10 Horror Movie Characters You Thought Were Dead For Sure
4. Joey Pantucci - Deep Rising
Cult fave monster movie Deep Rising seemingly makes the frustrating decision to give comic relief character Joey Pantucci (Kevin J. O'Connor) an off-screen death.
Near the very end of the film, protagonist John Finnegan (Treat Williams) returns to his boat to plan an escape from the monster-infested cruise ship with Joey, only to find the boat's windshield smashed, the control panel covered with monster goo, and no sign of Joey. Except for his hat, that is.
The moment is played straight, with Joey's apparent demise giving Finnegan the resolve to mount a final escape from the monster.
Finnegan succeeds in getting to shore with fellow survivor Trillian St. James (Famke Janssen), and given that both the cruise liner and Finnegan's ship get blown up during their escape, it doesn't seem possible that Joey could've survived.
But once Finnegan and Trillian get back to shore, they see Joey paddling towards them on a piece of the ship's debris, somehow having avoided being obliterated by the colossal explosion. It doesn't make a lick of sense, but we're glad he made it.