10 Off-Screen Horror Movie Deaths That Will Haunt You Forever
These deaths are even more harrowing because they exist entirely within the imagination.
Some of the scariest moments in horror movie history have come not from what's been shown on screen, but rather what has happened away from the camera's all-seeing eye.
The human imagination is an incredibly powerful thing, as anyone who has ever had a sleepless night will know, and it can come up with scenarios far more disturbing than any director ever could. This trait of the mind has been weaponised by Hollywood countless times, especially when it comes to characters meeting a sticky end.
It's one thing to watch somebody get beheaded or ripped to pieces, but it's another thing entirely to have their fate left unknown. That way, filmmakers don't actually need to come up with a big kill - they can just leave it in the hands of their viewers and their own twisted brains.
This technique isn't the easiest to pull off, as you've got to actually create a level of danger and intrigue around the off-screen death, but the following ten movies all got the job done with aplomb.
Will these character's true deaths ever been revealed? Probably not, and that's probably a good thing.
10. Bobby Joe - Evil Dead II
Evil Dead II is a strange one, as it is both a sequel and a sort-of remake of Sam Raimi’s original deadite-stomping adventure.
Released in 1987, Bruce Campbell returns as Ash Williams alongside a brand new cast of characters, all of whom end up in grave dangers because of that damned Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Will somebody please just get rid of that thing?
Along for the ride are dimwitted repairman Jake and his girlfriend Bobby Joe, neither of whom survive the night. Bobby Joe is the first to go, but at least she holds the distinction of having the movie’s most unique death.
Whilst out in the forest near the cabin in which the heroes are staying, Bobby Joe is hemmed in on all sides by a clutch of possessed trees. The frightening fauna ensnare the poor woman with their branches, before dragging her through the undergrowth at a rapid pace. She then disappears underground, never to be seen again.
The worst part about Bobby Joe’s death is that nobody knows what happened to her. Did she suffocate? Was she impaled on a large root? Did the branches reach inside and pull her apart? Regardless, it was definitely nasty.