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Top 10 Mortal Kombat Fatalities
I remember the first time I played Mortal Kombat. I was visiting my cousin when we decided to play this new game he had purchased, that of course being Mortal Kombat. After playing it for hours, me as Scorpion, him Sub-Zero, he looked at me and said, “If you beat me, hold block and press up, up, up.” Needless to say, my gaming life would never be the same.
As being a life long MK fanatic, fatalities have always held a special place in my heart. With the release of Mortal Kombat ’11, I figured it was appropriate to put together a list of 10 of my all-time favorite fatalities.
10. Johnny Cage – Nut Pummler
This is brutal‚ yet so funny at the same time. Johnny Cage basically decides to use your junk as a punching bag. Ouch.
9. Kano – To the Beat of a Different Drum
This one is classic. Kano’s heart rip was a fatality that was just obscene and, for its time, graphically impressive. The fact that the heart continues beating in his hand is just gruesome.
8. Kung Lao – Friendly Rabbit
For all of you who passed on MK: Shaolin Monks, you missed out. It was a fun story with a great co-op mode to enjoy with a friend. In addition to the great story, there are some pretty memorable fatalities, this being my personal favorite from that game. Kung Lao does a nice little magic trick with his iconic hat‚ then beats you to death with it.
7. Quan Chi – Break a Leg
This is a no-nonsense fatality right here. Quan Chi rips a leg off, and proceeds to beat you to death with it‚ continuing on even after the pause menu comes up.
6. Shang Tsung – Sad Clown
Borrowing from the Joker’s fatality in MK vs. DC, this fatality is totally outside of the box for Shang Tsung. With a face that only Stephen King’s IT could love, he has a little fun at first. Then he proceeds to BLOW YOUR FREAKIN’ HEAD OFF!!!
5. Sub Zero – Fastball Special
Alright, I’ll admit, the xbox/ps2 era of Mortal combat was mediocre at best. The move to 3D did not go as smoothly as Midway had hoped. Awfulness aside, it can’t be denied that there were some awesome fatalities in this era. What could be better then sub-zero using your head as a baseball? Seriously?
4. Baraka – Spin Cycle
Throughout the years, Baraka has become one of my all time favorite video game characters. Since his debut in MK2, Baraka has had an edge and a slight hint of terror surrounding him. This fatality showcases Baraka’s skills at their peak. The creativity of the MK Team really shines through in this bloodbath.
3. Sub Zero – Spinal Tap
This was one of the gems that started it all folks. The personal favorite fatality of MK Co-Creator, Ed Boon, this fatality was gruesome and shocking for its time. The spine rip is one of the main reasons Mortal Kombat was brought before congress when Senator Lieberman was on his “Video Game Crusades”. Classic, grotesque, and fun describe this fatality in a nutshell.
2. Kung Lao – Log Splitter
My personal favorite Kombatant achieves MK infamy in this masterpiece of a fatality. Ed Boon stated that this particular fatality is “the most painful we’ve ever created”. I agree.
1. Sektor – Scarecrow
Ok, this fatality is just awesome. The Scarecrow is a perfect name for this gore fest. Look at this way, I finally like Sektor because of this.
So what does everyone think?? You’ve seen my favorites, so comment with some of yours and maybe we can get a “Fans Favorites” list together!
Let’s start with the good news. Lockbox looks far better than its misleading marketing materials suggest, a supernatural horror movie so darkly lit and color graded that you’ll have to squint your way through jump scares. It’s also anchored by reliable genre performers. That’s also about where the good news ends with this rote adaptation of Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop.”
The empathetic Carla Gugino gives her all as Ellen, a saint of a woman with boundless patience who takes on life’s hard luck with a kind smile. After giving up her career as a fashion designer to become caretaker for a dying mother, she’s then forced to reinvent herself once more when her caretaker role ends. That catches us up to the events of Lockbox, where Ellen is asked to take in a cousin she hasn’t seen in quite some time who’s dealing with severe PTSD.
Just as Ellen finally establishes a real connection with Winthrop (Lou Taylor Pucci), it’s interrupted by the arrival of peculiar neighbor Vahna (Katharine Isabelle), who spells clear trouble. When Vahna shows up dead, it sets in motion a supernatural battle of possession.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
Director Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism, Prey for the Devil) and screenwriter Justin Yoffe approach Lockbox in the broadest of brushstrokes, dooming it from the start with clunky storytelling and woefully underdeveloped themes of heady topics like PTSD. Winthrop is a character that comes loaded with emotional baggage and trauma that’s piled on throughout his tragic life, but much like its title, his interiority and history are treated like a tightly guarded secret meant to prolong the supernatural mystery.
The problem here, though, is that Lockbox is too sparse to sustain mystery at all, and it instead robs Winthrop of characterization. It winds up trapping the talented Pucci without anywhere to go, toggling between wounded animal and mentally disoriented.
From there, Lockbox bounds through plot developments without any sense of stakes or purpose, peppered by a smattering of haphazard paint-by-numbers jump scares. The only unwavering constant is Ellen’s resolute faith, and Stamm seems to leave it entirely to Gugino to guide confused audiences through this inconsequential story right up until its supernatural climax.
Image Credit: Aura entertainment
To give more credit, Lockbox at least injects an unconventional exorcism here; just don’t expect much in the way of explanation. When the film finally reveals the meaning behind its title, it dangles a fascinating carrot it has zero interest in delivering. More than a severe lack of fleshing out its characters beyond plot drivers or devices, this faith-based flick also seems terrified to offer any worldbuilding whatsoever.
Yoffe’s script stretches the short story beyond its means instead of fleshing it out, and Stamm fills out the gaps with cheap CGI scares and overwrought performances; Isabelle’s Vahna is beyond cartoonish in her villainy. It’s also pretty nonsensical, treating only Ellen’s faith with the utmost sincerity and largely squandering its typically reliable talent. So much so that the final imagery, pure sunkissed saccharine sentimentality, leaves you with the feeling that this horror movie might be better suited as an entry in Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Lockbox releases in select theaters on July 3, 2026.
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