Top 10 Most Poorly Acted Movie Deaths

Tension is hard to maintain, but cartoon sound effects don't exactly help. After rescuing Lindsey Farris from a warehouse full of thugs, Ethan and the gang think they’ve seen the worst of their day. But when they realize Farris has a tiny explosive in her brain, the tension ramps back up as they try to disarm it with a defibrillator. With emotions building to a climax, the scene has viewers’ hearts sinking when Farris gives Ethan a final Thank You. But with some bugged out eyes, a head whip and some weird sound effects, Kerri Russell's death is more humorous than disturbing.

Some people really need a director to tell them when to try another take. After discovering his girlfriend and best friend are having an affair, Johnny quickly becomes angry and depressed by their betrayal and starts feeling suicidal. But his sadness quickly turns to painful overacting as he screams "Why" and "it's over" like an upset teenager, and follows this up with his farewell: "God forgive me." Somewhere between the over-the-top performance and slow-mo that follows, all highlighted by actor/director Tommy Wiseau’s premature action of lying back before the gun goes off, the whole scene looks more like a high school play than a feature film. Maybe this is why most directors don't act in their own movies.

While getting tortured to death is certainly a reason to scream, it's the sound of the scream that can push your audience to laughter. After being captured while looking for his daughter, Nicolas Cage is first tortured first by having his legs broken. But what comes next is something he's really afraid of: after being subjected to a helmet of bees, his screams go from sensible to gargling to calling out where they are. But what really makes this scene over the top is when Cage realizes where he's going next. The absolute cherry on top though? As the wicker man starts to burn, Cage's yelling suddenly turn into a siren-like wail that would suit his character’s cop car better than him.

The Force wasn't very strong with this one. While giving birth after Anakin force-chokes her out, Padme is on the brink of death, with barely enough life to bring her children into the world. Earlier in the scene, it's unclear if she's actually dying as she doesn’t seem to be in much pain. Instead she looks exhausted and is somehow able to whip out names for her children without hesitation. But things truly fall apart when Natalie Portman closes her eyes and tries to proclaim that Anakin is still a good person, trailing off until she pulls the classic death head tilt. Not very convincing, was she.

Just because you've won an Academy Award doesn't mean it all comes naturally. After the truck chase crashes to a halt, Talia Al Ghul is fatally injured in the wreckage… but not before she gives a final villain monologue about her master plan. This includes her whispering her way through the speech before her eyes start to bug out. Marion Cotillard also makes what seems like a lot of unnecessary head movements until she finally closes her eyes. It’s not exactly at the level of professional acting that you'd expect from an Oscar winner.

It's surprising how much a few words can really change the tone of an entire scene. At the end of their climactic fight, Norman Osborn makes one last plea to Spider-man's alter-ego. When this doesn't work, Osborn's face goes crooked and he dementedly grunts, "Godspeed Spider-man" before his glider is launched toward him and Spider-man. As Peter jumps out of the way, Willem Dafoe gives an out of place "Oh" before his movements go wooden. This is followed by a somewhat quirky delivery of his final words before he collapses in the most cartoonish way possible.

Not all transformations go as smoothly as others. After fighting another werewolf, Lawrence ends up chasing his lover Gwen until she musters up the strength to shoot him with a silver bullet. After returning to human form, he wakes up and with a blank stare, strangely whispers: "It had to be this way." It’s another entry with a bug-eyed look and a final thank you, along with the classic head tilt after which the Wolfman goes limp in his lover’s arms. Let's just say it’s unlikely Benicio del Toro will be putting this one in his show reel any time soon.

After leaving the opera, Michael's daughter Mary keeps asking him awkwardly why he's ruining her relationship, stumbling through her lines in the process. After being accidentally shot by an assassin attempting to kill Michael, Mary limps like she's injured her leg before suddenly seeming to notice she's actually been shot. Without demonstrating any pain on her face, Mary calls out for her father one last time before falling over to apparently instantly die in a scene that’s only saved by Diane Keaton and Al Pacino's reactions.

After being crushed while trying to help Captain Picard, Kirk is fatally wounded. While delivering his final monologue, actor William Shatner seems blissfully unaware of the pain from wounds that are severe enough to have blood dripping from his mouth, as his eyes seem to suggest he's delivering just any old line. His smile then turns to shock, after which he destroys the emotion with an out of place "Oh My" that even George Takei would likely consider too much, all before turning his head to stare blankly at the camera.


Before we unveil our top pick, here’s an honorable mention:

Don't Push Me
"The Untouchables" (1987)

In the film’s climactic showdown, Castor Troy slices his face with glass while assuming Sean Archer's identity. Left without a choice, the body-swapped Archer kicks Troy and finally finishes him off with a harpoon and screams in his face. If that doesn't sound ridiculous enough, the dying Troy switches back to his real voice while carrying Archer's face. The comically out of place call back through the voice of Nicolas Cage is one in which Troy repeats, with his last breath, the "ready for the big ride, baby" line from earlier in the film. The strange whimper comes off so goofy that it's helped the film become a cult classic.


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