Top 30 Unique Horror Movie Kills

Final Destination 2 (2003)

The Final Destination franchise frequently centers on one large-scale set piece of death, from which the main characters initially escape. This second entry is no different, although this isnt the only bit of vehicular carnage that afflicts this cast. Kat Jennings shakes hands with death after a car accident leaves her pinned to her seat. It initially seems as if Jennings is going to survive the crash, but the airbag in her steering wheel is accidentally deployed. The resulting impact pushes Jennings head into a PVC pipe thats lodged within her cars headrest.

Event Horizon (1997)

This movie from director Paul W.S. Anderson possesses a neat n nasty little twist that presents itself around the halfway mark. The crew of the rescue ship Lewis and Clark have been tasked with finding out what happened to the missing crew of the Event Horizon. They find out the answer within the ships log database: a disturbing and violent video of the previous crews grisly demise. The footage is grainy and distorted, like a futuristic snuff film. It feels by design, as well, since rumors have long swirled around how theres allegedly an even more extreme cut of Event Horizon out there that extends this sequence even longer.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

Fans have continually expected the Final Destination franchise to up the ante. Were speaking specifically of ingenuity, and how entries like Final Destination 3 continually think of new ways to well, kill their characters. Were guessing that radiator fan wasnt on the audience's bingo cards when this film debuted in 2006. Still, thats exactly what happened to Frankie Cheeks when the entire engine was pushed out of a truck parked behind him. The resulting impact caused the fan to slice Frankie open, physics and logic be damned, effectively cutting him out of the movie.

Bone Tomahawk (2015)

The filmography of S. Craig Zahler is one that frequently incorporates some grossly realistic and visceral scenes of violence. It was Bone Tomahawk that initially set up that bar, combining horror and Western tropes in a stunningly effective manner. Deputy Nick perhaps receives one of the most shocking kills in the entire film. Hes scalped and brutally bisected by a group of cannibalistic Troglodytes, who consume him as a snack before turning their attention to other captive prisoners. Its a scene that largely foregoes ineffectual CGI in favor of effects that remain both practical and convincing.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

Ask anybody who was there back in the 80s when the slasher boom was in full swing. Inventive kills were frequent watercooler and schoolyard talk, especially when they were on the level of this one from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. The Elm Street parents responsible for the death of Freddy Krueger have seen their kids being stalked and killed by the dream demon in the present day. Phillip Anderson was one of those kids, a sleepwalker whose veins and tendons are utilized by Freddy as marionette strings. The sight of Anderson being forced to jump off a building to his death remains one of the most iconic set-pieces of late eighties franchise horror.

Scream (1996)

We, as horror fans, dont always pay close attention to the set dressing or scenery whenever a character is tussling with a slasher villain. Those who do, however, could very well have predicted what happened to poor Tatum Riley. Deputy Sheriff Deweys sister initially holds her own against Ghostface when shes caught in the garage, away from the noise of a house party. Her attempt to escape via the garage doors cat flap is unsuccessful, and Tatum becomes stuck, effectively at the mercy of Ghostface. What happens next is a slow and honestly troubling death, as Tatum begs for her life, but is ultimately crushed by the door.

This film from the creative team of Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard reveled in referencing and satirizing some of horror cinemas most beloved creative tropes. Chris Hemsworths Curt Vaughan is initially set up as some kind of hero, complete with strength, smarts, and determination. His efforts to escape and seek help are thwarted, however, by a very unexpected source: an invisible force field. Whats particularly effective here is how the score underlines whats effectively supposed to be an important moment, only for it to be undercut as Curt slams into the wall. The creative curtain is then pulled back, and the characters realize that nothing is exactly what it seems

Adaptability is important when it comes to surviving a horror movie. You just gotta be willing to take whatever you can get and turn it into a weapon. Lionel Cosgrove does just that when he takes an ordinary garden lawn mower into his hands during the climax of 1992s Braindead. The film, directed by Peter Jackson and also known as Dead Alive, loves its black humor, playing it to the hilt during this scene. Lionel is practically wading through the red stuff as he mows his way through infected zombies in his home. Its creative overkill to the Nth degree, powered by Jacksons crazed, frenetic cinematography and a committed cast that goes for it during this final sprint to the end.

