It’s a safe assumption that if you are watching a horror film then some people are going to die. According to a certain Big Kitty, Music Equals Orgasm. Some band called Slipknot once lamented that human platters equal toilet splatters or something of the sort. . . . . And so it goes without much ado that horror movies equal death Scenes.
Many people watch horror movies for the rush. The scares. The jumps and jolts. But many surely appreciate a good death Scene. We here at the Deadbydawn horror blog page certainly do. It's escapism and it allows us all to see things up close and personal and enjoy the beauty in them whilst eating a very large tub of sludge dripping popped corn kernels, all the while gasping in wonder at how spectacular the display of carnage might be and knowing in our heads that it’s not really real.
Of course it’s not real, it’s special FX. Well, there is nothing so special about these FX anymore as everything is just simply done with computer bullshit. I find this notion quite saddening and vomitous as I can remember a day when the film makers hired out Special FX artists to make their happenings look extra gooey and quite remarkable.
CGI . . . . Or, computer generated imagery pretty much makes it all happen now. Heads exploding, bodies torn to shreds, eyes gouged out, blood splattering . . . . . it’s pretty lame in my opinion. This stuff just does not have the effect or the majesty of watching a body ripped in half and its entrails being dragged across the floor via an old school make up sequence.
Monster movies are not as effective as they used to be either. You want proof? Check out the transformation scene from An American werewolf in London, courtesy of Mr. Rick Baker. Then go and watch the cheesy fx in that completely unnecessary sequel released many years later, An American werewolf in . . . . . Uhhh. . . . . Yeah, wherever he sprouted up that time. It’s just not the Same.
I think all this CGI stuff looks fake. It looks animated, like watching a cartoon. Hey, if I’m watching horror and want to see piles of entrails and gobs of gore I wanna see just that. If I want cartoons I will watch the Flintstones.
Another noteworthy difference is the more recent shark movies. I used to love shark movies and felt the need to see anything and everything that had a shark in it. I just have always enjoyed these majestic creatures. Whether a mechanical creation like Jaws or the old Italian rip offs that blended a gigantic rubber shark with stock footage I was down for whatever when it came to shark flicks. Now it just looks fake and animated like all of this other stuff. Case in point, the shark from any movie made in the 70's and 80's versus any shark movie made in the last ten years. If I wanna watch Shark Tale I will just watch it and see cute and cuddly looking animated predators doing things we all know real sharks would never do. Like talk.
In reminiscing about good make up effects and the days before CGI, I found myself conjuring up some of my most favorite death scenes that splattered across the movie screen way back when. The whole experience goes beyond even the special FX Displayed and sometimes the lack of fx makes for quite an impact. But none of it involved CGI though. It was all manmade fx or director tricks.
Sure, the naming of favorite death scenes is a matter of opinion like anything else. But a spectacular moment of death should assault our senses, whether making us cringe or jump up and down with delight in our movie seats.
I was reminded of far too many scenes to make any kind of comprehensive tribute. Therefore, I decided merely to point out TEN favorites that will always have a special place in my twisted and warped heart and mind. I'm sure Filthy Regan would agree with these but maybe she will wish to get in on the gory screen action herself and do a blog about her own favorites as well.
There were a few scenes that I debated upon their inclusion, and since I certainly cannot include everything I figured I would give them a special shout out.
Everybody loves a good decapitation. The intensity in the bloodless display of the beheading in the original Omen film is completely counteracted by the wonderfully messy re-enactment in that shitty remake. As much as I loathe that remake I did enjoy its decapitation scene quite much and nearly wore out my player and numbed my finger running the scene back again again again on the remote. It was such a tasty moment.
Tom Savini should get a special acknowledgement here as he pretty much created all the best horrific gory moments from many of the classics.
Friday the 13th. Dawn of the dead. Day of the dead. The burning. The prowler. Creepshow. The list goes on. But, Maniac should have a special shout out as that movie was just a sick and wonderfuLL masterpiece of gory delight.
Some of the most spectacular death scenes of all time to be found there and believe me, they get better with age.
The Final destination movies certainly get a slight nod for being creative in their offing methods. Not my favorite movies or death scenes by any means but the makers here seem to have had some genuine fun with the gory happenings here. I would have just loved to be a participant in one of their meetings. Get some brews and brainstorm for the night. I could see myself jumping up and down like a little kid in a candy shop in doing my best Arnold Horshack impression. "Oh oh oh! What say we have someone sitting on a toilet and they just had a burriot tainted with grungy steel shavings and when they go to drop a dime it comes out more like a 50 cent piece. Sideways. With jagged edges for extra slicing power." Yeah, that would be a fun way to earn a paycheck. Hell, I'd do that for free. Surely the idiots that make those movies are not earning their keep with their CGI laziness. I just hate this stuff and after viewing the most recent entry to this series I can now say that I am officially bored.
It’s not gory, as the only thing viewed is a pair of female legs and a set of chopsticks, but there is a scene from the Untold Story that makes me cringe just thinking about it and I don't even have a vagina.
