50 Most Shocking Movie Deaths Of All Time

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By published

Splat! Crunch! Pow!

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)

The Death Scene: Obviously not a surprise if you'd read the books, but for newcomers, Dumbledore's demise would have been the ultimate rug-pull. Some big characters had bought it prior to this moment, but when Snape pulls the trigger on the headmaster, Harry's whole world is turned on its head.

Most Shocking Element: The fact that Snape is the man who casts the fatal spell. So he was bad after all! Or not, as it turns out.

Get Carter (1978)

The Death Scene: Jack Carter looks out onto the slate-grey waves of the North Sea, before catching a well-aimed bullet from an unseen sniper.

Most Shocking Element: It's an unremittingly bleak ending, although given the savagery displayed by Carter throughout the film, perhaps a fitting one.

RoboCop (1987)

The Death Scene: Already melting to death thanks to a quick dip in a vat of toxic waste, Emil is staggering around like a drunk at closing time when he walks straight into the path of his pal's getaway vehicle. Ker-splat!

Most Shocking Element: Extreme ickiness meets the element of surprise in one thoroughly stomach-churning package.

Executive Decision (1996)

The Death Scene: The lights have barely gone down on this '90s action spectacular when nominal star Steven Seagal is sucked out of a plane door to his doom. Congratulations Kurt Russell, you are now the star of the film.

Most Shocking Element: The fact that it's Seagal. What do you mean he hasn't got a parachute? So he's actually dead? What?!

George Washington (2000)

The Death Scene: Buddy and George are having a play-fight in the bathroom, when George slips and hits his head. For a worrying moment it looks like he might be in trouble, particularly as he has a fragile skull. Happily, he's fine and pushes Buddy back. He in turn slips, cracks his head open and dies. Whoops.

Most Shocking Element: The way in which Buddy staggers around, losing his marbles as a torrent of blood gushes out the back of his head.

Scanners (1981)

The Death Scene: One of the ConSec Scanners is in the middle of a talk, when he demonstrates the potential effects of telekinesis in spectacular style. That's a lot of splatter…

Most Shocking Element: The sheer amount of gore that erupts out of his ruined head. It's quite something.

Teeth (2007)

The Death Scene: Dawn finds herself being sexually assaulted by a member of her pro-virginity group, who doesn't listen to her pleas for him to stop. Unhappily for him, he doesn't realise that her vagina has teeth…

Most Shocking Element: The fact that he loses his old chap is pretty hellish, but the slow process of bleeding to death is arguably even worse.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

The Death Scene: As he stumbles from the basement of the house he's been holed up in, Duane Jones' blood-stained hero emerges into the sunshine. Sadly for him, a trigger-happy posse are passing, and shoot him stone dead.

Most Shocking Element: The racial overtones are fairly disturbing, as is the casual remark from one redneck to another that, "that's another one for the fire."

My Girl (1991)

The Death Scene: Macauley Culkin was a breakthrough star when My Girl was released, having become Hollywood's cheeky scamp du jour after Home Alone . Needless to say, his young fans weren't expecting to see him stung to death by a swarm of angry bees!

Most Shocking Element: When Macauley's glasses fall uselessly to the floor. Pretty bleak for a kiddy movie…

George Wales
George Wales

George was once GamesRadar's resident movie news person, based out of London. He understands that all men must die, but he'd rather not think about it. But now he's working at Stylist Magazine.