8 Horror Movies Where Only One Person Dies

1. Audition

Happy Death Day 2u
Vitagraph Film

There's no way around it, Audition is one f***ed up film. A brilliant, terrifying film, but a f***ed up one nonetheless.

From the legendary Takashi Miike - itself based on a 1997 novel by Ryu Murakami - this 1999 movie manages to be a thing of beauty and gentle nuance for so much of its run time, which in turn makes the moments of wince-inducing torture all the more impactful and powerful.

Just thinking of certain Audition scenes brings a tear to the eye, let alone going back to rewatch the film. But even though it doesn't quite seem possible, Audition is a picture that only actually features the death of one person.

Sure, we see several limbs removed, several fingers severed, some poor sap forced to eat vomit, and there's an implication that one or more people may have been killed before the events of the movie, but the only person to actually be killed off in Audition is Eihi Shiina's Asami Yamazaki - the one and the same person who is responsible for the plentiful heinous acts seen throughout the film.

The demise of Asami comes when Shigehiko - the son of the man she's in the midst of torturing - kicks Asami down some stairs, which results in her breaking her neck.

Watch Next


Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.