Top 10 Most Gruesome Movie Deaths of All Time

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

Death is no laughing matter, unless a filmmaker wants it to be. Killing a character can either be a grave and serious moment or it could be absolutely insanely violent and over the top. Or, it could just be fricking hilarious. In the course of film history, death scenes have been one of the most lingering moments from numerous films. Here is our ranking of the ten most gruesome movie death scenes. Some are more grotesque than others, but these are all definitely ways you would never want to go in real life. If we missed a death scene you feel deserves to have made this list, let us know in the talk backs below.

#1 – CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD

Another Lucio Fulci cult classic, this film features a rotting baby corpse, a dead priest, and a death by drill to the temple. But, that is not the worst kill. The worst death features two lusty young people who spot the spectre of the dead clergyman. Under his demonic gaze, the girl’s eyes drip blood and she then proceeds to vomit all of her internal organs. Then, and only then, does the boyfriend die by having the back of his skull squashed like a banana. This is the worst death I have ever seen.

#2 – ROBOCOP

Paul McCrane’s character of Emil may be the most unfortunate son of a bitch ever to grace a feature film. Trying to take down Alex Murphy, Emil crashes into toxic waste. As the sludge seeps into his body, Emil begins to transform into a puddle of deformity as he slowly searches for someone to put him out of his misery. It is then that he gets slammed into and turned into a chutney of blood and guts. Brutal.

#3 – LIVE AND LET DIE

James Bond films have always had elaborate death scenes, but LIVE AND LET DIE is the only one that includes sharks and an inflated Yaphet Kotto exploding when his gas-filled body hits a stalagtite. Yeah, I shit you not. If you are someone who suffers from any sort of gas, this could be your most horrific nightmare.

#4 – A SERBIAN FILM

I will not go into detail with the brutal and horrific death scenes in this film and you should probably avoid it altogether. As bad as some of these deaths are, the worst kill has to be the guy who gets a dick through the eye socket. Yeah, you read that right. What a way to go.

#5 – TOTAL RECALL

Get your ass to Mars. Or, on second thought, maybe you should stay on Earth where there is glorious oxygen. You don’t want your eyeballs popping out of your head if you accidently step outside of a habitable zone, do you? It looks kind of silly almost three decades later, but I still feel short of breath seeing Cohagen choke to death.

#6 – ZOMBIE

Italians sure know how to make horror films. In director Lucio Fulci’s best work, a pseudo-sequel to DAWN OF THE DEAD, there is a zombie versus shark scene, but that is not the worst kill. The worst is the above video of a woman’s head being slowly pulled towards a splinter of wood. Why a zombie would bother doing this doesn’t make logical sense, but why the hell are we looking for logic in a zombie movie?

#7 – ALIEN

This scene was so upsetting, it caught the cast in the shot off guard. Audiences have long been affected by this scene. Poor John Hurt…the guy had an alien face-f*cking him and as soon as he is free, the baby it laid down his throat comes bursting out of his chest. That is a terrible way to go.

#8 – RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Fortune and glory, kid. How would you like to search for the ultimate power and the moment you make eye contact with it, your face melts off? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

#9 – AMERICAN HISTORY X

Almost 20 years after it was released, this is still a profoundly disturbing film. There are countless gut-wrenching moments in this movie, but the infamous “bite the curb” scene is still beyond brutal. You feel the intensity coming off of Edward Norton like a heat and cannot help but cringe as he raises his boot for the kill.

#10 – DEADLY FRIEND

Wes Craven’s cult classic may be the only film I can think of that features someone’s head being smashed like a watermelon. It is also the only film I can think of where the murder weapon is a basketball. Either way, this is a pretty f*cked up way to die. The spastic corpse spewing blood after the fact just adds to the mess.

Honorable Mention – KARATECI KIZ

Many of you have likely stumbled across different edits of the above video from the 1973 Turkish film, KARATECI KIZ. Above you will find the original version from the film without the added slow motion and screaming. I cannot tell if it is better or worse, but it is one hell of a scene.

Source: JoBlo.com

About the Author

6017 Articles Published

Alex Maidy has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. A Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of Chicago Indie Critics, Alex has been JoBlo.com's primary TV critic and ran columns including Top Ten and The UnPopular Opinion. When not riling up fans with his hot takes, Alex is an avid reader and aspiring novelist.