10 Movie Characters Who Were Only There To Die
They were doomed as soon as their names were in the script.
Some movie characters have all the luck. Not only do they get to save the day in dashing fashion, get the love interest, and live on in cinema history, but they also get to live.
That's more than can be said for these ten unfortunate souls.
Death is a crucial weapon in any storyteller's arsenal. Few things are more moving than a tragic on-screen passing and some of the most memorable movie moments of all time centre around a character losing their life.
Sometimes characters die at the end of a long quest or after an epic battle for the fate of the world. Others though, they just get knocked off because the writers wanted to make the audience cry.
The total amount of screen time on this list is barely enough to make an episode of TV, let alone a full-length picture. These characters were literally dropped into the story for about five minutes before being killed off with about as much respect as flushing a goldfish down the toilet.
Still, a lot of these premature perishings are important to their respective films, so at least there's that. Let's just hope the actors playing them weren't paid by the hour.
10. Winston Havelock - The Mummy
Despite being on screen for less time than it takes to say "tea and crumpets", Captain Winston Havelock made quite the impression on viewers of 1999's The Mummy.
An RAF pilot and friend of protagonist Rick, Havelock is your typical nutty Englishman complete with enormous moustache and penchant for classical musical.
Winston is brought in by Rick and co. to help in their mission to rescue Evelyn. He manages to catch the group up with Imhotep via the air, but his plane is brought down by the reborn villain's magic.
The plane crashes into what we later discover is quicksand. Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth survive the crash, but the eccentric pilot does not. He and his trusty aircraft then sink into the ground, never to be seen again.
Winston's death is still impactful despite his limited screen time. Actor Bernard Fox does a fantastic job in making him a fleshed out and likeable character, even if he did only have about five minutes to do so.
At least Winston didn't live long enough to see the god-awful reboot in 2017. That's a fate a thousand times worse than quicksand.