# Most disturbing death scene **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [August 6, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061 "2001-08-06T02:35:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/101 "2024-05-13T21:26:16Z")
[Moderating] This thread is so old that, at the time it was created, we didn’t have the Cafe Society forum. But we do now, and it’s a better fit for this thread, so let’s move it. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/102 "2024-05-13T22:35:25Z")
> [@HalberMensch242](#): > > And as far as movie death scenes go, i’d have to nominate the last 20 minutes of **Burnt by the Sun**. Loved that movie. But it was very disturbing. > [@Badtz\_Maru](#): > > It’s rare that someone agrees with me on that interpretation, actually. Usually when I mention that people say I’m wrong, he was freaking out for real. Re: _Angels with Dirty Faces._ I’ve always interpretted as you two did. It seems pretty telegraphed to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/103 "2024-05-14T12:52:18Z")
> [@Geriatric21](#): > > Looking for Mr Goodbar My husband would agree with you. I’ll post the first one that springs to my mind: From a movie called Taps that came out in 1981, making me eleven years old when I saw it in the theater. It’s about a group of kids that take over their military school and defend it when it’s slated to be torn down. Something goes wrong with the furnace and some kids go to fix it, but they don’t know what they’re doing and one of them catches fire. He burns to death screaming. I don’t know how long the scene actually takes but it seemed like forever. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/104 "2024-05-14T14:02:31Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Walking Dead’s Negan’s bashing of Glenn’s head with Lucille…much worse. Agree! That death was very disturbing. After that, I quit watching. It was getting to be too much. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/105 "2024-05-14T17:23:55Z")
Sly Stone drops a mountaineering woman to her death in the beginning of Cliffhanger. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/106 "2024-05-14T17:34:49Z")
A few I’ve seen: - in Terrifier, he chainsaws through a girl vertically from top to bottom while she hangs upside down. - In the Blob, the main lead male dies early in a very graphic blob-death - In Inside, a pregnant woman is cut open and the baby removed, which kills the mother in a very painful and disturbing way. - Charlie’s death in Hereditary blew my mind. I was shaken even after the movie ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/107 "2024-05-14T18:09:07Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Charlie’s death in Hereditary blew my mind. I was shaken even after the movie This is the first that I thought of if by “disturbing” the OP means not just the means of the death but also the circumstances / aftermath. The interminable scene of Alex in bed right after, freaked out and just waiting. . . For straight up brutal, graphic and somewhat realistic my vote goes to the scene Midsommar where the old couple is thrown of a cliff and their bodies smashed by a giant hammer / club ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/108 "2024-05-14T18:32:04Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > For straight up brutal, graphic and somewhat realistic my vote goes to the scene Midsommar where the old couple is thrown of a cliff and their bodies smashed by a giant hammer / club I haven’t seen that, but someone I know who watches a lot of horror movies saw Midsommar and complained it “wasn’t a horror movie.” Sure sounds like it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/109 "2024-05-14T18:37:36Z")
Wow. I mean there are some films labelled “horror” that would be better categorized as “thriller” , like Mulholland Drive, where there’s little in the way of supernatural elements or gore, but I can’t imagine _not_ considering Midsommar horror. Your friend must be hardcore 😳 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/110 "2024-05-14T18:42:16Z")
I’m both fascinated and repulsed by threads like these, as I can’t imagine intentionally watching these things, but I’m guessing most horror fans don’t imagine what it would be like to be the victim later that night when they’re trying to sleep. Reading about it is a way of keeping it at arm’s length, I guess, without feeling out of the loop. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/111 "2024-05-14T18:46:48Z")
Yeah, I like to read horror novels, but I’m mostly using this thread to make a list of things I never want to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/112 "2024-05-14T20:07:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](#): > > This is the first that I thought of if by “disturbing” the OP means not just the means of the death but also the circumstances / aftermath. The interminable scene of Alex in bed right after, freaked out and just waiting. . . Hereditary is a great movie when you want to feel miserable for about two weeks after watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/113 "2024-05-14T20:14:42Z")
_Outcast_ (1937) – Dr. Warren William saves a boy’s life by performing a tracheotomy and inserting a tube so he can breathe…only to watch in horror as the boy’s dumb-as-nails mother removes the tube out of pure ignorance before blaming the doc for her son’s death and effectively sending a lynch mob after him. _Border Incident_ (1949) – Good guy INS agent George Murphy is run over by a harrow. Ouch. _Creature from the Black Lagoon_ (1954) – I almost cried at the (apparent) death of the title creature the first time I saw this flick as a young sensitive lad. “Stupid monster movie!” _1900_ (1976) – I’ve never actually watched most of this, but I have seen the very disturbing scene where Donald Sutherland kills a cat. _Shallow Grave_ (1994) – After being tortured, some dude is killed by being locked in a freezer. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/114 "2024-05-14T20:59:26Z")
