Top 10 Moments from Heathers

Top 10 Moments from “Heathers”

High school is a killer. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 Moments from “Heathers”.

For this list, we’re looking at the most memorable moments from the 1988 black comedy.

#10: Heather Chandler’s Death

Everyone fantasizes about killing the queen bee from time to time, but what would happen if somebody actually followed through with that morbid daydream? From the moment Heather Chandler is fed some liquid drain cleaner and dies, audiences knew that “Heathers” was going to be a different kind of teen movie, and we accordingly strapped ourselves in for the ride. When the movie kills off the character you love to hate in the first half, what’s left? A hell of a lot, as it turns out.

#9: Meeting J.D.’s Dad

We all know J.D. as the bad boy with a touch of crazy, so what could be more interesting than meeting the guy who raised such a kid? Big Bud gets a kick out of blowing stuff up, which is great since he’s a demolitions guy. And when you get to do the job you love, life is good. Except when you pass on your destructive tendencies to your offspring… And then there’s the fact J.D.’s mother killed herself by walking into a building that Big Bud rigged up to explode. We have to wonder if it had anything to do with being married to a psychopath.

#8: Talking Emotions

As a teacher in a school that’s been wracked by a spate of suicides, talking to your students about death must be a daunting thing. So when one teacher takes it upon herself to encourage her class to open up about their emotions to prevent any further suicides, it’s both well meaning and hilarious. We know that there hasn’t been a single suicide, and that there is a murderer stalking the corridors. When Veronica breaks into laughter, we can’t help but laugh with her, because the whole thing just seems so ridiculous.

#7: Car Lighter

High school is rarely what anyone thinks it’s going to be, but for Veronica, it becomes a rabbit hole of murder. The longer she lets J.D. have his way, the more people die. It isn’t what she signed on for and we can’t help but feel sorry for her. She can’t break away from J.D. and she’s complicit in the murders. This scene sums up their relationship: she hurts herself to feel something and he uses her pain to have fun. By the time she and J.D. kill Kurt and Ram, it’s too late for her to go back. If there’s ever been an abusive relationship in a teen movie, this is it.

#6: Veronica vs. Heather

When your place on the social ladder is determined by the friends you have and the parties you go to, it’s no wonder that Veronica latched onto the Heathers. This scene shows us the friction between Heather and Veronica after Veronica messes up her opportunity at a cool Remington University party. She refuses sex and gets drunk enough to throw up on the carpet, almost ruining Heather’s reputation. But we have to say that Veronica voicing one of the most memorable lines of the movie makes all the cringing worth it, and we appreciate seeing people starting to show their real feelings about the Heathers.

#5: Dream Sequence

Just in case you aren’t sure if being partially responsible for the deaths of some of your classmates leaves a psychological impact, this scene lets you know. Veronica starts hallucinating Heather Chandler, who speaks to her from beyond the grave, illuminated by her signature color - red. Just as much of a competitive bitch in death as she was in life, she makes an interesting addition to Veronica’s deteriorating mental state. We might have been surprised at seeing her again, but no teen movie would be complete without the queen bee buzzing around, right? Even if she is dead.

#4: Heather’s Funeral

We love this scene, even though it might not have been exactly what we were expecting. But then again, nothing about “Heathers” is what we were expecting. It’s a time of mourning for the loss of the illustrious Heather Chandler, but instead of grief we get a whole bunch of character voiceovers giving us an insight into the minds of her various schoolmates. Whether it’s the jocks being disappointed that they no longer have a chance with her, or the girls who are glad that God answered their prayers and killed her, there’s something in this scene that will shock and amuse.

#3: J.D. & Veronica Meet

There are few things more painful than talking to your crush for the first time, and this scene has us almost cringing at the awkwardness. Veronica introduces herself to the new guy while the Heathers watch, and she turns into the shy, awkward teenager that she really is. J.D. thinks he’s super cool, with a quick-witted answer for everything, and you think you can see right through his act, right up until he pulls out a gun and your whole perception of him changes. We wish Veronica had waited around a few minutes longer to see this side of him. Maybe so much of the disaster that follows this meeting might have been avoided.

#2: Lunchtime Poll

For some reason, the Heathers like to spend their lunchtimes going around and asking silly survey questions of the student population. While this doesn’t strike us as something the popular girls at a regular high school would do, we know that this movie doesn’t exactly represent the typical high school experience. Plus, it’s a great opening scene because it introduces us to all the different types of students, while also giving us an idea of who our main characters are. And hey, if it means hearing Heather Chandler gifting us with one of the most quotable lines ever, we are definitely not complaining!

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Veronica Prevents Heather McNamara Killing Herself


Veronica Writing in Her Diary


Kurt Kelly & Ram Sweeney’s Funeral

#1: Veronica’s Badass Ending

After watching more than an hour and half of a couple of teenagers slowly deteriorating into madness, we knew that the only way this movie would end was with a bang. Literally. J.D. wants to blow up the school, but Veronica, tired of her friends dying, decides that she’s had enough of his BS and stops him. And maybe J.D. is just reacting to being unloved and alone, but we can't muster up much sympathy when he walks out with the bomb strapped to his chest. We are all Veronica, super chill with our cigarettes, waiting for the toxic person in our lives to explode, knowing that we will finally get some peace.
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