I’m well aware that there are A LOT of deaths in movies that come unexpectedly, but trying to list them all would take a while, and those that are listed are some of the more obvious, and some of those that people might have let slip over the years. The point though is that deaths in the movies tend to come out of nowhere at any given time, even if people are fully aware that they’re going to come at some point. The deaths that we don’t expect at that given moment are the ones that tend to get people the most when it comes to the thrills and chills that folks are expecting but still aren’t ready to deal with. They’re worse than jump scares to be honest since they’re far more permanent in the movies and they force an audience member to adjust on the go, even if there was plenty of warning.
Here are ten of the best deaths ‘out of nowhere’ in the movies.
10. Marion Crane – Psycho
A lot of people didn’t really expect this to happen when the movie was first released so long ago, especially since she was believed to be one of the main characters. Instead, she was the catalyst for the story, a way to make it clear to people that this story wasn’t something like what they’d seen before. It was definitely a new way to use Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
9. Donny – The Big Lebowski
This was kind of hard to deal with since out of all the characters in this movie there were many that were far more deserving of a sudden and unexpected death than Donny, who was more or less the mascot for the Dude and the volatile Walter. Even Donny’s eulogy was messed up when Walter had to go on one of his rants, which is kind of fitting even if it’s a little frustrating.
8. Black Widow – Avengers: Endgame
This death was hard for a lot of people to take since there was so much emotion packed into it, especially since a lot of people weren’t ready to see Natasha taken out of the picture yet. Thankfully she still managed to get her own movie, but bringing this subject up with some folks is still a little tough.
7. Vincent Vega – Pulp Fiction
This wasn’t too much of a surprise since Vincent was the kind of guy that was bound for a violent death. But seeing it going in this direction was kind of surprising since a lot of people might not have expected Butch to be the one to pull the trigger, especially since he was so intent on getting out of town.
6. Dick Halloran – The Shining
There’s a pretty good reason why this death is so unexpected, and it has to do with the fact that in the book, Dick was still assaulted, but he was still allowed to live. In the movie, he’s taken out quickly and without much fanfare, It’s the kind of death that makes a person shout WTF in amazement.
5. Stoick the Vast – How to Train Your Dragon 2
If there was one thing that could cause Hiccup to turn on Toothless for even a short period of time it was the death of his father at his best friend’s hand. The sad thing is that Toothless was being controlled by the Alpha, but at least the story has a happy ending despite this tragedy since Toothless eventually became the Alpha.
4. Charlie – Hereditary
The thing about this death scene isn’t just that it’s insanely messed-up, it’s that the brother actually drove all the way home, then went to bed, and left his dead sister in the car for their mother to find later on. That’s a different level of disturbed that a lot of movies don’t get into, and it definitely creeped a lot of people out.
3. Tracy Mills – Seven
If anyone is of the mind that the innocent get a pass when it comes to the types of things that can happen in the movies, this is one of those that reminds you that everyone can be targeted and that no one is safe. But the thing is this: you really can’t blame Mills for emptying his clip into John Doe’s head, no matter how pacifistic you want to be.
2. Billy Costigan – The Departed
After everything that Billy had been through to find the mole in the state troopers, one would think that he would get a bit of justice finally. But obviously, it wasn’t meant to be since this unexpected death was out of the blue. The best part was that he had the last laugh since Matt Damon’s character didn’t last long after Costigan’s death.
1. Terry Chaney – Final Destination
Everyone knew that the people who managed to get off the plane were going to die, but no one knew how or when. Terry wasn’t the first, but her death was definitely one of the most abrupt. This is why you look each way before stepping off the sidewalk.
You might know it’s coming, but not when.
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