Top 20 Poorly Acted Movie Deaths
#20: Don’t Push Me
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“The Untouchables” (1987) The backstory behind this scene from 1987’s “The Untouchables” is actually full of tension and drama, it just doesn’t quite stick the landing. Well, that’s not entirely true, because Billy Drago’s Frank Nitti does indeed land painfully on a car, after being pushed from a building by Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness. It’s more the background behind Nitti as he falls that hurts the scene, combined with Drago’s slightly exaggerated reaction shots. This isn’t the most egregious movie death on this list, and Costner does salvage the scene with his final words to Nitti, but it’s definitely not perfect.
#19: Prince’s End
“Under the Cherry Moon” (1986) Prince’s “Purple Rain” may be better known, but 1986’s “Under the Cherry Moon” was actually directed by The Purple One. The film is also notable for Prince’s death scene near the end of the film, which perhaps proves that the man was probably better suited to music. Don’t get us wrong, “Under the Cherry Moon” is still the sort of stylish vanity project that could have only been birthed from Prince at the height of his commercial influence. Still, the man’s peaceful passing after being shot by an assassin’s bullet wasn’t going to win any Academy Awards. “Under the Cherry Moon” would instead go on to win five Golden Raspberries.
#18: Rick’s Death
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“Nightcrawler” (2014) 2014’s “Nightcrawler” featured a stellar performance by Jake Gyllenhaal as a morally bankrupt freelance photojournalist by the name of Lou Bloom. The film also starred Riz Ahmed as Rick, an unhoused man who is employed by Lou as an assistant about midway through the film. Rick, seeing Lou’s unscrupulous methods, attempts to extort his employer, but it all goes pear-shaped when Lou turns the tables. Rick’s death scene after being shot at a crime scene… isn’t great. Gyllenhaal acts circles around him, and the overly dramatic closing of the eyes by Ahmed feels unrealistic, compared to the violence of what just occurred. This could’ve been so much better, especially since we know Ahmed is a great actor.
#17: Not Like This
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“The Matrix” (1999) A lot of collective details go into an actor’s performance, from line delivery nuances to facial expressions. Belinda McClory’s death scene in the first “Matrix” film comes as a shock to the audience, as Nebuchadnezzar crew member Switch is among those eliminated by Cypher when his betrayal is revealed. McClory’s final words of “not like this” don't exactly ring with fear or passion, but are rather understated in their delivery. To compound matters, the accompanying facial reaction feels slightly comedic, lightening the otherwise tense mood in the scene. Maybe another take or two was in order?
#16: Thank You
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“Mission: Impossible III” (2006) The opening sequence to “Mission: Impossible III” references other scenes from the franchise where the best-laid plans of protagonist Ethan Hunt and crew go awry. Hunt’s team does successfully rescue IMF agent Lindsey Farris after the latter was captured in Berlin. Unfortunately, the deadly implant placed within Farris’ head by her captors detonates before Hunt can save her life. Keri Russell’s performance as Farris is brief but memorable… perhaps for some of the wrong reasons. Her death is anticlimactic, while Russell’s facial expression, after telling Ethan “thank you,” is jarring. We’re not exactly sure if it looks creepy, disturbing, or downright bad, but hey - we never forgot it!
#15: Howard Saint
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“The Punisher” (2004) Is there any comic book revenge story as established and engrained within the medium’s culture as that of Frank Castle? The loss of Castle’s family directly leads to the man’s transformation into The Punisher, although this 2004 film adaptation pins the blame on John Travolta’s crime boss Howard Saint. The revenge story is the same, however, and by the end, we’re dying for Travolta to get his comeuppance. It’s all a bit anticlimactic, unfortunately, as Castle shoots Saint without much fanfare. It’s underwhelming, to say the least, and Travolta’s performance would’ve perhaps benefitted from a bit more scenery-chewing.
