10 Horror Movies That Killed EVERY Main Character

Death eludes no one in these brutal, brilliant horror offerings.

by Andrew Pollard
Unfriended Movie
Blumhouse Productions

In a broad sense, the vast majority of horror films end up with at least one survivor making it out alive. Sure, sometimes said survivor may be quickly dispatched in a sequel, but they can at least chalk up one W over whichever threat of the day has raised its head.

On the other hand of the equation, though, there are those films where the Grim Reaper comes calling for each and every central protagonist on offer - and sometimes, Death will even collect the villain of the piece, too.

It's on these 'everybody dies' efforts that the attention is on here, with the spotlight shining on movies that chose to kill off the entirety of their main cast.

Before things get going, there's a special shout-out to Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead and its stark final minute or two where it seems likely that everybody died; an ending that is left up to interpretation.

Likewise, there's a special mention for Zak Hilditch's phenomenal These Final Hours, which is one of the most beautiful, poignant 'end of the world' movies of recent years, but just falls more into thriller territory than all-out horror.

With that in mind, let's get to the carnage.

10. The Return Of The Living Dead

Unfriended Movie
Orion Pictures

Once writer John Russo and director George A. Romero parted ways following Night of the Living Dead, it was Russo who retained the legal rights to the 'Living Dead' name. And thus, while George went off to do Dawn of the Dead, Russo would eventually bring in Dan O'Bannon to helm 1985's The Return of the Living Dead.

Realistically, The Return of the Living Dead has an utterly hopeless, depressing ending. The thing is, the film's unique brand of humour and satire means that one almost has a feeling that this film couldn't have ended any other way.

That ending, of course, sees the decision made to nuke the area where the majority of Return of the Living Dead takes place, killing any and all characters in the process. Even if anyone happened to somehow survive the nuclear assault, the ensuing acid rain that followed this bomb would make sure to finish off the job.

While audiences spent time getting attached to Burt, Tina, Ernie and even 'Tarman', that is all for naught as these characters are all killed off with a literal bang.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.