To celebrate the release of Kill Keith on DVD now we have scoured the murky world of cinematic deaths to bring you a top 10 list of the most memorable deaths in film; be they gruesome, iconic, or downright ridiculous…
10) Ashley and Ashlyn – Final Destination 3
We all know the risks of sun bedding; leathery skin and terminal illness, but when Death has a score to settle neither of these should be of great concern. In the wake of a catastrophic rollercoaster accident and lucky to be alive, Ashley and Ashlyn of Final Destination 3 take an ill-advised trip to the tanning salon. Inevitable incineration ensues; Death 1 – Tanorexics 0.
9) Wicked Witch of the West – Wizard of Oz
Begging the question “how far will a woman go to get her hands on a new pair of shoes?”, the Wicked Witch of the West defies all expectations in her quest for Dorothy’s rosy red duds. Thwarted at the last by a well-placed pale of water, the dying screams of “I’m melting!” are the roots of many a childhood nightmare.
8. Phillip – Nightmare on Elm Street 3
Choosing just one of the enumerable deaths from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise is a tall order but we’ll stick our necks out and name the death of Philip in film 3 as its denouement. Strung up like a marionette by his own tendons, Phillip is walked to the edge of the roof of the psychiatric hospital at which he is a patient. Once on the roof, Phillip’s “strings” are cut and he’s left to plummet to his death. Gruesome but effective.
7) Scanners
We like exploding heads as much as the next guy, and no film pulls off the spectacular gore of a head explosion quite like Scanners. Accomplished by filling a latex head with dog food and rabbit livers, and shooting it from behind with a 12-gauge shotgun, the illusion of skull bone and brain matter spraying out at 360°is mesmerizing. Anybody for a 2012 re-release in 3D?
6) Joe Pasquale – Kill Keith
Much maligned in recent years, Joe Pasquale probably didn’t foresee his comic comeback as a bolshie, monkey suited self-parody. Fresh from the set of a breakfast cereal advert, Pasquale meets his maker when an unknown assassin places a box of the very cereal Joe is advertising over his head, twisting, allowing the hidden razor blades do their damage. The irony is delicious!
5) Marion Crane – Psycho
If there ever was a more iconic death in cinema we challenge you to show us. Constantly parodied in pop-culture, the murder of Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 ‘Psycho’ is indisputably one of the most recognizable moments ever committed to film.
4) Nazis – Raiders of the Lost Ark
Nobody likes a Nazi, especially not a Nazi (or two) hell bent on stealing the Ark of the Covenant. Such a shame then that the Nazis of Raiders of the Lost Ark, consumed by a burning greed for biblical artifacts, failed to read the supernatural small print. It’s hard to enjoy holy relics when spiritual demons are stripping your face of its flesh.
3) Donald Gennaro – Jurassic Park
Never turn down the opportunity to use a toilet – “you never know when you’ll see the next one” – more often than not this is a rule to live by. Unless, of course, you’re Donald Gennaro, in which case the toilet is the last place you want to be. Death in a port-a-loo may not be the most glamorous way to go, but becoming a tyrannosaurus’s entrée is cinematic gold.
2) Chrissie Watkins – Jaws
Have you ever thought how much more fun life would be if you had a personal soundtrack? Something jolly for a sunny day? Something melancholy for when you’re feeling blue? John Williams’ score for Jaws when a man-eating shark is on the loose? We’re betting Chrissie Watkins wishes she did.
1) Kane – Alien
Somebody should have warned John Hurt et al not to count their chickens before they’d hatched. Having made a remarkable recovery after a parasitic alien attached itself to his face, Kane (John Hurt) and the rest of the Nostromo crew breathed a sigh of relief only to have that relief shattered quicker that you can say “jack-in-the-box” when the aforementioned aliens offspring explodes through Kane’s chest. Lethal and messy.
Kill Keith is out NOW on DVD.
