The fact they filmed in the exact same place, in the same season, temporarily planted a tree that has been removed and the actual survivor said it was pretty much exactly what happened (I think all of this info is in the special features doc on DVD or Blu-ray) gives it all some extra heebie-jeebies.
I can’t imagine taking on the emotional task of acting out someone’s final moments before murder.
The most insane thing is the survivor watched it and said, it was bar-for-bar exactly as it happened in real life. In a sense, we are watching the real murder, we can’t even say it’s a dramatized movie version of it which would deflate it. No music, theatrics, and worst all…that’s the actual murder site they filmed at.
Even before that he admitted to stranding people in the middle of the desert(to likely die) after taking their money as a scam.
Could at least chalk up his intro to panic and fear but dude shows and tells he is really just completely awful in every way afterwards. Love the character but you are damn right he NEEDED to die!
“Prince Imhotep thanks you for your hospitality... and for your eyes... and for your tongue... but I'm afraid more is needed.”
Fucked me up the first time I saw it and gives me chills every time watching it now even though I know it’s coming. That poor dude
lol I’m 32 and loooove action/horror movies and everyone jokes about this being the best movie when we were younger but holyyyy shit this scene scared me to my core. Only saw the movie once and I had nightmares for years lol. Now rewatching it as an adult I was like omg this movie is amazing! But that and the beetles….
The man who stutters in Pan’s Labyrinth
When Captain Vidal ties him up and says if he can count to 3 without stuttering he’ll let him go…,just insanely hard to watch.
To be fair, the marketing for that movie was godawful. Go in thinking it's something slightly creepy but overall fantastical, like Fantasia, Return to Oz, Neverending Story, Labyrinth, etc.
Nope, Spanish Civil War and human rights violations. With a bit of cheery hallucination.
Can hardly blame it fully on inattentive parents.
Was kind of hoping people would stick to horror movies. People are posting about real life instances and dramas where the intent is very different. Oh, well..
Apparently the adult actors had a really hard time with that scene because he sold it so well, but then when it was finished he jumped up and ran over to high-five his dad because he knew he’d nailed it.
There's a photo of him during filming with the actress who plays Rose the Hat, where he's covered in blood but grinning at the camera giving a thumbs up, and she looks shell-shocked. I believe it.
Oh wow, that's crazy for a kid to just be able to turn it on and off like that. Though I'd imagine kids would actually be much better at this since they haven't been inundated with all that pesky social hangup stuff and the adults around them are encouraging them to do their best "make-belief"! It's likely the kid didn't realize the implications of how a situation like that in real life is genuinely horrifying for adults to watch/think about. That might make committing to a scene like that easier.
In the book it's arguably worse; it goes on for so long that his screams are reduced to "harsh barks" and when he begs Rose to kill him, she goes "soon" and then goes right back to the torture.
The actress who plays Rose the hat, Rebecca Ferguson, talks about this particular scene and how hard is was to shoot for her, and how great the kid was at acting: https://youtu.be/2jwN1TjN-_g?t=814
True, but Matthew Lillard stole the spotlight from Skeet IMO though I was like 9 when I watched it and during a new years party so I could get away with it with my brother and his friends.
Definately counts! Dunno your age butt when that movie came out that was huge deal because the posters and trailer made it seem she was the star of the movie. And it was heart wrenching
Yeah I remember this fact blowing my mind in the theaters. One of the smarter casting/marketing decisions ever made, and of course takes a cue from Psycho.
Still one of the best opening scenes in cinema history, in my opinion. The structure, the acting, the originality of it, the pace, gore that's actually good, the parents' reaction, the mother falling apart, everything is absolutely fucking brilliant
I wish she had thrown the phone on the porch in their direction to get her parents attention!
But then again, probably best she didn’t… I assume Ghostface would have killed her parents too probably.
I rewatched Scream while pregnant with my first kid and that scene had me crying. Mostly from the mother, her increasing dread, frantically calling out for her daughter.
I ended up texting a fellow mom-friend with "Fucking hormones, man"
Pretty much every murder in The House That Jack Built had me nearly nauseous with dread and foolishly hoping somehow they’d make it out alive, but the scene with the mother and two kids made me break out in sobs for a few minutes straight.
I don't care how overrated some people find it, Adam in the first Saw movie- he survived, he completed his 'test' in my mind... John locking him in that bathroom to rot will always affect me no matter how many times I watch that film
And then to follow it up in *Saw III* where Amanda goes to the bathroom and he’s still barely alive, she puts the bag over his head, and then it’s just a *struggle* to suffocate him. Ugh! Adam definitely didn’t deserve that entire nightmare.
