10 Worst Accidental Deaths In Horror Movies

9. Paul & Jessica Carter - The Descent

Hereditary Charlie Dead
Warner Bros.

Neil Marshall's grisly horror The Descent begins as it means to go on, opening with a brutal car accident sequence which leaves our protagonist, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald), its only survivor.

Sarah is on the way home from a trip with her husband and daughter, but disaster strikes when her husband momentarily takes his eyes off the road and collides with an oncoming van.

The impact launches a series of metal poles from the van through the family's windshield, immediately impaling both Sarah's husband and daughter to death.

Though we thankfully don't see the daughter's demise, Marshall spares no detail on the hubby, whose skull is categorically destroyed by the force of the pole, splattering blood all over the car's interior.

While the pole-related physics aren't terribly realistic - it feels a bit Final Destination, really - the notion that anyone can die from a fleeting distraction while on the road is crushingly, hauntingly real, and perfectly informs Sarah's arc throughout the rest of the movie.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.