Editorials
David Harley Looks Back on 13 Memorable Death Scenes of the Decade
When thinking back on all the cinematic gore and grue of the past decade, it’s apparent that there’s one art form that hasn’t been lost: the almighty death scene. Whether we’re musing about the latest slasher flick or whatever Jigsaw has been up to recently, we can all appreciate a good kill, whether it’s over-the-top and elaborate or a simple, dramatic stab. Hell, in many cases, the film doesn’t have to be good to have a memorable death scene (as is evident by the list below); it just has to have a moment where everyone in the theatre/living room drops their jaw to the floor and says, “That. Was. Awesome.” So here they are, 13 memorable death scenes from horror films in the past decade.
In what is probably Dark Castle’s most forgotten film (well, besides for The Reaping), Gabriel Byrne stars as the captain of a salvage crew who finds a long-lost cruise ship floating in the middle of the ocean and decides to tow it back to port, malevolent spirits and all. While most people claim Ghost Ship was loosely based on Death Ship, it’s actually closer to a film of the same name made in 1952 and was originally intended to be a psychological thriller with very little splatter. It’s a shame that the opening credit sequence, which kills almost everyone on board in the blink of an eye, was just a tease and not a true sign of things to come. If only the rest of the film had been that good!
Sure, the screenplay/dialogue is pretty dire and the acting is questionable, but you can’t knock the atmosphere, aesthetics and soundtrack that accompany the gruesome happenings in the small, cult-filled town. If anything, I would say Silent Hill is on par with some of the lesser and more senseless Fulci and Argento flicks – and this is coming from someone who loves both directors. In what was one of the biggest WTF theatre moments I had this decade, Pyramid Head decides to make an example out of one of the town’s inhabitants by skinning her alive and throwing her epidermis up against the cathedral-style doors. Oddly enough, that is not the biggest blood sacrifice the town has ever seen.
Jason X has a few things going for it but two really stand out to me. The first is that it’s actually a fun film, which can’t be said for any of the sequels after Jason Lives – at least, in my eyes. It’s so over-the-top that I couldn’t help but laugh with delight at every moronic moment (and there are plenty). The second one happens to be one of my favorite death scenes in the entire series, where after thawing out, Jason decides to freeze a helpless intern’s face in a sink full of liquid nitrogen and then smash it open on the countertop. I also give big kudos to the sleeping bag death but we’d already seen that in The New Blood more than a decade before.
After creating an army of support (literally), Adam Green burst onto the horror scene in a big way with Hatchet. It was everything I expected it to be: over-the-top, campy and a pretty decent throwback to the 80s, making it one of my favorite slashers of the decade. In what is probably the greatest one-two punch of gore I’ve seen in quite a while, Victor Crowley manages to dispatch a husband and wife – the Permatteos – in the most gruesome way possible. And while watching someone get hacked up with unholy amounts of blood spurting about is great, it’s the 360 head splitting that really deserves the kudos.
Kid death in a horror film is often hard to come by – because it’s not PC or something like that – but Feast definitely steps it up in that department. In one of the more memorable scenes in the film (of which there are actually quite a few), one of the creatures gobbles up a kid and then vomits all over the place. And while Gulager would feature some fairly ridiculous baby deaths in the sequels, it’s this death that always made me laugh the hardest.
Let The Right One In is possibly the most grotesquely beautiful film I’ve ever seen. It’s a coming-of-age story about love, friendship and the awkwardness and confusion that surrounds adolescence. Oh, and there’s vampires in it, too. In fact, many of the other writers on the site agree that this film is amazing – well, enough to put it at number one on our `Top Twenty Horror Films of the Decade’ list. While some people might point to the infamous cat scene or maybe the hospital fire as the most memorable moment in the film, I’d argue that the pool deaths register much higher on an emotional level, since it’s sweet in the most morbid way possible.
