10 Shocking Movie Deaths That Came Out Of Nowhere

3. Drew Barrymore - Scream

Many viewers went into Wes Craven's superb horror satire Scream unaware quite how far the director was going to take his skewering of genre conventions, such that when Drew Barrymore showed up in the opening scene of the film, most assumed that she was safe, and probably just her no-namer boyfriend would end up with his entrails hanging out. This is the first and best way in which the film defies the prescribed method, for a name actress like Barrymore never dies in the first 10 minutes of the film, especially when the marketing clearly implied that she was one of the main characters. Instead, the actress's character winds up strung from a tree before the title card even reads out, creating a brilliant atmosphere of unpredictability that carries through right to the final act.