# Are there horror films where nobody dies? (Open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950 "2008-10-28T15:33:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/1 "2008-10-28T15:33:53Z")
Now that Halloween is right around the corner i figured now would be a good time to ask something I’ve always wondered. Is there a scary movie where nobody dies? Some rules: - No deaths shown or implied. - At the end of the movie, no characters will be in a situation leading to their immediate demise (trapped in a burning house etc.). - Death is allowed if it’s not shown and happens before the beginning of the movie (man inherits Indian burial grounds from dead uncle). - Fake deaths are ok as long as the fakery is revealed before the end of the movie. - Violence is ok so long as nobody dies. - Monsters and other supernatural creatures can die as much as they want. If such a movie doesn’t exist, which movie has the lowest death count? The lowest i can think of is The Exorcist with 2 deaths. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/2 "2008-10-28T15:36:11Z")
Not a ‘movie’, but the Doctor Who episode “Blink” fits the bill otherwise. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/3 "2008-10-28T15:37:54Z")
Rosemary’s Baby only has one death, and it’s nonviolent and not shown on screen. Doesn’t the Exorcist have three, though? (Burke Dennings, Father Merrin, Father Karras.) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/4 "2008-10-28T15:40:41Z")
Does every episode of _Scooby-Doo_ count? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/5 "2008-10-28T15:42:14Z")
Did anyone die in [The Gate](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093075/)? It’s been a long time since I saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/6 "2008-10-28T15:43:40Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Not a ‘movie’, but the Doctor Who episode “Blink” fits the bill otherwise. The cop (forgets his name) dies during the episode. > [@Freudian Slit](#): > > Doesn’t the Exorcist have three, though? (Burke Dennings, Father Merrin, Father Karras.) You’re right, i forgot about Burke Dennings. Scooby Doo is not horror. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/7 "2008-10-28T15:45:01Z")
_Signs_, if you consider that a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Reno\_Nevada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Reno\_Nevada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reno_Nevada)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/8 "2008-10-28T15:47:01Z")
Nobody dies in the course of [The Others](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230600/), and it is definitely very creepy (it got to me, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/9 "2008-10-28T15:49:17Z")
> [@Agent Foxtrot](#): > > Signs, if you consider that a movie. I think they showed the wife dying. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/10 "2008-10-28T15:49:35Z")
Does anyone die in _Flatliners_? It was sort of a cheezy movie, but I thought it was pretty scary. How about _The Sixth Sense_? _The Others_? ---
**Author:** ![davidw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c4cdca/32.png) [@davidw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidw)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/11 "2008-10-28T15:52:37Z")
Were there any deaths in\*\* Poltergeist\*\*? ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/12 "2008-10-28T15:53:57Z")
For kicks I decided to watch Poltergeist this past weekend. There were no deaths. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/13 "2008-10-28T15:54:38Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Rosemary’s Baby only has one death, and it’s nonviolent and not shown on screen. I assume you are talking about Rosemary’s friend Hutch, who dies in the hospital after being put in a long coma. But what about Terry Gionoffrino, the woman living with the Castevets and originally chosen to carry the child? She either is murdered or commits suicide via a dive out the the 12th story window. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/14 "2008-10-28T15:55:07Z")
> [@lisacurl](#): > > How about _The Sixth Sense_? _The Others_? Doesn’t the Bruce Willis character count as a death? We see him get shot but we assume he’s alive, and then it turns out he was dead all along. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/15 "2008-10-28T15:55:51Z")
> [@davidw](#): > > Were there any deaths in\*\* Poltergeist\*\*? This is the first one that came to my mind, I don’t recall any deaths in that one. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/16 "2008-10-28T15:56:48Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Doesn’t the Bruce Willis character count as a death? We see him get shot but we assume he’s alive, and then it turns out he was dead all along. What!?!!?!?!?!?! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/17 "2008-10-28T15:58:03Z")
There is an old 70’s era Disney movie called “The Watcher In The Woods”… no one dies, but they do “disappear”. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/18 "2008-10-28T16:00:00Z")
Can’t remember if they show Nicole Kidman’s character kill her children in The Others. Otherwise that film counts. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/19 "2008-10-28T16:02:46Z")
IIRC _The Haunting_ (the 1963 version) only has one death that actually occurs during the plot of the movie, and it’s not shown explicitly. There are other deaths that happened previously that are discussed, and part of the carriage is shown after the crash that led to some of these deaths, but none of the deaths are actually shown. One seriously creepy-ass movie, way scarier than any dozen slasher flicks. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2008, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950/20 "2008-10-28T16:03:34Z")
Is any death shown in the Stepford wives? In the book everything goes on behind the pages, making it more sinister somehow. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-horror-films-where-nobody-dies-open-spoilers/469950.md?page=2)