I 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!
1. Drew Barrymore – Scream
Drew Barrymore had been offered to play the lead heroine, Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise, but decided to make the brave decision in turning down the lead role to play the doomed teenager, Casey Becker in the film’s prologue instead. By making this decision, the film’s opening sequence has become one of the most unforgettable and scariest scenes ever shown in a main stream horror film. Although, the scene and premise has been copied over the years with other successful actors dying in the first ten minutes in horror films, none have ever been quite as memorable as Drew Barrymore’s death scene in Scream.
2. Samuel L. Jackson – Deep Blue Sea
I’ll never forget the moment when I saw Samuel L. Jackson get eaten by a shark on screen. Everyone in the theatre (including the men) had yelled, screamed out, and jumped in their seats. I kept wondering to myself why there was such an extreme close up on his face during his “survival” speech. By far one of the most effective and scariest jumpers I had to endure.
3. Sigourney Weaver – Alien 3
When I watched Alien 3 for the first time, I was shocked from learning that all the previous survivors (Bishop, Hicks, Newt) from James Cameron’s Aliens, were all killed in the crash from their escape pod. (Except for Ripley of course) However, my jaw didn’t drop until it was revealed that Ripley has been impregnated by one of the aliens, which led her to committing suicide at the end to kill the alien inside of her. I always hated how the filmmakers made the bold decision to kill her off, which is probably why Alien: Resurrection is one of my guilty pleasures. (Sure, it’s a Ripley clone, but Sigourney Weaver still kicks some serious ass!)
4. Steven Seagal – Executive Decision
I hardly remember anything from this thriller, but what I do remember is watching the scene where Steven Seagal ended up dying in the aircraft that fell apart in the sky in the first ten minutes of the film. I’ll never forget that day. Everyone in my family had yelled, “Holy Sh*t!” in unison. We were all really pissed too, because we thought we were all watching a “Steven Seagal” movie.
5. Jamie Lee Curtis – Halloween 8
Any true Halloween fan went into this sequel, knowing the fate of Laurie Strode. (Jamie Lee Curtis) I went in knowing and hoping it wasn’t true. When Michael Myers ended up killing Laurie, I still was stunned. It astonished me as to how the series ended up killing off an iconic heroine in the horror genre in the first ten minutes of a movie that’s most known for Busta Rhymes ninja kicking Michael Myers in the head. She deserved more than that.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.)