Suspiria (1977)

The cinema of Italys Dario Argento was one that frequently combined the grotesque with the beautiful. His murder set-pieces were artfully staged, while also containing some of the most wince-inducing moments of graphic violence. Pat Hingle is the first victim of Argentos 1977 masterpiece Suspiria, a young dance student whos mercilessly attacked by an unseen, knife-wielding assailant. The brutality of her knife wounds, hanging and subsequent explosion through an apartment skylight are undercut by how Argento films the scene. Its bold and colorful, with flourishes of sound and framing that almost make the audience feel like accessories to the carnage.

Zombi 2 (1979)

Its one of the most well-known and frequently referenced scenes from the world of Italian horror. The infamous eye-gouging scene from Lucio Fulcis Zombi 2, a.k.a. Zombie Flesh Eaters. Actress Olga Karlatos truly has a bad go of it, as her battle against a zombie home invasion goes pear-shaped. Actually, make that splinter-shaped, since Karlatos character has her face pulled into one, all in gloriously anguished slow-motion, of course. Fulcis reputation as Italys Godfather of Gore feels well-earned here, as Zombie Flesh Eaters goes for broke with regards to this unflinching look at some truly gross eye damage.

Jason X (2001)

Jason Voorhees has creatively utilized many weapons to dispose of his victims. But the most out-there has to be liquid nitrogen. Like we said, hes very creative. Jason gets the drop on Adrienne in the futuristic spaceship and sticks her head in a sink filled with the aforementioned coolant. Her face instantly freezes past that of a snowman, but just to make sure that Adrienne has been properly disposed of, Jason tests her new look against the countertop. Suffice to say, the countertop wins. Say what you will about the goofy Jason X, but it contains a lot of fun kills.

Poor Mrs. Deagle. The thing meant to make her life easier ended up taking it away. Such is the beauty of irony. After getting scared by some caroling Gremlins, a panicking and out-of-breath Mrs. Deagle takes a seat in her chairlift. However, the device has been tampered with by another gremlin, and Mrs. Deagle goes for the ride of her soon-to-be-over life. The lift rapidly zips up the stairs before launching her out the second-story window. Its a horrible way to go, but that shot of Mrs. Deagles body flying through the air will never not be funny.

#18: Staircase Kill

High Tension (2003)

This French slasher earned a lot of controversy for its over-the-top violence (among other things), and that is on full display throughout the home invasion sequence. Alexs father Daniel answers the ringing door in the dead of night, only to be met with a blow to the head. Daniel is left incapacitated, and the intruder is thus easily able to squeeze his head between the uprights of the staircase bannister. Its then that the intruder grabs a nearby dresser and gets to redecorating, starting with Daniels head. The death is quick, but its also graphic and disturbing. Props for originality, though.

The Thing (1982)

For the most part, the shapeshifting monster of this classic horror film lies in wait and only reveals itself when absolutely necessary. But when it does, you know all hell is about to break loose. In this classic scene, Copper is attempting to revive Norris, who has secretly been assimilated by the Thing. Copper finds this out first-hand (no pun intended) when Norriss entire chest opens up, revealing sharp teeth, and bites his arms clean off. Its so shocking that we cant actually show it all here, yet one still has to admire the ingenuity of director John Carpenter and his brilliant effects artists. In what other movie are you gonna get this crazy kind of action?

The Wicker Man (1973)

Few movies end on a bigger downer than Robin Hardys The Wicker Man. In this classic British film, a police sergeant named Neil Howie travels to a remote island to rescue a supposedly kidnapped girl from a group of pagans. However, its all just a ruse to kidnap Howie himself, as he is then sacrificed to the islanders pagan gods for a bountiful harvest. And they do so in the most horrifying way possible: by burning him alive inside a massive wicker man. Its one of the most haunting images in horror history, and it leaves viewers feeling incredibly unsettled. We wonder if it worked...