On the flip side, I am drastically opposed to dick violence. So, anything involving the loss of one’s manhood shall get the cold shoulder and the middle finger from me here. Besides, I have already written blogs about that stuff and need to recover from it.
As always we here at Deadbydawn are very interested in reader feedback and would love to hear all about your favorite death scenes. But these TEN scenes are moments in cinematic history that simply cannot be denied their shock value or importance on a scale of spectacular display.
1) Brain dead aka Dead alive (1992)
The most amazing and spectacular death scene ever filmed was initially to be debated as it involves mowing down an entire house party full of zombies with a lawnmower. They are zombies and technically already considered dead. Therefore the concept of being a death scene is sketchy. But, they are being put to their death again. So, it certainly does qualify. Plus, I am a co-creator of this page and can do whatever the hell I want, and this scene is unrivaled in its glorious spewing of carnage.
2) Psycho (1960)
Not so much a special effect as a screen defining moment in film history here. This scene is virtually bloodless but its impact can not and will not be denied here or anywhere else. It might not be as elaborate and juicy as the other scenes found on the list. But when this scene first set onto unsuspecting movie goers in 1960 I am imagining there was much in the way of juicy left crusting in the movie theater seats.
3) Alien (1979)
Sadly, this moment was kind of ruined for me when I saw this movie as a kid by somebody with a big mouth and no compassion for movie goers who wish to be surprised. This revelation did nothing to lessen the impact what so ever though. There have been chest burstings before and after, but none would and ever will have the impact this one did. It would even get a hilarious tribute a few years later from Mel Brooks in his classic comedy Spaceballs. When your death scene gets lampooned by Mel Brooks you know it's a good one.
4) Scanners (1981)
Once again with the quantity issue, there are and have been lots of exploding heads. Hell, the climax of the movie The Fury gave us an entire exploding body. But if anybody deserves to be serenaded by Carly Simon on this list to her tune of "Nobody does it better" it would surely be director, David Cronenberg. Just sit here and watch that gif over and over for an hour or two. It's beautiful, ain't it?
5) Zombie aka ZombI 2 aka Zombie flesh eaters (1979)
Zombie death scenes tend to be pretty standard for the most part. But the scene where a zombie pulls the face of Olga Karlatos into a splintered door and a very large shard of wood is introduced to her eyeball is one for the history books. It still manages to make me jump up and down with joy in my seat even to this very day after seeing it like a 1000 times.
6) Day of the dead (1985)
This scene was previously recognized by my Filthy Regan in an homage paying blog of its own. There have been many great moments in zombie history, but Joe Pilato being torn to pieces as zombie Bub does a mock salute is just mouth watering eye candy for the grue meisters in all of us. This one ranks right up alongside the previously mentioned An American Werewolf In London for gory significance in my opinion. A true classic moment of demise.
7) A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Not really a gory moment but there sure is a lot of blood flow as Johnny Depp's entire plasma supply and more produces a geyser of gush from his bed. Not as hellaciously awesome as some of our other mentionables, this scene is just cool as hell and a whole lotta fun. It's far more entertaining than the proposed scene to have Depp's skeletal remains ejected from the bed. That would have been super weak.
8) Suspiria (1977)
The opening double header moment from this Dario Argento classic is a gore fans delight. A woman is stabbed repeatedly until her exposed and still beating heart is pierced, and then tied with a chord and dangled through a skylight while pieces of debris and glass impale her friend screaming from below. A spectacular display of carnage indeed. I bow to you, Mr. Argento.
9) Naked blood (1996)
Those Asians sure can be quite squirm inducing when they want to be. The scene where a young drug crazed woman is psychologically impaired by her outer imperfections and mutilates herself to bits even manages to make me uncomfortable. They should use this moment in rehab to knock some sense into all of those cutter freaks. This is seriously nasty Stuff.
10) Street trash (1987)
Explosive reaches new heights when a very large man drinks a bottle of that viper wine that is making people blow up all over town. Seriously, wow. This messy moment litters the street with more gore than one can comprehend. This must have been a fun scene to film. Well, for everybody except the janitor.
I already mentioned Lucio Fulci once and that scene in Zombie is a true gem. But Fulci was a master of mayhem and is often referred to as the Godfather of Gore. So, he shall get a special treat by being acknowledged with an extra shout out.
11) City of the Living Dead aka Gates of Hell (1980)
Ah, the special bond that can be shared between a boy and a drill. There are a few spectacular death scenes in this Fulci masterpiece alone. But when a man gets drilled through the side of the head by a very large drill, it’s just epic on so many Levels. Sheer genius and a gore fans delight of the highest order. It's hard to top a girl regurgitating her entire gut supply, but I believe that in this wondrous display of carnage it has been done. Thank you, Mr. Fulci. Thank you from every gorehound everywhere. You, and all the other scenes on this list, make dying fun.
***Original blog post date 4/4/2010***
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