10 WTF Off-Screen Horror Movie Deaths

2. Katie - The Ring (2002)

The Ring Katie
DreamWorks Pictures

The surprisingly great American remake of The Ring just might lay claim to the most disturbing off-screen death scene in any PG-13 horror movie, beginning as it does with the demise of the ill-fated Katie (Amber Tamblyn), who viewed the cursed Ring tape a week prior to the start of the movie.

At the moment that Katie is killed by antagonist Samara (Daveigh Chase), director Gore Verbinski cuts away just as she lets out a scream, and a few scenes later, we're shown a quick glimpse of Katie's nauseatingly disfigured corpse as it's discovered by her soon-to-be-traumatised mother (Lindsay Frost).

The audience is simply left to ponder how the curse made Katie look like this, and crucially, the movie never tips its hand and reveals precisely how Samara does this to her victims, of which Katie sure isn't the last.

That pallid, twisted face is imprinted on the brain of anyone who's seen this movie. Pure, uncut nightmare fuel.

 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

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.