There are a ton of bloody films out there, some of them more fun than others. Many of them were clearly made for gore hounds, and some come from pretty surprising places. Of course, the goriest films ever made change all the time as new movies keep aiming at beating that record, so every year, this could be a whole new list. These are a few of our favorite films with the highest amount of fake blood used during production:
This horror comedy from Peter Jackson is a longtime favorite for many horror fans for the sheer amount of blood, gore, and practical effects seen throughout the film. The ear falling into a bowl of soup may be the grossest scene in the film, it’s definitely not the bloodiest by far. One of the most famous gore sequences in horror cinema comes from this film is the one where lead Lionel, played by Timothy Balme, is facing a horde of zombies (or infected), that just keep on coming, forcing him to use whatever he can to dispatch them as fast as he can. In this moment, he gets his trusty lawnmower and just decimates the horde of zombies with blood and limbs flying in every direction. Three hundred gallons of fake blood are said to have been used in the final scene of the film alone. And to think, this was all caused by a little Sumatran Rat Monkey.
A love budget, independent production that beat all odds and became a box office success with only a few screens and word of mouth to get tickets sold, Terrifier 2 started off wanting to be one of the goriest, bloodiest films ever made. Some absolutely love it and others just hate it, there’s seems to be no middle when it comes of the adventures of supernatural serial killer Art the Clown. In this sequel, Art had to up his bloodshed and thus he causes all kinds of mayhem and murder, leading to a film where you can see everything from a cat o’nine tails used on two people, mashed potatoes used in a whole new way, a very particular birth sequence, to more death and mayhem than the first film could ever have dared. The amount of blood and gore here lead the film to earning torture porn accusations and a boundary-pushing NC-17 rating.
Director Alexandre Aja has never shied away from using blood and gore in his movies. This should be obvious to anyone having seen his entry in the “New French Extreme” genre, High Tension. With his 3rd US remake, after The Hills Have Eyes in 2006 and Mirrors in 2008, he got around to truly letting loose with Piranha 3D in 2010. The film here is all about boobs, blood, and kills. The titular fishes do the carnage here, and there is so much they ran out of actors to kill off on screen. For example, actress Devanny Pinn was killed twice for the cameras here, making it a bit of a game to find both of her on-screen deaths in this film. So many die in this spring break set film, it became hard to top for the sequel, and with so many spectacular deaths and mutilations, some of them are bound to be remembered for a long time (erh, Jerry O’Connell). This film uses a ton of blood and mixes it with water, making it look even more impressive, adding to the pantheon of bloody films with just a few truly killer sequences.
Now, you didn’t think we’d skip Asian horror completely, did you? Asian horror, Japanese horror in particular, has a ton of entries where the blood flows freely and impressively. Tokyo Gore Police is an obvious choice to pick for blood and gore given its title. Also, a quick look at its trailer will sell anyone who loves to watch insane bloodshed into ordering it asap. The film has some of the most insane set-ups in terms of characters having body modifications and the blood shed by some of them is just beautifully insane in quantity. The film was shot in just two weeks and the total amount of fake blood used is not clear, but it definitely was a whole lot. This is one of those over-the-top films in just about any aspect and it appeals only to a very specific audience, but for those folks, it’s a beauty of a sight to behold. Director Yoshihiro Nishimura is better known as a makeup effects artist with films such as Meatball Machine Kodoku, Mutant Girl Squad, and the Tomie series. His work is always gooey, juicy, and gory, so his name attached to this can only be a good omen for those who have yet to see the film.
The Sam Raimi original and its sequel were bloody affairs and weren’t afraid to put an excessive amount of blood on the screen for fans to enjoy. So, the remake had to put some blood into the proceedings, right? Right! The Evil Dead remake from 2013 did not just play around with the story and adapt it for a new generation, it also kept a few things from the original that just makes horror fans happy. Ok, not all fans were happy with this remake, but enough of them were for it to be considered a hit. That being said, one of the things that the film did more than right is the amount of fake blood it used. Director Fede Alvarez has said in interviews that 50,000 gallons of fake blood were used to get the effects for the ending, other reports have the total amount of fake blood used at 70,000 gallons for the whole film. Compared with the original which had about 300 gallons used, it’s a ton, or a few tons, more. Adding to that, the film was mostly, about 95%, shot in order so that the blood sprayed on the walls, props, and actors could remain and help with continuity by avoiding having to re-spray the same places later or go back and adjust blood on previously shot scenes.
What will the future bring in terms of new blood records for films? Will the 70,000 gallons of the Evil Dead remake ever be beaten? Will films be made just to show us more blood? Let’s hope we get to see plenty of good stories mixed in all that red stuff as we see more entries into the goriest films of all time list.
Let us know your goriest film favorites in the comments below! Do you think any Eli Roth or Herschell Gordon Lewis films should have made the cut?