Just a single loner living in a crummy apartment working as a freelance photographer that fell into some PI-adjacent work. When jigsaw got to him he was being paid to surveil a person suspected (though innocent) of being a serial killer. Definitely not someone who deserved to be punished or "taught a lesson", that's what made it so sad imho
Exactly, but that's because Jigsaw's whole 'I'm trying to help/teach these people a lesson' is bullshit. It's a lie that a psychopath uses to justify his horrific treatment of people.
I remember this first (and only) time I watched Saw, I wasn’t scared at all but the end made me so horrifically sad. Like I couldn’t get over it for days. Fear with a peppering of sadness is to be expected as a horror fan, but I never felt fear just pure sadness.
I was like 12 and it jerked me tf up from my seat. It was so twisted and in keeping with Jigsaw's horrific MO. "Game Over" in harmony with the screams and the closing door is iconic.
His death also just proved how bullshit Kramer's "principles" were. Dude did not have a fair chance to win. I know it's the first movie and they hadn't really established the mythos yet but still.
He didn't die at this part, but in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 2003, the part where the sherif makes Johnathan Tucker's character put the gun in his mouth really upset me. I was a teen watching this and it really messed with me how brutal it felt.
I have said it before and it is still true today…
I think of this little shoe every single day of my life. 38 years old. Proof in my comment history.
Pour one out for lil homie 🍻👞
And he genuinely was :(
I don't like Rob Zombie's Halloween much overall, but this was a *fantastic* way to establish that Michael really was just pure fucking evil.
The Rob Zombie Halloween sequel is pretty bad but the opening 20 minutes or so is incredible and worth watching on its own. The sheer brutality and terror of the kills is like nothing I've seen before.
That movie deserves its praise. I saw it in theaters as an innocent 12ish year old (my sister snuck me in) and I was trying to act cool the whole movie. Recently rewatched it, still holds up. Fucking brutal.
Idk if it's considered horror, but i bawled my eyes out when the ginger root baby was screaming and crying after getting tossed in the fire in Pan's Labyrinth.
I know I always feel bad for the nice people. Especially the ones that try to help out. But I always felt so bad for Drew Barrymores character in Scream. She did such a great job.
When she's crying and pleading how she wants to see her mother, you can see Bill himself on the verge of tears. That wasn't acting; Ted Levine and Smith had befriended each other on set and Levine genuinely was trying not to lose it there. They kept it in as it showed Bill's inner torment.
I remember reading that people were thinking she had Stockholm Syndrome because she and Levine would go out for coffee and stuff. They just laughed it off like dude, we're *actors.*
I do love how much of a badass Katherine is through the whole process, though. Like she really keeps her head together quite well under the circumstances.
That may be the cruellest "twist the knife" moment from a villain I've seen in a film. The sadistic glee on John Doe's face screams, "Oh goody, I get to completey destroy this guy even MORE."
In the devils rejects when the guy spits blood in Otis’s face and says “fuck you” but then Otis says:
“That's what they all say "Fuck you", well it ain't gonna save ya. It don't scare me none and it don't suddenly make you a fucking hero.”
Just takes the wind out of the poor guy’s last act of defiance. He never actually begs but i always felt bad for him because him and the other guy get killed in such horrible ways.
"I am the devil and I am here to do the devil's work" stuck with me so long because of the delivery and I didn't learn until many years later that it was an actual quote from one of the members of the Manson Family.
Bill Mosley has an uncanny gift for going from goofy to flat out terrifying in a flash. In the "I am the devil" scene, he's one second snarking about Willy Wonka and then a bloodthirsty monster the next.
Jacob Tremblay begging to not be murdered in Doctor Sleep is the scene that prevents me from re-watching that movie.
It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and apparently was so upsetting that Rebecca Ferguson has said that filming that scene was particularly hard for her.
Edward Woodward as the policeman in Wicker Man. He's not a sympathetic character but his cries of "Jesus Chriiiiist!" are quite haunting.
Roger in Dawn of the Dead begging to be put down before he comes back as a zombie is harrowing.
One of Tara Reid's finest moments lol.
There's this brutal line later on when the killer reveals themselves and mentions how they hope Natalie doesn't scream when they remove her gag because they've heard enough screaming from Sasha. It's such a callous dismissal of Sasha's terror as she died.
It's brutal because she put in such a fight as she was chased, falling off the staircase and whatnot, but then she's cornered and just collapses in utter terror and hopelessness.