What is there to be said about Dark Castle’s House of Wax, aside from the fact that it’s more of a remake of Tourist Trap than the Vincent Price classic or Fay Wray version? Oh, that’s right, PARIS HILTON GOT A POLE STUCK THROUGH HER HEAD. I remember leaving an early screening of the film and getting handed a `I saw Paris Hilton die’ pin; WB knew exactly what they were doing – marketing an awful film on the basis of getting to see a very maligned heiress die. And on that level, the film succeeds tenfold.
Whether you consider American Psycho to be a horror film or one of the best black comedies ever (I’m in the former camp), I think we can all agree that Patrick Bateman is a very memorable character and that, in a way, we all have had really bizarre thoughts like him – though hopefully not as severe! There’s a few key scenes in the film that really resonate with me – most of them consisting of gore and witty banter – but the chainsaw scene stuck with me the most because of its mean-spirited nature and full on display of testosterone.
I don’t think anyone is ever going to say that the Final Destination series is important or necessarily “good” but let’s face it: we keep watching them because the death scenes are hilarious and over-the-top. The original FD was thought to be really innovative – but not really, since Sole Survivor did almost the same thing in 1983 – but Part II always worked the best for me, simply because it embraced its overall sense of humor more and the deaths were REALLY mind blowing. I wish I could include the whole film as one entry on this list but, to be fair, I’ll just use the opening car crash, which is easily the most intense “premonition” of the entire series. And just in case you’re wondering, I’d rank the BBQ scene at the end next.
After not working on the series for over 20 years, Dario Argento finally return to his beloved witch trilogy with Mother of Tears, which turned out to be the goriest film of his career. While the entire thing is pretty batshit insane, it’s the woman getting strangled with her own intestines that kind of takes the cake. But – let’s be honest – it’s the inclusion of a monkey that’s the cherry on top.
I’m going to be upfront with everyone: I’m not a fan of the Saw series at all – though, I’d say that out of the ones I’ve actually watched, Part II was my favorite – but I realize that it’s the only major horror franchise I’ve been alive for from beginning to end and it has really shaped the horror trends of the past decade. But even though I don’t care for them, I’d say that, more often than not, the traps and kills are really impressive. Much like Final Destination, I could probably populate this whole list with nothing but really cringe-worthy scenes from the series but the crucifixion trap always made me squirm the most – go figure it’s from the entry that I dislike the most! The trap held its captor in place with a spike through each hand and foot, and a rotating lock held his head in place. Each section could rotate 180 degrees, breaking all the bones in his arms, legs, and neck.
If any torture film this decade could manage to be entertaining in a very strange way, Hostel and its sequel would be the best bets. While the first film manages to blend frat humor and grisly tension pretty seamlessly, the sequel was more of a slow-burn, harkening back to films from the 70s and perhaps a hint of Audition thrown in there for measure. Both films have their fair share of ghastly torture but the Bathory scene is the most memorable simply because it’s the most sensual death scene this decade.
In the time between High Tension and Martyrs, Inside ruled the horror scene as THE French gore film to watch. It’s commentary on motherhood and abortion was fairly interesting but what kept most people watching was the immense amount of blood that overtook every frame and the fast pace. Shotgun blasts and scissor wounds are pretty prominent but the primitive c-section by La femme is just really… well, nasty.
Soon after the New Hollywood generation took over the entertainment industry, they started having children. And more than any filmmakers that came before—they were terrified. Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Exorcist (1973), The Omen (1976), Eraserhead (1977), The Brood (1979), The Shining (1980), Possession (1981), and many others all deal, at least in part, with the fears of becoming or being a parent. What if my child turns out to be a monster? is corrupted by some evil force? or turns out to be the fucking Antichrist? What if I screw them up somehow, or can’t help them, or even go insane and try to kill them? Horror has always been at its best when exploring relatable fears through extreme circumstances. A prime example of this is Larry Cohen’s 1974 monster-baby movie It’s Alive, which explores the not only the rollercoaster of emotions that any parent experiences when confronted with the difficulties of raising a child, but long-standing questions of who or what is at fault when something goes horribly wrong.
