1. Mark Hoffman - Saw VII (2010)
When you feel the need to ram the word 3D into a title you know a franchise has probably reached its peak. After a multitude of deaths and six years, the 'Saw' franchise limped one legged into a clunking finale. The irony in itself is that in every 'Saw' film the deaths are better than the actual film. When you look at films V-VII this becomes evidently apparent and the directors seem to give up on dialogue all together. You could write a whole article on which deaths are the most iconic, but for the purpose of this article it has to be the final demise of franchise bad guy Dt. Mark Hoffman. Since 'Saw III' we have watched Hoffman take the reins as serial killer Jigsaw's legacy, carrying on Jigsaw's work prior to his death in the third film. Hoffman survived suspicions of FBI agent Peter Strahm, killed his superiors in 'Saw VI' and went on to kill Jigsaw's wife in 'Saw VII'. It seemed that Hoffman was unstoppable until the reappearance of the infamous Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes)...but wait, he died in 'Saw', right??? The closing sequence sees Gordon lock Hoffman in the original bathroom setting, a cornerstone of any 'Saw' film. Hoffman reaches for a saw to chop off his leg, Gordon looks at his own emaciated leg which he lost off in 'Saw', with a sly smirk he simply replies "I don't think so." Horror cheesiness at it's very best! The return of Dr. Gordon is a massive middle finger to the audience, but one that you all secretly knew was coming. His cameo and brief appearances throughout the film logically lead to the conclusion that Gordon was always Jigsaw's true apprentice. Congratulations Lionsgate for creating a plot we all saw six year ago. The only reason Elwes wasn't in more of the 'Saw' films was due to a massive row with the production company. He claims he wanted to wait until the last film, but we really know better; the harder it is to get someone back, the bigger the pay check. The problems come thick and fast, 'Saw VII' looks cheap in the make-up department and 3D adds nothing. Characters are forgettable, the traps are predictable and the lack of Tobin Bell's screen time is a massive annoyance. Bell played Jigsaw, the figurehead of the franchise, so it is sad to see the final film to be turned into little more than a Hoffman film used to tie up loose ends. Whilst it is great to have Elwes back he feels like he has been shoehorned in as a lure for die hard 'Saw' fans. Lets be honest,we only really stuck with 'Saw' to see how it ends, cue the inevitable remake circa 2020.
So there it is, 10 films with deaths better than themselves. Sound off in the comments below.