Disgusting is a good word to describe this death. And if you dont like spiders were sorry. One scene in Frank Darabonts classic sees a small group of survivors, in the wake of interdimensional creatures being released upon the town, searching a pharmacy for supplies. What they find instead are bodies strung up by what appear to be spider webs. One, however, is alive, with lesions all over his chest and face. Just when it seems like the situation cant get any worse, the lesions are revealed to be egg sacs and begin releasing countless spider-like creatures. Were calling it: being eaten alive from the inside by spiders is not a good way to go.

City of the Living Dead (1980)

Director Lucio Fulci populated his films with some all-time kills, with this one arguably being his masterpiece. A garage owner named Mr. Ross finds the shady Bob sitting with his teenage daughter in a car and flies into a rage, assuming the worst. After backhanding him, Ross throws Bob onto a table and brings his head closer and closer to a spinning drill. The drill then makes contact near Bobs ear and ends his life in particularly grisly fashion. We can understand wanting to be a protective parent, but this has to be overkill, wouldnt you say?

Any movie involving nonsensical dream magic is bound to have a few creative kills. And while the first Nightmare on Elm Street is relatively tame in comparison to its outlandish sequels, it contains what is arguably the most iconic kill of the franchise. A young Johnny Depp plays Glen, who is unfortunate enough to fall asleep while watching TV. This allows the dream-hopping Freddy to grab him through the mattress and pull him down. We dont see what exactly happens to him next, but the iconic gushing blood that follows fuels our imaginations to nightmarish effect.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

No other horror franchise had us tiptoeing around the house quite like Final Destination. While a lot of kills in the franchise happen quickly, this one takes its sweet, agonizing time. In honor of their fallen classmates - weirdly enough - two teenagers decide to get some color and go for a tan. However, Death is out to get them and concocts a series of events to trap them inside their tanning beds. The beds then increase in power to the point that they burn the girls alive. This death scene finds a way to combine multiple fears, like pyrophobia and claustrophobia, as it makes for some seriously harrowing viewing.

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

The Friday the 13th series is filled with creative kills, including the aforementioned liquid nitrogen death. But sometimes the simplest scenes prove the most memorable. Jasons most appropriate kill comes in The New Blood, the seventh entry of the series. After disposing of her boyfriend Dan, Jason kidnaps Judy from their tent. He scoops her up in her yellow sleeping bag, drags her to a nearby tree, and practices his baseball swing with a human bat. As memorable and brutal as this scene is, it was actually cut from six swings to one to avoid an X rating. Darn censorship ruining creativity.

The Omen (1976)

Mainstream horror films of the 1970s are quite tame by todays standards, at least in terms of on-screen violence, which only makes Keiths death that much more shocking. While retrieving some magic daggers in a construction site, Keith suffers a workplace accident via an out-of-control truck and a sliding pane of glass. While it looks kind of goofy today, its also a brilliant bit of filmmaking, mixing nasty visuals with the surprise death of a major character to create one of horrors most memorable sequences. Though come to think of it, its kind of like a prototypal Final Destination death, dont you think?

Sinister (2012)

Unique filmmaking can often prove scarier than depicted violence, and that is certainly the case with Sinister. After discovering a slew of grisly home videos in his attic, Ellison watches one labeled Lawn Work. On it, someones head gets run over by a push lawnmower. Its the movies scariest sequence, despite containing no blood or actual on-screen violence. Rather, the eerie use of lighting, the unsettling sound design, and the sharp cut before the violence occurs all work in tandem to create a perturbing atmosphere. Its highly effective, and one of those cases in which imagination proves far scarier than depicted reality.

Deadly Friend (1986)

One of Wes Cravens better known movies, Deadly Friend is not. In any case, its certainly not up there with the likes of Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street, and its probably because of ridiculous sequences like this. As it turns out, a basketball can be used to kill someone. Yes, a basketball. Not only that, but they have the power to turn someones head into mush with a simple throw. The scene has all the goofy cheesiness of a cheap B-movie, but theres no denying Cravens imagination. Only the most ridiculous horror movies could turn a basketball into a deadly weapon.