Cohen begins making his underlying points early in the film as Frank Davis (John P. Ryan) discusses the state of the world with a group of expectant fathers in a hospital waiting room. They discuss the “overabundance of lead” in foods and the environment, smog, and pesticides that only serve to produce roaches that are “bigger, stronger, and harder to kill.” Frank comments that this is “quite a world to bring a kid into.” This has long been a discussion point among people when trying to decide whether to have kids or not. I’ve had many conversations with friends who have said they feel it’s irresponsible to bring children into such a violent, broken, and dangerous world, and I certainly don’t begrudge them this. My wife and I did decide to have children but that doesn’t mean that it’s been easy.
Immediately following this scene comes It’s Alive’s most famous sequence in which Frank’s wife Lenore (Sharon Farrell) is the only person left alive in her delivery room, the doctors clawed and bitten to death by her mutant baby, which has escaped. “What does my baby look like!? What’s wrong with my baby!?” she screams as nurses wheel her frantically into a recovery room. The evening that had begun with such joy and excitement at the birth of their second child turned into a nightmare. This is tough for me to write, but on some level, I can relate to this whiplash of emotion. When my second child was born, they came about five weeks early. I’ll use the pronouns “they/them” for privacy reasons when referring to my kids. Our oldest was still very young and went to stay with my parents and we sped off to the hospital where my wife was taken into an operating room for an emergency c-section. I was able to carry our newborn into the NICU (natal intensive care unit) where I was assured that this was routine for all premature births. The nurses assured me there was nothing to worry about and the baby looked big and healthy. I headed to where my wife was taken to recover to grab a few winks assuming that everything was fine. Well, when I awoke, I headed back over to the NICU to find that my child was not where I left them. The nurse found me and told me that the baby’s lungs were underdeveloped, and they had to put them in a special room connected to oxygen tubes and wires to monitor their vitals.
It’s difficult to express the fear that overwhelmed me in those moments. Everything turned out okay, but it took a while and I’m convinced to this day that their anxiety struggles spring from these first weeks of life. As our children grew, we learned that two of the three were on the spectrum and that anxiety, depression, ADHD, and OCD were also playing a part in their lives. Parents, at least speaking for myself, can’t help but blame themselves for the struggles their children face. The “if only” questions creep in and easily overcome the voices that assure us that it really has nothing to do with us. In the film, Lenore says, “maybe it’s all the pills I’ve been taking that brought this on.” Frank muses aloud about how he used to think that Frankenstein was the monster, but when he got older realized he was the one that made the monster. The aptly named Frank is wondering if his baby’s mutation is his fault, if he created the monster that is terrorizing Los Angeles. I have made plenty of “if only” statements about myself over the years. “If only I hadn’t had to work so much, if only I had been around more when they were little.” Mothers may ask themselves, “did I have a drink, too much coffee, or a cigarette before I knew I was pregnant? Was I too stressed out during the pregnancy?” In other words, most parents can’t help but wonder if it’s all their fault.
At one point in the film, Frank goes to the elementary school where his baby has been sighted and is escorted through the halls by police. He overhears someone comment about “screwed up genes,” which brings about age-old questions of nature vs. nurture. Despite the voices around him from doctors and detectives that say, “we know this isn’t your fault,” Frank can’t help but think it is, and that the people who try to tell him it isn’t really think it’s his fault too. There is no doubt that there is a hereditary element to the kinds of mental illness struggles that my children and I deal with. But, and it’s a bit but, good parenting goes a long way in helping children deal with these struggles. Kids need to know they’re not alone, a good parent can provide that, perhaps especially parents that can relate to the same kinds of struggles. The question of nature vs. nurture will likely never be entirely answered but I think there’s more than a good chance that “both/and” is the case. Around the midpoint of the film, Frank agrees to disown the child and sign it over for medical experimentation if caught or killed. Lenore and the older son Chris (Daniel Holzman) seek to nurture and teach the baby, feeling that it is not a monster, but a member of the family.
