Top 20 Saddest Deaths in Horror Movies
#20: Walter
“Get Out” (2017) Poor Walter. What happened to him wasn’t his fault; he was a victim of the Armitages. Possessed by the grandfather, Roman, Walter was seemingly a villain who tried, like the rest of them, to kill Chris. But upon being awoken from the Sunken Place by Chris’s phone camera flash, the real Walter saves Chris from a similar fate. We only get to see the real Walter for a few moments out of the whole movie, but in that short period of time, he proves himself to be quite brave and selfless. Rather than return to the Sunken Place, he chooses to release himself for good.
#19: Frank
“28 Days Later” (2002) In spite of having a daughter, Hannah, to protect, Frank is compassionate enough to take in our two lead characters, Jim and Selena. While taking in one moment’s rest from the constant running from the infected, a single drop of infected blood falls into Frank’s eye. Watching the great protector turn into a rage monster is sad enough, but what makes his death truly tragic is having to watch him desperately push his daughter out of harm’s way. And more than that, she has to watch as he’s brutally killed by soldiers.
#18: Helen Shivers
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) Part of what makes this one so devastating is that she was so close to escaping. Just a few more steps and she would’ve made it back to the parade, safe from the Fisherman. But she forgets one of the cardinal rules of horror movies: don’t look back. The pageant queen, Helen, is hardly the damsel in distress. She does a fairly good job of fighting off the Fisherman on her own and could’ve easily achieved final girl status. But as she’s running down the alley toward safety, she takes one last look behind her and gets got. With some of the other characters, you don’t really care so much when they die. But Helen doesn’t deserve what she gets.
#17: Grace
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“Black Water” (2007) This one is a pretty interesting death for a horror movie, especially for this kind of creature feature. Grace doesn’t get eaten by the big bad alligator, or even drown in the swamp. She dies off-camera from blood loss after previously getting bitten. In a way, the lack of drama and violence is exactly what makes Grace’s death so tragic. While we’re all distracted by her sister Lee fighting the alligator to death, we don’t even realize Grace is dying all alone. We all cry right along with Lee as we realize what happened.
#16: Omi Engel
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“Krampus” (2015) Imagine how terrifying it must be for Omi, seeing Krampus return all these years later. After all, her story about what he did to her family when she was young is absolutely heartbreaking. Krampus practically taunted her back then, leaving her the only one alive after killing her family and their whole town. Nevertheless, the brave and selfless matriarch of the contemporary family sacrifices herself to the demon in order to let her family escape. Though the family is later reunited in Krampus’s purgatory-esque snowglobe, watching what happens to Omi still sits with you.
#15: Father Damien Karras
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“The Exorcist” (1973) There are a lot of deaths in this movie, but Father Karras’s definitely hits the hardest. He just wants to help Regan. No matter how many times the possessed girl abuses him, he keeps returning to that room again and again. The demon inside Regan cuts him where it really hurts: his devastation over his mother’s recent death. That is hardcore. Her physical attacks are brutal, but this mental and emotional assault is absolutely devastating. The priest insists that the demon take him instead and oh man, it does. He sacrifices himself to save Regan.
#14: Charlie Graham
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“Hereditary” (2018) Although not necessarily the saddest death on this list, this one is definitely the most shocking. Based solely on the trailer for this movie, you definitely expect some terrifying and gruesome deaths, but you would never expect that the leadup to all the action is this one. After Charlie has an allergic reaction at a party, Peter attempts to rush her to the hospital. Perhaps he should drive a bit more carefully, because what happens to Charlie is truly horrific. And what’s even sadder is that the family can’t even properly mourn her because they end up being plagued by greater forces as play. Definite bummer.
#13: Nancy
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“The Final Girls” (2015) With the plurality of the title, it’s easy to be hopeful that somehow both Max and Nancy will make it to the end. But, unfortunately, that would be false hope. The most depressing part of Nancy’s death is that Max has to see her mom - named Amanda in the real world - die twice. Once in a fatal car accident, and again in the movie world when she gives up her shot at being the final girl and sacrifices herself to save her daughter. We had no idea this hilarious horror comedy would get so emotional.
#12: Dick Hallorann
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“The Shining” (1980) The Overlook Hotel is just not kind to people blessed with the shine. Dick Hallorann makes a handful of appearances throughout Stephen King’s stories, with his most famous occurring in “The Shining.” While detested by the author, Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation is considered a classic. Hallorann is a kind chef who - like Danny - possesses telepathic and clairvoyant powers. After receiving word from Danny via the Shine that hell is breaking loose at the Overlook Hotel, Hallorann rushes over to try and help out. Sadly, things do not work out.
#11: Seok-woo
“Train to Busan” (2016) Yet another parent sacrificing themselves for their kid. As the zombie epidemic quickly moves through the passengers on the train, Seok-woo does everything he can to keep his daughter, Su-an, safe. Actually, he’s one of the few who doesn’t end up betraying the other survivors. The most noble deaths are often some of the saddest. Just when it looks like Seok-woo and Su-an will make it safely onto the next train, Seok-woo gets bitten at the last minute and throws himself off, but not before giving Su-an a tearful goodbye. He deserved better.
