20 Best Horror Movie Kills of 2025

The horror movie kills from 2020 you won't ever forget.

VHS Halloween
Shudder

The overwhelming majority of horror movies, obviously, contain their fair share of death, because that's a big part of what makes horror one of cinema's most lucrative genres. But it's certainly tough to make those deaths stand out in a time where horror fans probably feel like they've pretty much seen it all.

However, creative filmmakers nevertheless continue to surprise with the inventive, unexpected, hilarious, and perhaps just downright WTF death scenes they manage to cook up. And in recent times, the following 20 horror movies served us the most memorable, gory, outrageous, and unforgettable deaths - enough that we'll surely still be talking about them years from now.

These death scenes wowed us all for so many reasons; perhaps they delivered a satisfying, deservedly gnarly end for a horrific villain, saw the human body get dismantled in a way we'd never seen on screen before, or even sent a character packing in surprisingly emotional fashion.

Whatever the reason, these death scenes will be tough to top in 2026, but of course, we sure expect horror filmmakers to give it their best effort regardless.

20. Josh - Companion

VHS Halloween
Warner Bros.

Companion does the audience the courtesy of revealing upfront that its male lead Josh (Jack Quaid) is going to be killed by his companion robot Iris (Sophie Thatcher) by the film's end, but we just don't know how. The fateful scene in question is sure as hell worth the wait, though.

Attentive viewers probably noticed that director Drew Hancock lingers on an electric corkscrew a few times throughout the film, damn-near guaranteeing that it's going to be used as a weapon at some point. And indeed, during Iris' final fight with the scheming Josh, she grabs the corkscrew, places it at Josh's temple, and activates it, causing a hole to be bored through his skull, killing him in satisfyingly gnarly fashion.

Yes, it could be seen coming a mile off, but the phrase "give the people what they want" exists for a reason. Sometimes the right call is blindingly obvious precisely because it's the right call.

 
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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.