One of the biggest elements of thehorror genreis its infamous and memorable kills. Mostly the aftermath of each film’s iconic or vengeful antagonist, horror movies are notoriously known for over-the-top deaths given to unsuspecting or completely innocent characters. Each untimely death is often the result of a character’s intrusion into the goals of the film’s antagonist, or caused by simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The commonality of innocence or fight against evil in the protagonists and good-natured characters in horror films helps viewers emotionally connect to the victims of the antagonists' wreckage. However, this character utilization also results in cathartic moments for the eventual deaths of many of these films' antagonists or villainous creatures.
Throughout horror, many films have included satisfying deaths for their annoying or sinister characters. So, spoiler warning ahead as we take a look at 11 instances of satisfying demises in the horror genre.
11Michael Myers - Halloween Ends (2022)
In 1978, prolific filmmaker John Carpenter unknowingly launched theHalloweenfranchise with the world’s first iteration of Laurie Strode’s infamous battle against the iconic Michael Myers. After numerous sequels, reboots, remakes, and an anthology entry in the franchise, John Carpenter returned to the series nearly40 years lateras producer and composer with the release ofHalloween(2018). The film was the first in a new trilogy of films directed by David Gordon Green, serving as a continuation of the original film’s plot, set four decades after it.
Halloween Endsfinally sees the long-awaited battle between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode in one of the series' most intense fights. Each character is unafraid to pull their punches, utilizing their sheer rage to take the upper hand. During the climax of the tumultuous battle, Laurie manages to pin Michael into a kitchen table before slitting the neck of the entity of evil. It is a cathartic conclusion to one of horror’s longest-running feuds.
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10The Le Domas Family - Ready or Not (2019)
Searchlight Pictures
Apart from Samara Weaving’s iconic scream and portrayal of adetermined final girl,Ready or Notis also memorable for its comedic ending that reveals the ill-fated demises of the film’s evil family.
Primarily set within the wealthy home of the Le Domas family,Ready or Notfollows Grace (Weaving) as she participates in a bridal ritual brought into play by her husband, Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien), and his family. The ritual is a gruesome performance of the classic game of hide and seek. Instead of seeking from innocent players, however, the Le Domas’s version includes a chilling sacrifice of the hiding players to the Devil by sunrise.
Once the devious plans of the family are revealed to Grace, she is forced to combat the vital spirits of the entire Le Domas family. She assumes Alex is on her side until his betrayal is revealed once he sees that Grace will leave him when the game is ruined. Before the family is able to enact their vengeance, their demise is sealed once the sun begins to rise, which leads to their overly comedic deaths one by one.
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9Freddy Krueger - A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Arguably consideredthe best filmin the franchise,A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriorssees the return of Freddy Krueger terrorizing teenagers in their sleep. Freddy seeks to cause havoc on the unsuspecting members of the Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital in this film. Unfortunately for him, the teenagers he victimized are soon granted with unique abilities in the Dream World that aid them in their fight against their tormentor.
The third entry in theNightmare on Elm Streetfranchise was full of memorable kills, but the most satisfying death occurred to the franchise’s overarching antagonist. After combating the newly introduced characters inDream Warriors, Freddy is soon reunited with Nancy Thompson, the first film’s leading protagonist. He does seem to get the upper hand in the intense moment by stabbing Nancy, but she ultimately takes the victory by stabbing Freddy with his own glove in a pleasing end to both characters' arcs in the film.
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8The Armitages - Get Out (2017)
When it comes to recent horror movie villains who completely gotwhat they deserved, the Armitage family from Jordan Peele’sGet Outtake the top placement.
The 2017 psychological horror film centers on Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a young Black man who follows his girlfriend to meet her family. Mysterious events soon occur, and Chris quickly realizes that the Armitages have more sinister underlinings to them than he realized.
The Armitage family is a group of sinister individuals who transfer the aging minds of white individuals to the healthy brains of Black women and men. The mouth-shattering reveal was soon met with satisfying demises for the Armitage family as Chris wreaks havoc through the racist family’s ideals.
