8 Most Iconic Slasher Movie Death Scenes

6. Nightmare On Elm Street - Dancing On The Ceiling

Most slasher films tend to be fairly realist. I.E. the killer is at least hypothetically human; Zombie Jason Voorhess and Voodoo Michael Myers notwithstanding. Nightmare On Elm Street is different in that the killer already begins as a mystical entity; a serial killer brought back from the dead to seek revenge on his murderers' children. This is great for a franchise because it means his methods and defeats can vary based on writers's whims. On the downside, it can also rob death scenes of human weight: people aren't usually eaten by giant human-faced worms, after all. The first film struck a perfect balance between fantasy and reality, portraying Freddy's murders with enough practical effects to make them disturbingly uncanny. The best example of this is the infamous ceiling murder. While his girlfriend's dreams are invaded by Freddy, the boyfriend wakes up to her screaming while being eviscerated by an unseen force. As if that wasn't bad enough, she then lifts off the bed and rolls around on the walls and ceiling while being attacked as he cowers helplessly. Keep in mind that this all done in a continuous shot. Rather than showcasing an outlandish in-dream death- as later films do- her death happens incomprehensibly in real life. Seeing the inhuman nature of Freddy from her boyfriend's perspective puts us in awe of this fantastic yet horrifying moment.