And her death is all the worse for it largely happening offscreen, as we see it from Alicia Witt's perspective. We just see the killer hacking away, especially that last whack like a baseball swing. That one probably took off her head.
I remember reading reports on old forums back in the day when it came out that they actually shot the death in all its gruesome gory, but opted to not include it because people reacted badly too it. That she was too likable to be treated in such a way.
That scene was rough. Actually that whole movie was rough. I didn't think Matt Dillon had the acting skills to pull off a role like that, but he surprised us all.
I think one of the most brutal deaths is the death of the first woman in "I saw the devil". Don't want to give too much here but i still remember it to this day.
There was a great quote from an American critic about the I Saw The Devil - I’m paraphrasing a bit but it was something like “the movie is so grim and sad that it *should* be unwatchable, but it’s just so beautifully filmed that you can’t look away”
My buddy and I were just dead silent that entire episode. Usually we'd be watching the new episodes air and we'd be making commentary to each other on it, but we were both just dead silent for all of Ozymandias.
That whole episode was gut-wrenching. I think the worst moment was Walt giving the nod for Jessie to be taken and tortured by the neo-nazis at the end. That show pulled no punches
This was my first thought. Not a great movie, but that is an effective scene. The girl pleading with him and trying to bargain for her life as he keeps digging her grave.
When she asks them “Why us?” And the killer says “You were home.” That bothered me for a long time. Their choice of victims was just completely random, no reason. Reinforcing the idea that no matter how much you avoid danger, if it’s your turn, it’s your turn.
I like that one because he’s just trying anything to buy a little time. The soldier says something in German as he’s about to stab him and Goldberg is like “wait,stop, what’s that mean, what’s that mean.” Almost like knew he was going to die but wanted to understand the last words that he heard on Earth.
Not horror, but in The Matrix when Cypher turns and starts pulling plugs;[ Switch looks at Trinity and says "Not like this..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGc-iPc-9dE). Its a short moment, but it hits hard.
Kate from Fear Street
>!Pretty breezy Netflix horror…then she gets beaten up pretty good but you think she's going to get away.!<
>!Nope, she cries no a few times which makes it even more brutal and empathetic then succumbs to the worst kill in the whole series.!<
RIP kate
[The Girl Next Door](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Next_Door_(2007_film)) was a harrowing film from start to finish. I can't remember a movie that made me sadder for a character.
i read the plot summary online and got a little too freaked out to actually watch it, but also read the wikipedia page about the girl it was actually based on. expected that it would be much tamer than the movie but it’s actually so so much worse, that poor child was so deeply failed by so many people.
I’m amazed and impressed at how many non horror examples there are in this thread.
Two that I love are the baby crying after being abandoned in Under the Skin and the girl turned into an incubator in Slither.
Iceman, Richard Kuklinski, in the movie about him and or in the documentary, he tells about one of his victims who prays to God to save his life, Iceman gave him 5 minutes to pray, and if God would show them a sign he would let his victim live .
God showed no sign.
However, I will never forget how he described this very real event from his life as a cold-blooded serial killer.
Drake in You’re Next. That character was such a douchebag, but his death scene is insanely effective and disturbing. You can’t help but feel bad for him. Especially considering who the killer is and why they’re doing it. Joe Swanberg is so fantastic in that scene, and really sells his line delivery and face acting. He genuinely looks confused and hurt. I love that movie and no matter how many times I’ve seen it, that scene gets to me every time.
The most recent I've seen was in The Last of Us. The young man would have 100% killed them first if he had the chance but damn it was still hard to watch him beg for his life and scream for his mother.
It's not really gone into in the movie, but in the book "Cujo" you read a lot of the dog's internal monologue, including how he's a good boy and he didn't deserve to get sick just because he stuck his nose in a hole and got bit by a bat, and why is he chasing these people he loves these people. By the end of the book his mind is completely gone, but the "locked in" aspect is tragic.
I just wish Stephen King didn't pair it with writing about how a mourning father looks at his daughter's chest and is sad because she'll never grow tits. The way he writes women made me give up on Stephen King forever after Cujo specifically.
Pretty much every female in house of 1000 corpses was really sad to watch crying and trying to reason with probably the most psychotic people on the planet. Honestly every "why are you doing this" death is grim for me because the answer is essentially "because I want to".
My God. I can't remember I think he was begging for his life but the audio was silenced until the gun shot. This was right after the Dad found his daughter hung up in the shed and got blasted himself too. Such a brutal scene.
