8 Films That Killed The Main Character Early

Sometimes, film gets a little too predictable. We know exactly what we’re getting when it comes to Hollywood blockbusters and their army of A listers ready to save the day, offering up two solid hours of heroic feats and death defying stunts. Doesn’t it ever make you wonder what would happen if they didn’t make it?

Cue a bunch of films that deviate from the norm and throw caution to the wind, killing off their money makers and crowd pleasers before we’re even an hour in to the good stuff. Celebrating directors that shoot their marketing departments in the foot and subvert our expectations, here are some of the most shocking films that bin their protagonist off before the halfway mark.

Obviously there will be some spoilers. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

There’re a few pretty famous examples on this list, but Psycho has to be the most well known of them all. With Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) getting stabbed to death in the shower halfway through the film, we’re forced to veer sharply from a runaway movie into a murder mystery, famed for its incredible twist.

Hitchcock was never afraid to break convention, and actively sought to do so. Murdering his protagonist 47 minutes in was a pretty impressive way to keep things fresh for the era.