was watching Children of Men the other day, and was completely taken
aback when a recognizable A-list star got killed early on in the movie. It got
me thinking about other surprising death scenes. (Especially within the genre I
love.)
In a horror and suspense
film, if a well-known actor/actress is in it, the audience basically assumes
that person will make it to the end, regardless if they break any survival
rules. (Unless they have the words, “with” or “and” in front of their names in
the opening credits. Then we know they’re screwed!)
Although, some scary movies
make surprising turns and kill off the most known star in the movie, no matter
if they were the lead or not. These kills are usually always done for shock
value and are met with sudden and startling reactions from the audience. Here is
my top ten of celebrity death scenes that definitely startled me. (Regardless of
the fact if I should have seen some of them coming.)
WARNING – SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!
10.
Jonathan Jackson – Venom
Alright, so Jonathan Jackson
may only be considered a celebrity in the “Hollywood Squares” or “Surreal life”
kind of way, but he was the biggest name (aside from Method Man’s cameo) in this
poorly marketed, yet solid voodoo slasher. If you’re a fan of slashers, you
basically know the major “survivor” groups. Most slashers have the lone female
survivor, others have the lead and sidekick survivors, but this film was taking
the “couple survivors” approach. Although, the film made a surprising turn when
Eric (Jonathan Jackson) ended up getting a screwdriver in his head to save his
girlfriend from Mr. Jangles. It was pretty unexpecting. I hope it got the same
reaction from the other viewers. (All three of you.)
9.
Lance Henriksen – Abominable
I really
enjoyed this campy Bigfoot movie, but the reason why I wanted to watch it so
bad in the first place was because I had heard Lance Henriksen was one of
the stars of the film. I realized his role was really a cameo, for the yeti
eats the man six minutes after he shows up in the film. ( I hate it when the
DVD cover makes stars look like they have bigger roles!) Although, I have
to admit, his scene is the most memorable scene in the film. Go check it out
if you haven’t already.
8. Sarah
Michelle Gellar – The Grudge 2
I feel so silly putting this
one on my list, because I really should have seen this one coming. The woman
dies in every horror film she appears in, I really should have not been so
surprised, but I was. I had watched this sequel, without reading anything
about it and without watching any trailers. (Which I still don’t know how I
managed to do, considering I work for this site.) While watching the film, I had
thought since she hadn’t died within the first ten minutes, she wasn’t going to
and then SPLAT! Buffy bites it again…and this time I actually jumped.
7.
Christian Slater – Mindhunters
So, Christian Slater may not be
the biggest celebrity anymore, and the word “with” was in front of his name in
the opening credits, (which basically sealed his fate right there.) but I had no
idea he would be the first one out of the doomed FBI profilers to get killed. I
don’t want to give the unforgettable death scene away, but needless to say, it
will be “frozen” into your memory when you see it.
6. Robert
De Niro – 15 Minutes
While I was
watching the first half of this movie, I kept thinking it was surpassing my
expectations, then half way through, the film made a shocking turn and
completely lost me. The psychopaths Karl and Oleg end up killing Robert De Niro
by stabbing him to death. There are very few movies where you are able to kill
off the star, and get away with it….15 Minutes is not one of them.
PART 2 OF THIS LIST IS COMING SOON!