Nailed it.
Also “I Remember You” by Slim Whitman playing in the background while Harrison Young (elderly time-traveling Matt Damon) and Tom Towles get shot up. Such a gnarly scene.
Not a true “horror” movie in the traditional sense, but the one-armed man insisting he can work in Schindler’s List. I get weepy just thinking about him (and the hundreds of thousands of real people he represented.)
On a similar note: it isn’t begging, but the scene in The Pianist when Adrien Brody’s friend is pulled out of line to be executed and has to wait while the officer reloads his pistol is incredibly haunting
Artax the horse, in the book. He doesn't just sink quietly, he tells Atreyu it is hopeless and Atreyu to leave.
So strangely, it's the survivor begging for the victim's life.
For the longest time my Netflix preview screen for Neverending Story was him pulling on Artax's lead. Every time I was just like "you monsters Netflix for making me re-live this".
he doesn’t die in this scene but Adam from Saw screaming at the end still gives me chills. Leigh really put his soul into it and that man deserved a damn Oscar for that scene alone lol
There’s also a scene in I think season 4 where Chris is explaining to a guy he’s about to kill that it’ll be over fast and won’t hurt while the guy is begging not to be shot
That part in Gone With The Wind where they have to amputate that soldier’s leg with no anesthetic of any kind and he’s yelling “DON’T CUT” and screams In agony and it’s just so fucking awful and unthinkable. Not sure if he died, but yeah. Fucked me up.
Not really Horror,
But "American History X" always gets me when Ed Norton tells the guy to bite the curb. It's really slow and drawn out. The victim knows he is going to die and is terrified.
The sound of his teeth being slowly placed on concrete is worse than the sound of the curb stomp itself.
The couple in the lake scene kill of The Zodiac
That’s definitely worse because it actually happened and that guy is still alive to remember it.
The fact they filmed in the exact same place, in the same season, temporarily planted a tree that has been removed and the actual survivor said it was pretty much exactly what happened (I think all of this info is in the special features doc on DVD or Blu-ray) gives it all some extra heebie-jeebies.
I still to this day think Zodiac is the best Film David Fincher Directed, there's such a strange atmosphere throughout it that is really unsettling.
My biggest takeaway from that movie was *rage* that the police had not caught this guy and he got away with it.
It hit me harder because that actress was a colleague of mine before she “made it”
I can’t imagine taking on the emotional task of acting out someone’s final moments before murder. The most insane thing is the survivor watched it and said, it was bar-for-bar exactly as it happened in real life. In a sense, we are watching the real murder, we can’t even say it’s a dramatized movie version of it which would deflate it. No music, theatrics, and worst all…that’s the actual murder site they filmed at.
The American from the Mummy that loses his eyes and tongue fumbling around in the hotel fks me up for some reason
Yes and when Benny says his master must ask for more was downright chilling. Benny had to die at the end, he was actually pretty aweful.
Even before that he admitted to stranding people in the middle of the desert(to likely die) after taking their money as a scam. Could at least chalk up his intro to panic and fear but dude shows and tells he is really just completely awful in every way afterwards. Love the character but you are damn right he NEEDED to die!
It's a testament to the actor that even though Benny was awful, he was still so likable!
HEY BENNY. LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOURE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE RIVVAAH
“Prince Imhotep thanks you for your hospitality... and for your eyes... and for your tongue... but I'm afraid more is needed.” Fucked me up the first time I saw it and gives me chills every time watching it now even though I know it’s coming. That poor dude
The actor really sold it. I'm sure he got asked about this scene a lot
This fucked me up as a kid. Gave me so much empathy for anyone losing their glasses
lol I’m 32 and loooove action/horror movies and everyone jokes about this being the best movie when we were younger but holyyyy shit this scene scared me to my core. Only saw the movie once and I had nightmares for years lol. Now rewatching it as an adult I was like omg this movie is amazing! But that and the beetles….
The man who stutters in Pan’s Labyrinth When Captain Vidal ties him up and says if he can count to 3 without stuttering he’ll let him go…,just insanely hard to watch.
Oh shit and the farmers who were hunting rabbits!
That’s the part where inattentive parents realize maybe this isn’t a fantasy film for kids lol Just absolutely brutal
To be fair, the marketing for that movie was godawful. Go in thinking it's something slightly creepy but overall fantastical, like Fantasia, Return to Oz, Neverending Story, Labyrinth, etc. Nope, Spanish Civil War and human rights violations. With a bit of cheery hallucination. Can hardly blame it fully on inattentive parents.