I just thought of another one that may tie “the scene” in Hereditary: **Speak No Evil** This is a weird, disturbing film to start with but you don’t expect the protagonists to be forced to strip off their clothes and lie in a pit whilst they’re stoned to death. Btw, if anyone else watched / enjoyed SNE, there’s an American remake coming out soon. I will be beyond surprised if they include this scene. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/115 "2024-05-14T21:48:43Z")
For my money, there are a few scenes in the sci-fi survival horror anime **Scavenger’s Reign** (which I couldn’t recommend more highly) that have stayed with me. But one is particularly horrifying. The characters are stranded on an alien planet with beautiful and terrifying ecosystems. Pretty much everything will kill you. Late in the series there’s a shocking death in which the character stumbles upon what I can only describe as a carnivorous vine. It happens so suddenly. Once he triggers the trap these huge plant arms come up, wrap around his body like a python suffocating its prey, and squeeze, and squeeze, and squeeze. His friends look on in horror as his bones crack and his limbs jut out at impossible angles and his ribs cave until he is just laying there, completely immobilized and wrapped up in this tentacle, blood pouring out of his body, gasping in panic as he slowly dies. I mean it could take hours or days from the looks of it. But one of his friends approaches and gently soothes him and cajoles him to steady his breath, and when he finally calms down, the friend cuts his throat with a knife, ending his suffering. There’s a lot about that series that is pretty messed up but that’s a particularly tough scene. It’s really good though. I mean really good. So go watch it. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/116 "2024-05-15T10:57:29Z")
I can’t find the name of the movie, but John Wayne played the captain of a smallish steamship who was involved with some shady characters. He has taken his ship out to sea in bad weather, not knowing that his girlfriend wanted to surprise him by hiding in the sea chest in his cabin. What she doesn’t know is that he is involved in a plot to scuttle the vessel and abandon ship. Which, after apparently vacillating over whether to go through with it, he does. So while we don’t actually see the death, we do see his cabin filling with water after he’s gone. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/117 "2024-05-16T04:31:04Z")
I was just thinking about **Looking for Mister Goodbar** the other day. first thing I thought of when I saw the threat title was the bayonet in **Saving Private Ryan**. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/118 "2024-05-16T05:17:14Z")
> [@Geriatric21](#): > > There is a near forgotten movie from the 70s called Looking for Mr Goodbar starring Diane Keaton. The final death murder scene is so brutal and realistic it haunts me to day. This movie scared the hell out of me because my older sister had a friend from high school who laterwas murdered in similar circumstances - a likely one-night pickup with a sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/119 "2024-05-16T05:19:18Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Charlie’s death in Hereditary blew my mind. I was shaken even after the movie Ditto. I was going to post this one. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061/120 "2024-05-16T13:50:50Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > - in Terrifier, he chainsaws through a girl vertically from top to bottom while she hangs upside down. I thought the movie was amazingly well-done for its miniscule budget, but I also thought they structured it wrong. That particular scene happens like 20 minutes into the movie, but it really should have been the money shot. It got talked up so much that the rest of the movie, as brutal as it is, seems like a step down. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > In Inside, a pregnant woman is cut open and the baby removed, which kills the mother in a very painful and disturbing way. _Inside_ was part of the bizarre [New Extremity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Extremity) movement in French horror cinema that pushed onscreen violence and torture to a crazy limit. I couldn’t watch a lot of it, and I’m pretty jaded, or at least I thought I was. _Frontière(s)_ has a scene in which one character is basically cooked alive in a giant oven, and his skin sloughs off like running wax. The climax of _Martyrs_, the original French version, was almost unbearable to sit through when I saw it at TIFF (it involves flaying someone alive), and reportedly caused someone to vomit at its debut screening. In more mainstream work, the death of Lips Manlis in the 1990 _Dick Tracy_ movie freaked me out to no end. Like the mafia hits mentioned above, but worse. As cement is dumped over his head, he’s crying in terror. Knowing what’s to come makes a scene like that 1000% worse to me. I remember mentioning it in another thread last year, I think, but Claude Berger marching towards his offscreen death in _Hair_ had the same effect on me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-disturbing-death-scene/75061.md?page=7)