Top 10: Showdowns #1

Last Updated on July 27, 2021

Every time I read about the
greatest film scenes in cinematic history, I always notice how many of the lists
totally ignore the horror genre. (Except for the bloody showdown at House of
Blue Leaves in Kill Bill. Most lists usually note that gem.)

Tons of horror films are
full of memorable fight scenes that are hardly ever recognized by anyone besides
horror geeks like you and I. Some of my key choices on this list are obscure,
some of them are well known, and some are even goofy as hell, but they all
deserve a little recognition.

Although I know there are
tons of choices to pick, here is my personal list of showdowns that will be
forever embedded in my memory. *Spit Bullets below for your own suggestions.

WARNING – SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!

10.
Texas Ranger Lefty Enright vs Leatherface-The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2

Seeking revenge for his nephew’s death, “Lefty”(Dennis
Hopper) confronts Leatherface in a showdown in the family’s lair that is not to
be missed. Dennis Hopper’s outrageous over acting is gold, and seeing him wield
that chainsaw with a crazed look on his face that makes even Leatherface look
sane, is priceless.

9.
The Girls Vs the Crawlers-The Descent

As a woman, watching the scene where Sarah and Juno
briefly join forces to take out the crawlers at the end felt very empowering.
I cheered for every blow, stab, and kill these girls managed to get against the
flesh-eating creatures. I commend writer/director Neil Marshall for making a
horror film with more than just ONE powerful woman in it.

8. Zombie
Vs Shark-Zombi

I was going to put
down the infamous showdown between the three men and Bruce the shark in Jaws,
but then I realized there was even a more notable “shark attack” fight scene I
should mention. If you haven’t seen Fulci’s Zombi 2, please do if only
to see a zombie battling a great white shark underwater. The zombie even manages
to get a few bites in, before the shark gets fed up and ends up biting his hand
off. It is definitely a scene you will never forget.

7.
Father McGruder vs Zombies-Braindead

I had recently shown
this very gory Rom Zom Com to my close friends, and they all agreed the scene
where Father “ I kick ass for the lord” McGruder uses kung-fu to defeat the
undead was by far the trippiest and funniest scene they have ever seen in their
lives. (Yes, I was evil and made them watch this Peter Jackson cult classic for
the first time WASTED!) The fight scene to me was genius, for it made you feel
bad when the priest who had popped out of nowhere eventually gets defeated by
the zombies at the end of the scene.

6. The
Warden’s severed penis vs. Zombie rat-Beyond Re-Animator

If you’re having a
real bad day, all you simply need to do is get the Beyond Re-Animator DVD
and fast forward until the end credits. There you will be able to witness a
severed penis and a zombie rat fighting to the death, kung-fu style. (I’m sure
there is a small group of you that have the DVD that are looking for it now as
you read this!) If that doesn’t cheer up, then nothing will!

PART 2 OF THIS LIST IS COMING SOON!