9 Devastating Horror Movie Deaths You Couldn't Look Away From
You hate to see, but you can't look away.
What makes a death in a movie devastating to the audience? Is it the fact that they are emotional and sacrificial? Is it that they must all be a blaze of glory? Is it a case where they must only affect the innocent? Yes and no, all of the above and so much more.
Death in film has long been a staple of raising the stakes for some characters, or paying the debts of others. The entire idea of a final girl/guy rises from the fact that, in horror especially, death is often essential for having any kind of drama or tension at all. Going into a horror film, the audience expects to see someone bite the bullet - so how does the filmmaker still manage to land a win?
Characters. It is in characters that the audience invest, and if the character is strong enough on their own, then their deaths will affect the audience so much more. Though some of the faces on this list did not last long in their films, they made a real impact with the time that they had available.
9. Saw 3 - Alison Kerry
This one is just mean. Shawnee Smith's Amanda Young, the apprentice to John Kramer's Jigsaw, invents a new style of trap that, despite the best efforts of the victims to escape, proves to be a death sentence no matter the actions of the person inside.
Sadly, it is Dina Meyer's Alison Kerry who falls victim to the Angel Trap - one of the most horrific to appear in the Saw series. With the arms of the trap bolted into her ribcage, she sees a timer counting down. Although it is not stated exactly what will happen, anyone familiar with Jigsaw's methods knows that she needs to move, fast.
The key to salvation is in a jar in front of her. However, that jar is full of acid. So, to escape, she reckons that she needs to simply grab the key, take the pain and survive. The crushing moment comes as Alison gets the courage to plunge her hand in, grab the key and slam it into the lock. And nothing happens.
She was a likable character, empathetic, and to see her ripped open like this was... well, murders in these kinds of films are rarely fair, but this one really seems EXTRA unfair!