Top 10 Most Gruesome And Iconic Deaths In Film

We have scoured the murky world of cinematic deaths to bring you a top 10 list of the most memorable deaths in film.

By Guest Writer /

To celebrate the release of Kill Keith on DVD on 26th March we have scoured the murky world of cinematic deaths to bring you a top 10 list of the most memorable deaths in film; be they gruesome, iconic, or downright ridiculous€

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10) Ashley and Ashlyn €“ Final Destination 3 We all know the risks of sun bedding; leathery skin and terminal illness, but when Death has a score to settle neither of these should be of great concern. In the wake of a catastrophic rollercoaster accident and lucky to be alive, Ashley and Ashlyn of Final Destination 3 take an ill-advised trip to the tanning salon. Inevitable incineration ensues; Death 1 €“ Tanorexics 0. 9) Wicked Witch of the West €“ Wizard of Oz Begging the question €œhow far will a woman go to get her hands on a new pair of shoes?€, the Wicked Witch of the West defies all expectations in her quest for Dorothy€™s rosy red duds. Thwarted at the last by a well-placed pale of water, the dying screams of €œI€™m melting!€ are the roots of many a childhood nightmare. 8) Philip €“ Nightmare on Elm Street 3 Choosing just one of the enumerable deaths from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is a tall order but we€™ll stick our necks out and name the death of Philip in film 3 as its denouement. Strung up like a marionette by his own tendons, Phillip is walked to the edge of the roof of the psychiatric hospital at which he is a patient. Once on the roof, Phillip€™s €œstrings€ are cut and he€™s left to plummet to his death. Gruesome but effective. 7) Scanners We like exploding heads as much as the next guy, and no film pulls off the spectacular gore of a head explosion quite like Scanners. Accomplished by filling a latex head with dog food and rabbit livers, and shooting it from behind with a 12-gauge shotgun, the illusion of skull bone and brain matter spraying out at 360°is mesmerizing. Anybody for a 2012 re-release in 3D? 6) Joe Pasquale €“ Kill Keith Much maligned in recent years, Joe Pasquale probably didn€™t foresee his comic comeback as a bolshie, monkey suited self-parody. Fresh from the set of a breakfast cereal advert, Pasquale meets his maker when an unknown assassin places a box of the very cereal Joe is advertising over his head, twisting, allowing the hidden razor blades do their damage. The irony is delicious! 5) Marion Crane €“ Psycho If there ever was a more iconic death in cinema we challenge you to show us. Constantly parodied in pop-culture, the murder of Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock€™s 1960 €˜Psycho€™ is indisputably one of the most recognizable moments ever committed to film. 4) Nazis €“ Raiders of the Lost Ark Nobody likes a Nazi, especially not a Nazi (or two) hell bent on stealing the Ark of the Covenant. Such a shame then that the Nazis of Raiders of the Lost Arc, consumed by a burning greed for biblical artifacts, failed to read the supernatural small print. It€™s hard to enjoy holy relics when spiritual demons are stripping your face of its flesh. 3) Donald Gennaro €“ Jurassic Park Never turn down the opportunity to use a toilet €“ €œyou never know when you€™ll see the next one€ €“ more often than not this is a rule to live by. Unless, of course, you€™re Donald Gennaro, in which case the toilet is the last place you want to be. Death in a port-a-loo may not be the most glamorous way to go, but becoming a tyrannosaurus€™s entrée is cinematic gold. 2) Chrissie Watkins €“ Jaws Have you ever thought how much more fun life would be if you had a personal soundtrack? Something jolly for a sunny day? Something melancholy for when you€™re feeling blue? John Williams€™ score for Jaws when a man-eating shark is on the loose? We€™re betting Chrissie Watkins wishes she did. 1) Kane €“ Alien Somebody should have warned John Hurt et al not to count their chickens before they€™d hatched. Having made a remarkable recovery after a parasitic alien attached itself to his face, Kane (John Hurt) and the rest of the Nostromo crew breathed a sigh of relief only to have that relief shattered quicker that you can say €œjack-in-the-box€ when the aforementioned aliens offspring explodes through Kane€™s chest. Lethal and messy.

Kill Keith is out on DVD on the 26th March 2012