#14: Pointless Sacrifice
“Dante’s Peak” (1997) The heyday of the 70s disaster film felt long gone by the time this 90s flick hit theaters. “Dante’s Peak” is peak camp silliness, while at the same time taking itself, for the most part, with stone-faced seriousness. See this pointless sacrifice for proof, as Elizabeth Hoffman’s Ruth makes the bone-headed decision to jump from a boat into water that has become acidic with volcanic materials. The boat was ALMOST THERE, you guys. The group effort was working to push their craft safely to shore. The scene just feels there to hit a story beat, while the acidic aftermath of Ruth’s legs also feels out of place. Maybe the writers just couldn’t figure out any other way to get the character out of the movie?
#13: Death by Frisbee
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“Hard Ticket to Hawaii” (1987) “Dante’s Peak” may have taken itself seriously, but no one will likely be making the same accusations against the cinema of Andy Sidaris. The former director of “ABC’s Wide World of Sports” made the transition into movie-making during the 1970s and 80s, specializing in action-filled exploitation flicks with plenty of skin. “Hard Ticket to Hawaii” was released smack-dab in the middle of Sidaris’ most prolific period in the late 80s, and featured a scene where a character is killed by… a frisbee? Well, it’s a frisbee lined with razor blades, to be precise, and its end results are as bloody and overblown as you’d expect from a director of Sidaris’ pedigree.
#12: Plant-Based
“Troll 2” (1990) Narrowing down a poorly-acted movie death from “Troll 2” feels like shooting fish in a barrel; it’s just too easy. The “Oh My God!” scene has been memed to death at this point, but the whole sequence should still be analyzed for what’s perhaps one of the Italian exploitation film industry’s wildest fever dreams. Essentially, we have a double whammy: there’s the random girl that Arnold finds running from goblins in the woods. Almost as soon as she appears, she’s turned into veggies by a witch, and eaten by said goblins. Then, it’s Arnold’s turn, as he too falls victim to the witch’s nefarious magic. “Oh my God,” indeed.
#11: Cat Scratch Fever
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“Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” (1978) This early gem from Jackie Chan featured one incredibly memorable death scene from one of the man’s opponents, an American martial artist Roy Horan. Horan played a Russian assassin in the film, but his attempts to take down Chan are thwarted when the latter busts out his new “Cat Claw” technique in their fight. Chan’s animal instincts take hold, and his claws strike Horan directly in his nether regions, putting the American out for the count. We can’t help but laugh at Horan’s exaggerated screaming, and quick head snap down to dreamland after getting clawed by Chan. This is the sort of dubbed kung-fu madness that was a staple on cable television back in the 1980s.
#10: Bed Death
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“Death Bed: The Bed that Eats” (1977) They call them “cult classics” for a reason, right? “Death Bed: The Bed that Eats” was a forgotten obscurity for many years, until stories of its weirdness earned it a fanbase and a physical media release. This story of a supernatural, demon-possessed bed is full of surreal scenes, but the sequence where a priest is devoured by the bed is memorable, thanks to the performance of Jock Brandis. The future inventor and author worked on “Death Bed” when he was a young man, and Brandis’ on-screen inexperience is obvious from the actor’s bemused expression. It’s all in good fun, of course, but yeah… Brandis certainly wasn’t winning any Academy Awards for this one.
#9: Slow Motion
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“Karateci Kız” (1973) Often memed, slightly edited, but never duplicated, this slow-motion death scene from the 1970s Turkish exploitation film industry has to be seen, to be believed. That’s because, this sequence from “Karateci Kız,” also known as “Karate Girl,” features a henchman with a very memorable reaction to being shot. Oh, the scene is shot in slow motion, sure, but both the unedited original and its viral meme iteration seem to go on FOREVER, honestly to the point of parody. “Karate Girl” is actually fairly grim and violent throughout the lion’s share of its running time, but you probably wouldn’t know that, based solely on the context of this infamous scene.
#8: Que Sera Sera
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“Enter the Ninja” (1981) Let’s get one thing out of the way first: Christopher George was a fine actor, with many memorable, scene-stealing performances under his belt. George’s death scene from 1981’s “Enter the Ninja” also steals the show, but for all the wrong reasons. The actor almost seems okay with getting a shuriken in the chest from our ninja antagonist, Franco Nero. Oh, George screams all right, but then he just sort of shrugs, smirks, and falls down dead. It’s a performance that we almost can’t believe actually exists, but yup-there it is, for all of us to meme until the end of time.