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7Xenomorph - Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott’s famedAlienfilm has proven to be the pinnacle of the most spectacular horror film in history. The film gave rise to an iconic franchise, fictional cultural figures in Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the Xenomorph and saw the first satisfying “death” of the Xenomorph.
Alientells the story of the isolated crew of the Nostromo who come face-to-face with a deadly extraterrestrial creature let loose on the spaceship. The sinister creature wrecks havoc on the Nostromo ship, murdering the crew, who are unaware of the chilling nature of the Xenomorph. The creature is soon faced with the wrath of the crew’s sole survivor in Ripley, who delivers a satisfying end to the film’s antagonist. With sheer determination, Ripley manages to blast the creature into outer space before she heads home.
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6Pennywise - IT: Chapter Two (2019)
Every 27 years, the infamous Pennywise the Clown (Bill Skarsgård) terrorizes the children of Derry, Maine, by shape-shifting, killing, and becoming personifications of their most emotional fears. In the 2017 filmIT, directed by Andy Muschietti, the seven member Losers' Club becomes the next victims of Pennywise’s terror. In the film’s sequel, the club manages to gain the higher ground on the evil spirit as they navigate within the character’s realm.
IT: Chapter Twosees the infamous end to the clown by confronting him with their overcome fears. The club manages to incite fear within the clown, and the leverage leads to the satisfying death of the antagonistic clown.
5Chris and Billy - Carrie (1976)
United Artists
Stephen King is an icon when it comes to horror media, and in 1976, his hit novelCarriewas adapted into a feature-length film. The supernatural horror film follows the titular character of Carrie White (Sissy Spacek), a 16-year-old who is bullied by her classmates and mother. Carrie undergoes significant changes throughout the film, discovering she has telekinetic powers while being asked to go to the high school prom.
Two of Carrie’s main bullies, Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen) and Billy Nolan (John Travolta), enact the sinister plan to dump pig blood on Carrie during her crowning at prom. When the plan fails to humiliate Carrie, Chris opts to run over Carrie after she uses her powers to kill the entire crowd at prom. Carrie then takes matters into her own hands and swiftly kills the couple in a satisfying moment.
4Jack Torrance - The Shining (1980)
Jack Nicholson’siconic performanceas Jack Torrance in the classic horror filmThe Shiningis one of the most chilling portrayals of an antagonist on screen. And chilling is exactly what happened to him in the satisfying ending to the Stanley Kubrick directed film.
Set within the Overlook Hotel in Colorado, the film follows the demented mental decline of former writer turned sinister, evil Jack Torrance. Jack terrorizes his wife and child throughout the film, becoming a terrifying individual with a looming presence over their lives. However, his death comes coldly near the end of the film, when he is tricked by his son and freezes to death in a hedge maze.
3Mike McKay - Death Proof (2007)
While not directly being classified as a horror film, Quentin Tarantino’sDeath Proofis a closely aligned horror thriller thatrecontextualizes the slasher genrethrough its central character. Kurt Russell stars as Mike McKay, the central character in the film, who goes on a killing spree in his “death proof” vehicle. Primarily targeting young women, the former stuntman races and eventually destroys the lives of his victims in an unrelenting manner. Mike soon meets his match in the form of Abernathy Ross, Kim Mathis and Zoë Bell who manage to outperform Mike on the roads and beat him to death after wrecking his car.
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2Annie Wilkins - Misery (1990)
Kathy Bates' critically acclaimed and Oscar winning performance in Rob Reiner’sMiserywas also one of her most satisfying character deaths in horror. While her portrayal of the overtly racist Delphine LaLaurie inAmerican Horror Story: Covenfaced an equally gratifying demise, the underlying threatening nature of Annie Wilkins makes her demise more memorable.
Miserycenters on the kidnapping of Paul Sheldon (James Caan), a fictionally successful author, who wrote a new manuscript for his novel series. After taking Paul in after his car crashes, Annie is allowed to read the latest draft of the story and realizes her favorite character is killed. In retaliation, Annie holds her favorite author hostage until he completely rewrites the story.
Annie’s pleasing demise comes during the climatic scuffle between her and Paul. After a gunshot to the arm for Paul and Annie’s head hitting a typewriter, Paul manages to bludgeon Annie with a metal doorstop and puts an end to her reign over him.
