10 Insulting Ways Characters Were Killed Off Between Horror Movies
Horror movie characters who deserved more dignified deaths.
There are a lot of deaths in horror movies, and while the majority of them happen to secondary characters, even the most beloved and crucial main players can be killed as suddenly and brutally as their less important counterparts.
Of course, the latter scenario is likelier to occur in a sequel, when the protagonist or another standout person from the prior film(s) dies in a justifiably meaningful – or at least shocking – fashion. Nancy Thompson and Randy Meeks’ demises in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Scream 2, respectively, are two prime examples of such situations.
At times, however, certain adored and essential characters get the figurative – or literal – axe between films in unsatisfying ways and for completely unjustified reasons. Consequently, their deaths do a disservice to both their legacies and viewers’ investments in them.
The heroes on this list were offed by particularly offensive means before the next chapter in their franchise was released. Whether that’s because their passings were treated as inconsequential afterthoughts or because their fates were never disclosed in any cinematic entry, they deserved to die on-screen and with more respect.
So, try to remain calm as we count down 10 insulting ways characters were killed off between horror movies (with spoilers)!
10. Sally Hardesty Passes Away in a Nursing Facility - Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
Years before Halloween’s Laurie Strode became horror’s most famous final girl, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Sally Hardesty triumphantly escaped Leatherface and the rest of the dementedly homicidal Sawyer family.
Played with terrifying authenticity by Marilyn Burns, Sally ends the picture physically and psychologically scarred by what she’s endured. Specifically, she’s left screaming in horror and confusion on the back of a pickup truck as Leatherface famously dances with his titular tool of terror.
Understandably, moviegoers might’ve expected Burns – or someone else – to bring Sally Back in the direct follow-up. Yet, aside from a brief reference of her traumatic experience in the opening narration, alongside the fact that her uncle – protagonist Lt. Boude “Lefty” Enright – is out for revenge, there’s no real update or closure regarding her character.
That was probably for the best, though, considering the damage done to her at the start of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3. During that opening narration, it’s conveyed that Sally “died in a private health care facility in 1977.” That’s it! No further details are mentioned and no respect to her is paid once the story begins.
Clearly, such throwaway treatment is a slap in the face given Sally’s horrifying story, and the less said about her equally distasteful representation in the timeline-adjacent The Next Generation and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the better.