Being on fire in real life is terrifying unless one knows how to stop, drop, and roll, or find the nearest water source to use to quench the flames if that will work. But in the movies, it’s usually something to see since people aren’t usually lit on fire for no reason. Such scenes take a lot of timing and incur a lot of risk though since unless it’s CGI, which a lot of people can’t stand since it still doesn’t look real enough, the actor in the suit that’s currently on fire is going to have a matter of seconds before things get way too intense. Stunt people that have done this have described the situation in many ways, but all of them would easily agree that it’s not something that a person would do for fun unless they were a seriously deranged individual and didn’t have any plans on seeing the next sunrise. A lot of times in the movies there are figures on fire that don’t end up getting out of this since they’re either the bad guy and need to be burned to a crisp, or they’re someone that just wasn’t that lucky. But in most cases where people are on fire in the movies, it is typically a tense and terrifying moment.
Here are some of the most awesome scenes of people being on fire in a movie.
5. Captain Miller – Even Horizon
Whatever the supernatural entity in the Event Horizon is it knows how to dig at the most personal fears and hurts of those that come within its vicinity, and one could say that it has a very impressive range since it called out to Dr. Weir, played by Sam Neill, across the known galaxy, even if he dismissed it as a dream. But this scene involves Captain Miller and a memory he shared about a former crewmate that he had to leave behind when a fire broke out in their ship. The mere touch of this apparition sets him alight, and thankfully there’s still the pool that surrounds the gate to quench it. But of course, things don’t really look up from there.
4. Wong Fei Hung – Legend of Drunken Master
It’s not in this full clip but there are a couple of moments when Fei Hung is on fire since there’s the moment when his foot is pressed up against the brick furnace that his slipper is lit with flames, and then there’s the moment when his pants are on fire after he’s doused with fire from a fuel jar. Then of course there’s the moment when spews fuel into the face of his attacker, lighting him up like a torch before gagging on the stuff. This movie is one of the classics within Jackie Chan’s long history and it’s one of those that’s kind of silly thanks to the over the top martial arts scenes, but it’s still fun to watch.
3. National Lampoon’s Senior Trip
A lot of people might not remember this movie but it was one of the funniest of the bunch that National Lampoon has ever produced since it’s about a bunch of delinquent seniors that are summoned to Washington D.C. by a corrupt senator that’s hoping to discredit the president by using the kids to show just how the president’s stance on school reform isn’t working. But this scene in the cemetery is classic since the old ‘pull my finger’ gag goes off like a bomb and nearly immolates the psychotic crossing guard that’s been following poor Reggie all the way to DC. It’s okay, the human torch eventually gets put out.
2. Harry – Home Alone
A lot of people should remember this one since it’s one of the most classic scenes from the movie since anyone with half a brain would know that this would mess someone up pretty bad. But the comical nature of it, this is a family movie, after all, manages to allow Joe Pesci to play it off in such a way that he’s able to dive into the snow and after a short period of rest get back up and go storming into the house as he kicks the door and sends the blowtorch falling to the floor. Obviously, things didn’t get any better from there, especially in the sequel since he was torched once again.
1. Jason Voorhees – Jason vs. Freddy
Somehow Jason was given a whimsical feel to his character since after twisting the one kid’s head around like the cap on an aspirin bottle he starts to stalk the other kid through the cornfield, WHILE ON FIRE. Obviously, Everclear is going to burn fairly well, but if you douse a guy and then light him on fire and he calmly draws a machete, it’s long past time to run. With all that being said, whoever was taking on the role of Jason for this stunt had to have been a little warm under all that protection.
Sometimes BEING on fire is a little more impressive than being lit on fire.
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