It’s Alive takes these ideas to an even greater degree in the fact that the Davis Baby really is a monster, a mutant with claws and fangs that murders and eats people. The late ’60s and early ’70s also saw the rise in mass murderers and serial killers which heightened the nature vs. nurture debate. Obviously, these people were not literal monsters but human beings that came from human parents, but something had gone horribly wrong. Often the upbringing of these killers clearly led in part to their antisocial behavior, but this isn’t always the case. It’s Alive asks “what if a ‘monster’ comes from a good home?” In this case is it society, environmental factors, or is it the lead, smog, and pesticides? It is almost impossible to know, but the ending of the film underscores an uncomfortable truth—even monsters have parents.
As the film enters its third act, Frank joins the hunt for his child through the Los Angeles sewers and into the L.A. River. He is armed with a rifle and ready to kill on sight, having divorced himself from any relationship to the child. Then Frank finds his baby crying in the sewers and his fatherly instincts take over. With tears in his eyes, he speaks words of comfort and wraps his son in his coat. He holds him close, pats and rocks him, and whispers that everything is going to be okay. People often wonder how the parents of those who perform heinous acts can sit in court, shed tears, and defend them. I think it’s a complex issue. I’m sure that these parents know that their child has done something evil, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are still their baby. Your child is a piece of yourself formed into a whole new human being. Disowning them would be like cutting off a limb, no matter what they may have done. It doesn’t erase an evil act, far from it, but I can understand the pain of a parent in that situation. I think It’s Alive does an exceptional job placing its audience in that situation.
Despite the serious issues and ideas being examined in the film, It’s Alive is far from a dour affair. At heart, it is still a monster movie and filled with a sense of fun and a great deal of pitch-black humor. In one of its more memorable moments, a milkman is sucked into the rear compartment of his truck as red blood mingles with the white milk from smashed bottles leaking out the back of the truck and streaming down the street. Just after Frank agrees to join the hunt for his baby, the film cuts to the back of an ice cream truck with the words “STOP CHILDREN” emblazoned on it. It’s a movie filled with great kills, a mutant baby—created by make-up effects master Rick Baker early in his career, and plenty of action—and all in a PG rated movie! I’m telling you, the ’70s were wild. It just also happens to have some thoughtful ideas behind it as well.
Which was Larry Cohen’s specialty. Cohen made all kinds of movies, but his most enduring have been his horror films and all of them tackle the social issues and fears of the time they were made. God Told Me To (1976), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), and The Stuff (1985) are all great examples of his socially aware, low-budget, exploitation filmmaking with a brain and It’s Alive certainly fits right in with that group. Cohen would go on to write and direct two sequels, It Lives Again (aka It’s Alive 2) in 1978 and It’s Alive III: Island of the Alive in 1987 and is credited as a co-writer on the 2008 remake. All these films explore the ideas of parental responsibility in light of the various concerns of the times they were made including abortion rights and AIDS.
Fifty years after It’s Alive was initially released, it has only become more relevant in the ensuing years. Fears surrounding parenthood have been with us since the beginning of time but as the years pass the reasons for these fears only seem to become more and more profound. In today’s world the conversation of the fathers in the waiting room could be expanded to hormones and genetic modifications in food, terrorism, climate change, school and other mass shootings, and other threats that were unknown or at least less of a concern fifty years ago. Perhaps the fearmongering conspiracy theories about chemtrails and vaccines would be mentioned as well, though in a more satirical fashion, as fears some expectant parents encounter while endlessly doomscrolling Facebook or Twitter. Speaking for myself, despite the struggles, the fears, and the sadness that sometimes comes with having children, it’s been worth it. The joys ultimately outweigh all of that, but I understand the terror too. Becoming a parent is no easy choice, nor should it be. But as I look back, I can say that I’m glad we made the choice we did.
I wonder if Frank and Lenore can say the same thing.
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