Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information, you confirm you are aged 16 or over, have read our Privacy Policy and agree to the Terms & Conditions. Geographical rules apply.

Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • Videos
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
    • G+RLS Podcast
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
  • Home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • Big Preview
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Buying Guides
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Videos
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
    • G+RLS Podcast
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
Your movies and TV digest from the team at GamesRadar+

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

50 Most Unforgettable Movie Deaths

Features
By Joshua Winning
Published 20 February 2014

Splat! Stab! Squelch!

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Subscribe to our newsletter

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

The Movie Death: Zombie-surviving hero Ben (Duane Jones) makes his way out of the wreckage of a besieged home, only to be mistaken for a zombie himself and shot dead by a callous posse who don't want to take any chances.

Why We’ll Never Forget It: Things have been pretty bleak this far, but this takes things to a whole new level.

The unfairness of it all will haunt you for days.

Up (2009)

The Movie Death: The opening of this Pixar movie takes us through the lives of Carl and Ellie - from their meeting as kids right up to Ellie's tragic death. Sob.

Why We’ll Never Forget It: Animated films making us cry is nothing new, but to open what looked like a lovely adventure flick (which it is) with such an emotional sucker-punch was just plain mean.

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)

The Movie Death: Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is clever enough to tell Marion (Karen Allen) to keep her eyes closed as Toht (Ronald Lacey) and his fellow Nazis open the Ark - and promptly meet their maker.

Why We’ll Never Forget It:
Toht's face melts right off in one of the coolest/ickiest scenes ever committed to film. And this is meant to be a kid's movie?

Latest Videos FromGamesRadar+
Watch full video here:

Scarface (1983)

The Movie Death: Having snorted a small country's worth of cocaine, Tony Montana (Al Pacino) defends his home (palace?) from Sosa's men, delivers that iconic line ("little friend") and winds up face down in an in-door water fountain.

Why We’ll Never Forget It:
Well, what a way to end a movie! It's the big blowout we've been expecting all along - and boy does Montana go out with a bang.

Bambi (1943)

The Movie Death: A hunter goes after young Bambi and his mother. As they race through the forest, it seems they might have survived the attack. Except, of course, they haven't.

Why We’ll Never Forget It: It destroyed our childhoods. The immortal words uttered by the stag in some sort of aloof attempt at comforting Bambi are so upsetting that we can't even repeat them here.

You may like
  • The 30 best horror movies of all time: pictures from The Wicker Man, The Shining, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Hereditary. The 30 best horror movies that will haunt you long after the credits roll
  • Austin Abrams as Bryan in Resident Evil It turns out the Resident Evil movie's most terrifying zombie monster was performed practically
  • Key art from Cliver Barker's Hellraiser: Revival showing Pinhead holding the Genesis Configuration while lightning crackles from it against a background of dark smog, cropped for a header image The best games based on horror movies

The Mist (2007)

The Movie Death : With no hope in sight, David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is forced to shoot his son and three other townsfolk as the mist encloses their car.

But there aren't enough bullets for David to do himself in, too, meaning he's around when the fog clears moments later and it seems the monsters have actually departed.

Why We’ll Never Forget It : It's really, really, really upsetting. We're sitting here sobbing onto our keyboard as we type.

Jaws (1975)

The Movie Death: That infamous opening kill, in which young Chrissie Watkins goes skinny dipping alone - only for something to drag her under the surface, never to be seen alive again.

Why We’ll Never Forget It: Well, it's the first time we hear John Williams' terrifying, foreboding score - and the fact that there are no histrionics and no gore make this absolutely chilling.

Your movies and TV digest from the team at GamesRadar+

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we’ve got you covered.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Psycho (1960)

The Movie Death: Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) has stopped off at a weirdly-quiet motel for a spot of rest.

Running herself a shower, though, she's interrupted by a towering figure wielding a butcher's knife…

Why We’ll Never Forget It: It's one of cinema's most ingenious twists - killing off our anti-heroine only halfway through the film. To say it's shocking is an understatement.

The Wicker Man (1973)

The Movie Death: Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) is sacrificed by the inhabitants of Summerisle.

As they sing and dance happily, he's shoved into a giant wicker statue of a man and burned alive.

Why We’ll Never Forget It: The last thing you expect in Robin Hardy's film is for our innocent (literally, virginal) copper to come a cropper at the end, but come a cropper he does - and in spectacularly iconic fashion.

