10 Shocking Movie Character Deaths That Came Out Of Nowhere

Of all the film genres to end up on this list, anyone could guess that supernatural horror and violent gangster thrillers would make an appearance. Gritty sixties counterculture films and dark political satires are a little less likely, but it’s not unheard of to see a sudden death crop up in such distinctly bleak and adult environs. A romantic drama, though?

Adapted from David Nichol’s novel of the same name, the Anne Hathaway/ Jim Sturgess starring 2009 drama One Day is a light-hearted romance for the first half of its screen time, mixing a somewhat generic meet cute with some agreeable chemistry to make for a relatively appealing love story.

Then the future Catwoman pops out on her bike to pick up some errands, wheels her way through town—and gets flattened by a truck.

The death is so unexpectedly and gasp/ laugh-inducingly brutal that it beat out a similar sudden shock in 1998’s Brad Pitt vehicle Meet Joe Black for a spot on this list, mainly because One Day’s vicious demise comes halfway through the story, upending audience expectations entirely.