The 20 saddest horror movie deaths

The film The Mist does a very good job of translating the cosmic horror of Stephen King’s novella of the same name, focusing on a group of people in a small town trapped in a supermarket by a sinister fog. As the film unfolds, they manage to survive until, as they flee the town, they come to believe there’s no hope, and they task their leader, David, with killing them all and taking his own life to spare them the horrors unfolding around them. Though he follows through, just before he’s about to take his own life, the American military appears, vanquishing the monsters. The moment lands like a punch to the gut, and it’s an ending that manages to be more horrifying and tragic than the one Stephen King himself created.

An American Werewolf in London remains one of the best werewolf movies ever, and its success rests on its ability to skillfully combine horror, comedy, and even tragedy. Its central character, David Kessler, becomes a werewolf, and though he tries to fight against his lycanthropic nature, he is powerless to stop his transformation. He’s ultimately shot and killed by police, but not before his love interest, the nurse Alex Price tries to reach the human inside him. There’s a brief moment where it seems like there might be hope, but he cannot overcome his bestial nature, and his death marks the conclusion of his tragedy.

Few horror films have had quite the influence and impact of King Kong. Though released in 1933, it continues to be highly regarded. However, as terrifying as Kong is throughout the film, he also repeatedly shows that he has a softer side and that he should have been allowed to stay on his distant island home when all is said and done. When he perishes at the end of the film, it feels like a punch in the gut, particularly since he was taken out of his home against his will. As so often in horror, it’s really humans who are the enemy.

In many ways, Lamb is the quintessential A24 horror film. On an isolated Iceland farm, it follows husband and wife María and Ingvar as they unexpectedly start raising a mysterious child that is part human and part sheep. As the film nears its bizarre conclusion, Ingvar is shot and killed by the child’s father. Given the fact that Ingvar has only ever tried to care for the little one — named Ada — his death seems all the more tragic, even if it does mean that the tiny oddity is finally reunited with the being who was responsible for her birth.

A Quiet Place  remains a well-wrought and thrilling piece of filmmaking, and John Krasinski proves he is a stellar actor and compelling director. As the patriarch of a family trying to survive in a world overrun by monsters that hunt by hearing, he is effortlessly charismatic and compelling. Lee Abbott loves his family deeply, even if his relationship with his daughter is sometimes strained (partly due to her deafness). Ultimately, however, he sacrifices his life so she can live, and his death is one of the most wrenching in the history of the horror movie.

Though A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge might not be the most highly-regarded entry in the franchise, it has one of its most tragic deaths. Fans of the film will remember that poor Jesse Walsh, the protagonist of the film, becomes possessed by Freddy, leading to numerous brutal slayings. However, the one that packs the most emotional punch is Grady, Jesse’s friend. It’s a moment that’s made truly horrific by the fact that Jesse and Grady have managed to forge a friendship despite some initial dislike, and the fact that poor Jesse doesn’t even know he’s doing it is almost too much to bear. 

Though Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining might not have been to author Stephen King’s liking, it has nevertheless come to be regarded as one of the best horror films. Dıck Hallorann, the Overlook Hotel's hotel chef, is undoubtedly one of the film’s heroes, and he even rushes in to try to save Danny, heedless of his safety. Unfortunately, this leads to his own demise when Jack kills him with an ax. This is a particularly devastating death in that it doesn’t happen in the novel, as he manages to survive. At least he died a hero, determined to save those whom he perceived to be in danger.

Shaun of the Dead is the perfect mix of comedy and horror, and much of the film’s success stems from the undeniable chemistry between Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, who are arguably one of the best comedy duos of the 2000s. However, given that this is a zombie movie, there are some pretty tragic deaths, arguably none more so than Barbara, Shaun’s mother. Though she at first tries to hide the fact she’s been bitten, she ultimately becomes one of the undead, and Shaun has to shoot her. It’s heartbreaking and tragic, and it’s a sign that no one can ever be safe, even in a horror comedy.

The Scream franchise has racked up quite a body count, and Rose McGowan’s Tatum Riley is arguably one of the most wrenching and heartbreaking deaths. Rose is an intrinsically likable character, but this isn’t enough to save her when Ghostface decides it’s her time to die. Her method of death is even more heartbreaking than most in the franchise’s history, as she is ultimately crushed to death by a garage door. It seems a particularly ignominious and tragic way to die, considering it might have even been her boyfriend, Stu, who was responsible (though there is some ambiguity about whether Stu or Billy committed specific murders).

Even though Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker only appears briefly in Scream, her death still manages to be quite sad and tragic. Though she does everything she can to try to save her own life from the malevolent Ghostface, in the end, it’s not enough, and she is disemboweled and hung from a tree. Barrymore gives one of the best performances of her career, and it’s hard not to feel her visceral sense of terror at the inevitability of her demise. In the world of Scream, not even being a relatively innocent person is enough to save one from a grisly fate.

