s engine to shoot out and hit the driver in front of them, Frankie! The engine’s fan completely obliterated the back of Frankie’s head. It was suspenseful, gory, and a hell of a way to get rid of trash!

Axelle Gets The Axe! – Hostel: Part II (2007)

Axelle (Vera Jordanova) was a beautiful and charming woman whose main line of work dealt with people… luring them, that is. She traveled all over the country to lure tourists to a hostel in Slovakia, where rich sadists would pay a lot of money to torture and kill them. Her latest catch was 3 friends who were promised a relaxing spa vacation. What she didn’t know was that one of the girls, Beth (Lauren German) was a fighter and a hell of a negotiator. After her friends were butchered, Beth wasn’t going down without a fight. To everyone’s surprise, Beth was insanely rich and she was able to buy her freedom and leave Slovakia, but not before avenging her friends. When Axelle returned with new victims, one of the local criminal kids stole her purse and she chased him into the middle of the forest. There, she was tripped and she found herself surrounded by the rest of the kids and Beth wielding an axe. Beth chopped off Axelle’s head and, to add insult to injury, the kids started playing Soccer with it! It’s such a messed up moment, but honestly, it’s a pretty fitting end for Axelle.

Lisa’s Impalement – Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008)

Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser) Emerson moved out to Luna Bay to start over after tragically losing their parents and Chris losing his surfing career. Their fresh start wasn’t actually a very good start as they were given an abysmal place to live for a hefty price. After a rough first day, Chris ran into former surfing legend, Shane Powers (Angus Sutherland) and was invited to a party at his place. At the party, he met and had an immediate connection with Lisa (Moneca Delain), a sexy and bloodthirsty vampire. When Nicole was targeted and seduced by Shane, Chris took her and left the party abruptly. Later that night, Lisa showed up at his door and tried to finish what they started. As they were making out, Lisa started to become aggressive and tried to bite him. He ended up throwing her off of him and right into a pair of antlers hanging on the wall. Spewing blood all over the place, Lisa writhed in agony before turning into a statue and exploding into a million pieces. I love the effects of this scene and how it kept the legend that each vampire has a unique death.

Trent’s Trust Issues – Friday The 13th (2009)

Trent Sutton (Travis Van Winkle) was your typical college rich boy douchebag. He brought his group of friends up to his family’s cabin and almost immediately regretted it as they were all just trying to have a good time. That good time came to an end as a brutal killer, Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears) hunted them down one by one. After losing almost all of his friends, Trent ran off on his own and found a nearby road JUST as an old truck was driving by. The truck stopped and the man waved him over to give him a ride. Trent was understandably hesitant, but he took WAY too long to see if Jason was the one behind the wheel. When he finally saw that the driver was just an innocent old man, it was too late for Trent. Jason came up from behind him, stabbed him, and stuck him to the back of the truck. The old man sped off in a panic, most likely unaware that he’s fleeing with a dead body dragging behind. The whole moment was so funny, but I felt bad for the old man! He just wanted to help someone in need.

Dean’s Dining Disaster – A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

When he was just a little boy, Dean Russell (Kellan Lutz) attended a preschool where a man named Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) worked as a gardener. Once the parents of the preschoolers noticed that their children were acting differently, the children finally told them what horrid things Freddy did to them. Absolutely furious, the parents took matters into their own hands. They hunted Freddy down and burned him alive. Years later, Freddy’s spirit started haunting the now teenagers in their dreams. As Dean was waiting for his friend, Kris (Katie Cassidy) at a diner, he began to nod off and Freddy terrorized him some more. After Kris tried convincing him that what he was experiencing wasn’t real, Dean found himself in the dream world again: only this time, Freddy was ready to kill him. While telling Freddy he isn’t real, Dean tried to stab him with a steak knife. However, Freddy forced Dean to slit his own throat with the knife. I think it was a really great set-up and the way that Dean’s hand shook as he was mutilating himself was so chilling and very well done!