Hannibal (2001)

This sequel to The Silence of the Lambs sees Gary Oldman play Mason Verger, a victim of Hannibal Lecters hellbent on getting revenge for his disfigurement. Verger plans on feeding Lecter to a herd of wild boars, but he becomes their dinner instead when Lecter convinces Vergers mistreated physician Cordell to turn on his boss. The boars eat the defenseless Verger alive, and viewers are left thoroughly put off by the whole ordeal. For a series invested in the psychology of human beings, the most grotesque death strangely comes at the hands (or mouths) of some primal animals. Funny how that works out.

Puppet Master (1989)

While released directly to video, Puppet Master nevertheless proved popular and launched a franchise. In the first film, a psychic named Frank is sensually tied up and blindfolded by fellow psychic Carissa. However, Carissa is killed by one of the puppets, and another puppet named Leech Woman takes over. Leech Woman gets her name because, well, she regurgitates live leeches, and does so all over Frank, who thinks that its Carissa being kinky. He discovers the truth far too late, and his literal lifeblood is drained by the leeches. This entire sequence is like a fever dream filled with horrifying and otherworldly images, and we must commend the filmmakers for their ingenuity.

Saw (2004)

To be honest, we could put any kill from Saw on here, such is the grotesquely imaginative power of the franchise. But nothing beats the original, and in the case of the original, no trap was worse than Amandas. Amanda Young is a drug addict whom Jigsaw captures and attaches her jaw to the infamous reverse bear trap. Shes then forced to find the key within the stomach of a sedated man. Needless to say, Amanda proceeds to dig her way to freedom and the man into an early grave. Unlike future Saw movies, viewers dont see much of the violence itself, but what we do get is incredibly disturbing.

Scanners (1981)

David Cronenbergs Scanners isnt super well known outside horror communities. Its one of those cases in which one specific scene is more famous than the entire movie, and that scene is a horrifying head explosion by way of telepathy. The practicality of it is fantastic - but also so fantastically revolting that weve opted to shield you from the entirety of it for now. It is interesting to know that the effect was achieved by shooting a dummy head with a shotgun, and the results are every bit as messy and propulsive as one would expect. Its an iconic sequence and has lived on in the form of gifs and memes, which is what every director aspires to, right?

The Final Destination (2009)

You gotta feel for Hunt. All he wanted was to lay by the pool and catch some rays. While relaxing at a country club, a series of events forces him underwater to retrieve his lucky coin. Unfortunately, the pools drainage system had been accidentally activated, and the pressure sucks him in and traps him at the bottom. Drowning is scary enough, but then things get much, much worse, as poor Hunt is turned inside out by the powerful suction. Hunts death hits that Final Destination sweet spot between outlandishly creative and disturbingly plausible, and its made even more memorable thanks to the vile 3D effects.

Ghost Ship (2002)

This movie takes the idea of ghost ships literally, and the inciting incident makes for a highly memorable opening sequence. It takes place in the early 60s aboard the Antonia Graza and sees a large group of passengers dancing to a lounge singers performance. A mysterious person then tampers with a thin wire cord and sends it flying across the deck. The cord slices through everyone like butter and leaves behind a repellent mess that scars a poor little girl, who was too short to be hit. It is beyond eerie, especially the way everyone stands still immediately after but before they you know. Its a great scene in an otherwise mediocre movie.

Alien (1979)

The first Alien is an undeniable horror classic and contains a legendary death scene. Kanes entire downfall is just one long nightmare, and it speaks to the horrific imaginations of Ridley Scott and his filmmakers. Kane is first attacked by a facehugger that wraps its tail around his neck and sticks its proboscis down his throat. This in turn impregnates him, and the little baby xenomorph subsequently eats itself free through Kanes chest. We couldnt even imagine how that felt; it was tough enough just watching it. And it shouldnt be surprising that it has a reputation as the most famous death scene in the history of horror cinema.

What, in your opinion, makes for a classic horror movie death? Let us know in the comments!