Even though there is much to find fault with in Jaws: The Revenge, the film does have the distinction of having one of the most tragic and heartbreaking deaths in the entire franchise. Sean Brody, the son of the hero from the first film, is killed in the beginning by a shark, and though he tries to call out for help, no one can hear him. Given that the audience has already followed him in the first film, it’s truly sad and tragic to see him destroyed by yet another killer shark, particularly given how much his father gave up to fight against just such a beast. 

Though M. Night Shyamalan has made some missteps in his career, his adaptation of the novel Knock at the Cabin is quite good, with a suspenseful pace and stunning performances from Jonathan Groff, Dave Bautista, and Ben Aldridge. Groff and Aldridge play a gay couple who are taken hostage by a group of believers led by Bautista, who believe one of them must die to prevent the apocalypse. Groff’s Eric ultimately sacrifices himself for the good of the world, and while it’s suggested that his doing so does indeed avert catastrophe, it is still a heartbreaking moment to witness. 

Sissy Spacek is perfectly cast in Carrie, the film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Poor Carrie is one of those characters who just can’t get a break, for she has to deal with her abusive and religiously zealous mother and her jeering classmates. Ultimately, she goes mad and kills them all, including her mother, but she also dies in the process. Hers is very much a tragic story of a misunderstood young woman, someone whose extraordinary abilities gave her great power but also ended up being her undoing. 

David Cronenberg is the undisputed master of body horror, and in The Fly, he combined this with a strangely poignant human tragedy. Once Seth Brundle’s experiment goes wrong and he starts to morph into a fly, things go from bad to worse for him. Jeff Goldblum delivers an extraordinary performance, and he manages to bring out the human aspect of the monster. In the end, he has to beg for death, and it is quite wrenching to watch this poor man, who has already given so much of his humanity, see no alternative but to perish. In the horror film, death and despair go hand in hand.

George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead remains one of the most influential zombie films ever made, and it still packs a punch. Admittedly, much of the film is unsettling, with the reanimated ghouls and the group’s attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse. The ending lands like a punch in the gut. Ben, the sole African-American lead, manages to survive the horrors of the night but is unfortunately shot by the posse, which arrives after the worst is over. The sight of his body being burned with the rest adds insult to injury, and it makes the film’s criticism of 1960s America even more potent. 

With Get Out,  Jordan Peele demonstrated that he is one of his generation’s most visionary horror filmmakers. The film is filled with many heartbreaking moments — particularly once it’s revealed that the White family is using the bodies of young African-Americans to prolong their own lives — but arguably the most devastating is Walter. The poor man has had his body stolen by the unscrupulous Armitage family, and, upon recovering at least some control of his body, the first thing he does is take his own life. It’s a truly tragic ending, and it helps to add an exclamation point to Peele’s biting social commentary. 

Even though most of the principals managed to survive the first installment of the Scream franchise, this wasn’t true for the sequel. Most notably, viewers could only gaze in horror as Randy Meeks was abducted by Ghostface and brutally stabbed to death. In killing off a major character, the film ensured viewers knew no one was safe. It casts a very long shadow, and the characters still discuss it in some of the newer films. The fact that Mrs. Loomis killed him because of his dismissive attitude toward Billy makes his demise seem all the more tragic.

Dewey Riley was, for a long time, one of the key players in the Scream  franchise, and much of the character’s popularity stems from the charm of David Arquette. By the time Scream was released in 2022, the character had fallen into bitterness and cynicism, but this is part of what makes his death at the hands of the new Ghostface. It’s a shocking moment, forcing the viewer to reckon with the fact that, in a horror franchise, no one is ever truly safe. His death, in addition to being emotionally devastating in its own right, also ups the stakes for this new iteration of the ongoing horror series. 

Justin Long gave one of the best performances in Jeepers Creepers, playing the young man Darry Jenner. Along with his sister, he has to fight against the creature of the title, who takes pieces of human bodies to keep itself alive. Unfortunately for Darry, he becomes the villain’s final victim, and the film's last shot is his disfigured face since the Creeper has taken his eyes. It’s hard not to feel sorry for Darry, and it is subsequently shown that his sister, Trish, carries his death with her for the rest of her life. It’s one of those rare moments in horror where a death actually seems to have meaning. 

Though the works of Stephen King have varied widely in terms of how well they’ve been adapted to screen, Pet Sematary is one of the better examples. In particular, it captures the right mix of terror and tragedy that sets the best King works apart. Who could forget, for example, the terrible moment when the young, innocent Gage — with his child-like glee and blond hair — wanders in front of a barrelling tractor-trailer and meets his untimely death? It’s a wrenching moment, and it helps to make his unsettling transformation all the more horrifying and heartbreaking. This is horror cinema at its best.