10 More Body Horror Fates Worse Than Death

1. Freaks - Turned Into A Human Duck

Color Out of Space
MGM

From director Tod Browning, 1932's Freaks is a movie that was utterly slated upon its initial release, but has gone on to become viewed far more fondly in the decades since said release.

Based around trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) joining a carnival sideshow as part of a plan to con fellow performer Hans (Harry Earles) out of his inheritance, Freaks ends extremely badly for Cleopatra.

Having wooed and seduced Hans, Baclanova's character lets her real intentions be known at the pair's wedding celebrations. And with that, a plan of revenge is put in motion by Hans and the rest of the carnival crew who had been mocked by Cleopatra and her real lover Hercules (Henry Victor).

That revenge culminates with Cleopatra being tortured and turned into what's dubbed a "human duck" - with her tongue removed, an eye pulled out, her hands melted, her legs cut off, and her upper body tarred and feathered.

It's a brutal fate for Cleopatra, but it's hard to argue that it isn't a fate that she absolutely deserved. The moral of the story here is simple: don't be an underhand d*ckhead.

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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.