#10: Emmett DeWitt
“10 Cloverfield Lane” (2016) You know what, maybe fighting an alien race is safer than being stuck in a bunker with a madman. Following 2008’s “Cloverfield,” “10 Cloverfield Lane” largely ignores the monsters and focuses on a group of humans hiding out in a bunker. Michelle was kidnapped by Goodman’s Howard, who explains that he did it for her own safety, while Emmett actually begged to get in. After learning that Howard is in the abduction business however, the two hatch an escape plan - only to get caught in the act. Emmett takes full responsibility, before being shot dead by Howard. To add insult to injury, Howard later dissolves Emmett’s body in acid.
#9: Ben
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“Night of the Living Dead” (1968) Talk about a tragic ending. Ben is sort of the de facto leader of the group of survivors. He does his best to protect them and is the guy with the escape plan. Naturally, that plan goes up in flames, figuratively and literally. But Ben makes it to the end. And just when you think he’s about to be rescued by armed civilians, they confuse him for one of the undead. You really think the guy is about to survive the movie and the rug is pulled out from under you. So devastating.
#8: Lee Abbott
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“A Quiet Place” (2018) Though young Beau’s death really does tug at the heartstrings, we don’t really get to know him before he’s taken away from the Abbott family and our screens. As such, we’ve picked the untimely demise of patriarch Lee, who’s a strong protector that truly loves his family. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where sounds attract sightless monsters to kill living things, the climax of “A Quiet Place” sees Lee making the ultimate sacrifice when he attempts to distract one of these creatures off his kids’ scent. This allows Regan and Marcus to escape and go back to their mother and newborn sibling - only for them to have to continue the fight at the farmhouse.
#7: Nancy Thompson
“A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors” (1987) Freddy really has a twisted sense of humor. The third film in the series takes place within a mental hospital housing the surviving children of the people who originally killed Krueger. Nancy is back from the original “Nightmare on Elm Street,” as she attempts to form a dream team capable of taking Freddy down for good. After surviving multiple encounters, Krueger lures Nancy in by shapeshifting into her father. To Nancy’s credit, she refuses to be defeated even after a fatal stabbing and returns the favor by stabbing Freddy with his own glove.
#6: Seth Brundle
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“The Fly” (1986) David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of the film by the same name, “The Fly” follows Seth Brundle, a highly intelligent but eccentric scientist who holds the key to instant teleportation. With the experiment’s kinks seemingly ironed out, Seth decides to use himself as a test subject. Unfortunately, a fly gets into one of the pods, causing its DNA to fuse with Seth’s. As the film progresses, Seth’s mental capacity slowly deteriorates and he transforms into a terrifying human-insect hybrid. Desperate to survive, Seth tries to fuse with his girlfriend and their unborn baby, but ends up mixed with a metal frame instead, and then pitifully begs for death.
#5: Carrie White
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“Carrie” (1976) Just in case someone missed the memo, picking on people is bad and can lead to dire consequences. “Carrie” is based on the Stephen King novel and stars Sissy Spacek as the victimized title character. Treated like dirt by her classmates and terrorized by her horrible mother, Carrie reaches her last straw when she’s crowned prom queen, only to have pig’s blood dumped on her. Suffice to say, everyone in that gym dies painfully. After mommy dearest literally stabs her in the back, Carrie loses control and burns the house down with both of them still in it. So yeah; be kind to each other.
#4: Dewey Riley
“Scream” (2022) Dewey has been a fan favorite character since the beginning of the franchise. He’s the loveable surrogate big brother to Sidney and better half to Gale. Not to mention reigning champ of stab wounds. But this franchise is no stranger to killing off fan favorites - even Randy bites the dust in the second movie. Arguably, Amber is right, though: Dewey has to die to make the stakes real. And obviously, it’s the only thing that can possibly bring Sidney back to Woodsboro. But knowing that doesn’t make his death any less devastating. It feels like losing an old friend. Don’t lie, you cried in the theater when you watched Gale see the police roll him out in a body bag and realize he was really gone.
#3: Everyone in the Car
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“The Mist” (2007) The term “jumping the gun” was seemingly coined specifically for this moment. “The Mist” centers around a group of survivors who gather in a grocery store due to the onset of a mysterious mist, concealing creatures that kill anyone unlucky enough to be exposed. The film ends with David, his son Billy, and a few other survivors leaving the store in a car before eventually running out of gas. Instead of being eaten alive, they opt for a quicker death, leaving David to the honors. Once everyone besides David is dead - because he runs out of bullets - the U.S. Army shows up to reveal the creatures were defeated. Five minutes was literally the difference between life and death.
#2: Georgie Denbrough
“It” (1990) / (2017) Well, at least we now know that the boat floats. In both the 1990 and 2017 version, Stephen King’s “It” starts off with one of the most haunting deaths in horror history. Georgie is a sweet kid who just wants to play in the rain when his brother’s paper sailboat falls into the sewer. Thankfully, Pennywise the clown is around to help Georgie retrieve his toy. Instantly bonding over the smell of popcorn, their budding friendship is cut short when Pennywise bites Georgie’s arm clean off and drags him into the sewer. All Georgie wanted was his paper boat!
#1: Gage Creed
“Pet Sematary” (1989) People process grief in different ways, although most would probably avoid resurrecting their loved ones as deranged zombies. Louis is a doctor who learns about a pet graveyard capable of bringing animals back to life. Tragedy strikes when Gage - Louis’s innocent young son - is run over by a truck. Unable to accept what happened, the doctor ignores multiple warnings and revives Gage by burying his body in the cemetery. The boy returns as a malevolent zombie and, with the exception of his father, butchers his family. At that point, Louis has no choice but to kill Gage. And that plot summary pretty much speaks for itself as far as emotional devastation is concerned.