#7: Prepare Yourselves
“The Dark Knight Rises” (2012) Marion Cotillard is another actor with a wealth of amazing performances to her resume, but here in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises,” she just falls flat. Her death scene occurs near the climax of the film when the stakes are high and all kinds of puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place as the tension ramps up. Cotillard’s little head move after her character of Talia al Ghul dies in a car crash feels unintentionally funny, the sort of actor tick that may have worked better in Cotillard’s head, but felt weird to see on screen.
#6: It Had to be This Way
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“The Wolfman” (2010) You’ve seen it a million times: where our film’s protagonist dies in the arms of their beloved, expiring after one last monologue, or memorably defining statement. “The Wolfman” from 2010 uses this trope, but not really very well, as Benicio del Toro’s Lawrence Talbot is cradled by Emily Blunt’s Gwen Conliffe. Talbot’s message rings true: that the cycle of the wolf is eternal, and that there will always be another to take on the curse of the full moon. However, it’s just not expressed with enough pathos or poeticism to lend this otherwise critical moment in the film the respect it deserves.
#5: Dad?
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“The Godfather Part III” (1990) The casting of the young and inexperienced Sofia Coppola in her father’s second sequel to “The Godfather” was one that caused some consternation at the time of the film’s release. This was thanks largely to the quality of her performance, exemplified in scenes like this one, where her character of Mary Corleone is shot near the end of the film. Opinions of the scene, like those of the film, tend to be negative, with many pointing out that aforementioned inexperience is one of the reasons why Coppola’s death scene feels stilted. To be fair, though, the reactions of Coppola’s co-stars aren’t much better, with histrionics that border on self-parody.
#4: Oh My
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“Star Trek Generations” (1994) How closely should an actor’s death scene reflect the severity of his wounds? Most film fans would probably answer “pretty closely,” but apparently no one sent that memo to William Shatner on the set of “Star Trek Generations.” Shatner’s iconic Captain James T. Kirk has suffered fatal wounds and is buried in rubble. He has a brief conversation with Captain Jean-Luc Picard that feels as if Kirk is just laying down, taking a rest. The scene does turn a bit poignant as Kirk reflects upon captaining the Enterprise, but then Shatner decides to leave us with an “oh my,” that effectively severs that emotional tie with one bad decision.
#3: The Bees
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“The Wicker Man” (2006) Does it matter that the “bees” sequence from the 2006 remake of “The Wicker Man” was only presented in the extended, home video cut? Not really, especially when considering how much life the scene has taken on via the internet, so many years after its initial release. To be fair, the Nicolas Cage performance is full of “wait wah?” choices, from way-too-intense interrogations about doll burnings to punching characters while wearing a bear outfit. Cage’s astronomical reactions to bee torture take the cake, however, since the character is supposed to be deathly allergic. The actor is then brought to the titular Wicker Man for his final sacrifice, but we just can’t forget those bees, man.
#2: The Big Ride
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“Face/Off” (1997) Missed it by… that much. “Face/Off” RULES. Let’s get that out of the way first. And the ending rules, apart from one little detail. Both Nicolas Cage and John Travolta deliver the goods with their performances, but the latter probably should’ve just left his climatic death scene without this final send-off. Travolta as Castor Troy as Sean Archer has just been impaled and attempted to slice off his own face. Additionally, Nicolas Cage as Sean Archer as Castor Troy has just screamed with all the intensity of a freight train. That would’ve been enough, but unfortunately, Travolta needs to mumble-sing being “ready for the big ride, baby.” Sometimes, silence is golden.
#1: Is He Dead?
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“The Room” (2003) Is “The Room” bad, or “so bad it’s good?” Well, bad. The answer is “bad,” actually, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy this ridiculous death scene at the film’s climax. We’re not sure what’s worse, Tommy Wiseau’s Tennessee Williams delusions, or the reactions of his co-stars, after Wiseau’s Johnny self-destructs. What we’re seeing is clearly fatal and self-inflicted, yet “The Room” still needs to beg the question: “is he dead?” Well, yes. Johnny is definitely dead, and we’re sure no one will ever talk about “The Room” ever again. Just kidding, “The Room” will never go away, whether you want it to, or not.