Virginia’s Inferno – Let Me In (2010)

Virginia (Sasha Barrese) led a simple life with her boyfriend in their apartment complex. Their world was about to turn upside down when a young vampire, Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz) moved in the same building. When Abby was exposed to blood by her new friend, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee), she ran away from him so she wouldn’t kill him in a fit of hunger. She climbed a nearby tree and jumped onto the first person who was walking by, Virginia. She almost completely drained her, but because Virginia’s boyfriend was near, Abby left Virginia alive and she was taken to the hospital. As Virginia became a vampire, she started chewing on her arm that the blood was connected to. A nurse walked into Virginia’s room and pulled open the curtains, immediately burning her up. The entire hospital room lit up, killing Virginia and that poor unsuspecting nurse. It was such a shocking moment that really spiked the film’s tone to 100!

Georgy’s Germs – I Spit On Your Grave 2 (2013)

Katie Carter (Jemma Dallender) was a struggling model trying to build up her portfolio. She thought her luck had finally changed when she came across an ad offering free photo shoots. Things were going fine until the photographer, Ivan (Joe Absolom) tried to push her into going nude. She stormed out and that would’ve been the end of it… if Ivan’s brother, Georgy (Yavor Baharov) didn’t follow her home. Later that night, he broke into her apartment, killed her neighbor, and raped her. He then called his brothers, Ivan and Nicky (Aleksandar Aleksiev), and they framed her and brought her to their home in Bulgaria. They proceeded to rape and torture her before burying her alive. Luckily, the ground beneath her gave out and she crashed into the tunnels below. Once she was healed, she lured Georgy to the tunnels. She bound him, cut him in several places, and put raw material on each cut, making sure they got good and infected. He made her suffer so much, I love that he was in great agony up until his death. He took so long to die, that he was the first one taken but one of the last ones killed.

Noah’s “Accident” –  Brightburn (2019)

Brandon Breyer (Jackson A. Dunn) was just a normal kid… for a while. On Brandon’s 12th birthday, he began to develop supernatural powers, and when he learned that he was from another planet and he crashed down to Earth, he knew his destiny was to destroy the world. After Brandon broke a classmate’s hand, he had to see his aunt Merilee (Meredith Hagner) for counseling. When she mentioned that she had to tell the police what was discussed in their session, Brandon decided it was time for her to go. His plan was going good until his uncle, Noah (Matt Jones) came home and foiled it. He yelled at Brandon for being there so late and when Brandon threw him against the garage door, Noah got back in his truck and bolted. Brandon toyed with Noah and scared him for a while before picking up his truck and letting it drop head first onto the road. Noah lunged forward so hard, the impact dislocated his jaw. When he woke up, he tried to hold his jaw together as he stared at his nephew in horror. This scene was so horrifying, yet you couldn’t look away… like a car crash (haha).

The Deputy’s Dislocation – Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)

For 50 years, Virginia McCumber (Alice Krige) took care of the deeply disturbed and temperamental Bubba Sawyer (Mark Burnham). Things were quiet and peaceful in their home until their town was sold off to a group of influencers who were looking for new beginnings. When they saw that Ginny was still living in her home, they tried to convince her that the bank took her house and when she tried to tell them that she still owned the deed to it, they left and brought back police officers to escort her out of there. The stress of it was too much and her heart began to fail so Bubba and the officers rushed her to the hospital… but it was too late and she died on the way there. Completely distraught, Bubba tried to save her, and when the deputy (Joylon Coy) tried to stop him, Bubba grabbed his arm and completely snapped it in half. THEN, he stabbed the deputy in the neck with his own protruding bone! I have to say this is one of the gnarliest deaths in the entire franchise. It was so shocking and the way it was executed was so unexpected and superb.

Farkas’s Flounder – Y2K (2024)

Farkas (Eduardo Franco) and his friends attended a Y2K party thinking it was going to be a kick-a** way to start the new year. Things started off on an epic and fun note, but of course, that didn’t last long. Soon after the clock struck midnight, all of the electronics became sentient and very violent. With a majority of the partiers massacred, Farkas ran to the garage with a few other survivors. Since driving away wasn’t an option, they all grabbed something to travel on. Farkas grabbed a pair of roller skates and prepared to bail. When they ran outside, Farkas noticed a basketball hoop tipped over and decided now would be the perfect time to ride the pole with the skates. He immediately slipped off of it and hit his head on the road, killing him instantly. I can’t tell you how much I LOST IT when I first saw this scene! It was so unexpected and genius to have this guy get himself killed in the funniest way possible. I was cry-laughing for a good five minutes afterwords. It’s definitely the best scene in the entire film.