Alien (1979)

The Movie Death: Executive Officer Kane (John Hurt) seems to have recovered from his facehugger problem and tucks into his food - only to start convulsing.

And then an alien erupts from his chest…

Why We’ll Never Forget It: Quite simply, it's one of cinema's finest shock moments. So totally unexpected and horrific, it's the kind of body horror that should give even David Cronenberg himself nightmares.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Current page: Page 5

Prev Page Page 4
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Read more
The 30 best horror movies of all time: pictures from The Wicker Man, The Shining, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Hereditary.
Horror Movies The 30 best horror movies that will haunt you long after the credits roll
 
 
Austin Abrams as Bryan in Resident Evil
Horror Movies It turns out the Resident Evil movie's most terrifying zombie monster was performed practically
 
 
Key art from Cliver Barker's Hellraiser: Revival showing Pinhead holding the Genesis Configuration while lightning crackles from it against a background of dark smog, cropped for a header image
Horror Games The best games based on horror movies
 
 
Key art from Cliver Barker's Hellraiser: Revival showing Pinhead holding the Genesis Configuration while lightning crackles from it against a background of dark smog, cropped for a header image
Horror Games 13 Hellraiser: Revival Easter Eggs and references that even hardcore horror fans may have missed
 
 
Danny Lloyd in The Shining
Streaming Services The 5 best Halloween Horror movies to stream on Netflix, HBO Max, and Prime Video (October 9-15)
 
 
Austin Abrams as Bryan in Resident Evil
Horror Movies Resident Evil is the most successful video game movie yet, and should be the template for game adaptations going forward
 
 
Latest in Movies
Scarlett Johansson in The Exorcist: Martyrs
Conventions 5 biggest announcements from New York Comic Con
 
 
Swamp Thing
DC Movies DC Studios co-CEO gives the first Swamp Thing update in over a year – and it sounds promising
 
 
Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/ Clayface in Clayface
DC Movies DC boss James Gunn says the Clayface movie won't be the last we see of the shapeshifting Batman villain
 
 
Tom Cruise in Digger
Comedy Movies Hideo Kojima gives new Tom Cruise movie Digger a glowing review, despite it being a historic flop
 
 
Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/ Clayface in Clayface
DC Movies Clayface star Tom Rhys Harries lets slip that Matt Hagen knows Batman is in Gotham during the movie: "We have footage"
 
 
Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen/ Clayface in Clayface
DC Movies Clayface first reactions say the DCU horror movie "holds nothing back" and is "shockingly gruesome"
 
 
Latest in Features
Scarlett Johansson in The Exorcist: Martyrs
Conventions 5 biggest announcements from New York Comic Con
 
 
Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) and Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
Marvel TV Shows What Marvel's Television and Animation NYCC panel means for the future of the MCU
 
 
Art from Batman: Shadow of the Bat.
DC Comics The assassination of Bruce Wayne, Absolute Justice, and more reveals from DC's NYCC panels
 
 
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for Nintendo Switch 2 screenshot
The Legend of Zelda After 2 hours, Ocarina of Time's remake feels like a homecoming, and a true Zelda celebration
 
 
Tommy Shepherd in VisionQuest
Marvel TV Shows Paladin explained: Who is VisionQuest's honor-bound bounty hunter?
 
 
A Nazgul leads an army of orcs across a stone bridge against cloudy, green-yellow skies
Tabletop Gaming One Ring RPG designers promise "many adventures ahead" after Lord of the Rings campaign approaches $3 million in pledges
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. You'll have to watch the real-life weather to make sure your laundry dries right
    1
    After 24 years working on Pokemon, Scarlet and Violet lead is making a "completely original game": an RPG where you have to wash your outfits and let them dry in real time
  2. 2
    After Valve was criticized, devs back Steam's refund policy by creating a 2-hour game literally called Refund This Game: "We celebrate players' right to refund"
  3. 3
    Arc Raiders devs had the same debates players are currently having over PvE mode, but the "dad gamers" pushed them to try it anyway
  4. 4
    Hidden content made Baldur's Gate 3 special, but Fallout co-creator worries RPGs are ditching secrets because "nobody thinks people will find things on their own"
  5. 5
    Paul Bettany says it was "really fun" to tap into a more ruthless version of Vision in VisionQuest

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...