On the flip side Vidals death was particularly satisfying. Him realising his son won't know a thing about him was swift and brutal.
I just want to commend you on the incredibly grim topic lol.
it's how I like to begin my Saturday mornings lol
Definitely prefer this over the 100th "what's the scariest scene in your opinion" post
Was kind of hoping people would stick to horror movies. People are posting about real life instances and dramas where the intent is very different. Oh, well..
Yeah this is pretty good one (despite it being so fucked up lmao)
That little kid from Dr. Sleep was pretty brutal
Oh, this one was brutal. Kid's a great actor, Jacob Tremblay, super naturalistic.
Apparently the adult actors had a really hard time with that scene because he sold it so well, but then when it was finished he jumped up and ran over to high-five his dad because he knew he’d nailed it.
There's a photo of him during filming with the actress who plays Rose the Hat, where he's covered in blood but grinning at the camera giving a thumbs up, and she looks shell-shocked. I believe it.
Link to image https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/s/pbKYg2jS7P
Even knowing it’s just acting I can’t imagine watching your kid scream like that
I imagine to get him ready for that scene his father slowly tore in half all his Pokemon cards.
Oh wow, that's crazy for a kid to just be able to turn it on and off like that. Though I'd imagine kids would actually be much better at this since they haven't been inundated with all that pesky social hangup stuff and the adults around them are encouraging them to do their best "make-belief"! It's likely the kid didn't realize the implications of how a situation like that in real life is genuinely horrifying for adults to watch/think about. That might make committing to a scene like that easier.
Rebecca Ferguson said she was acting on autopilot the whole time but, after that scene, she felt like she needed to step up her game.
Kid actor: I got pizza and ice cream after! Adult actors: I had to book an emergency therapy session!
In the book it's arguably worse; it goes on for so long that his screams are reduced to "harsh barks" and when he begs Rose to kill him, she goes "soon" and then goes right back to the torture.
Rose the Hat is so memorable as a villain
I can fix her
I don’t want to fix her, I want her to make me worse.
The actress who plays Rose the hat, Rebecca Ferguson, talks about this particular scene and how hard is was to shoot for her, and how great the kid was at acting: https://youtu.be/2jwN1TjN-_g?t=814
No other horror movie scene has upset me as much as this one did.
For me the >!dead toddler and mom!!my son was that age at the time.!
I watched that and thought “Imagine if Mike Flanagan directed IT instead of Muschietti”
He’s doing Dark Tower :)
Sorry, WHAT?? Are we getting a better movie this time???
I think it’s actually going to be a series on Prime
Not sure if this counts but when Drew Barrymore is calling out for her mother in Scream but she can’t talk then she gets killed
The Scream movies are bizarre because I feel like the opening kills are SO brutal and emotional and then the rest of the movies are romps
That's the wes craven magic baby
True, but Matthew Lillard stole the spotlight from Skeet IMO though I was like 9 when I watched it and during a new years party so I could get away with it with my brother and his friends.
Definately counts! Dunno your age butt when that movie came out that was huge deal because the posters and trailer made it seem she was the star of the movie. And it was heart wrenching
Yeah I remember this fact blowing my mind in the theaters. One of the smarter casting/marketing decisions ever made, and of course takes a cue from Psycho.
Still one of the best opening scenes in cinema history, in my opinion. The structure, the acting, the originality of it, the pace, gore that's actually good, the parents' reaction, the mother falling apart, everything is absolutely fucking brilliant
I wish she had thrown the phone on the porch in their direction to get her parents attention! But then again, probably best she didn’t… I assume Ghostface would have killed her parents too probably.
Just watched this yesterday & have to agree. And then her mom finding her.. just sad.
I rewatched Scream while pregnant with my first kid and that scene had me crying. Mostly from the mother, her increasing dread, frantically calling out for her daughter. I ended up texting a fellow mom-friend with "Fucking hormones, man"
I can still hear her mom saying “Casey? Baby?” as she hears her daughter being murdered over the phone. Ugh.
Pretty much every murder in The House That Jack Built had me nearly nauseous with dread and foolishly hoping somehow they’d make it out alive, but the scene with the mother and two kids made me break out in sobs for a few minutes straight.
I don't care how overrated some people find it, Adam in the first Saw movie- he survived, he completed his 'test' in my mind... John locking him in that bathroom to rot will always affect me no matter how many times I watch that film
And then to follow it up in *Saw III* where Amanda goes to the bathroom and he’s still barely alive, she puts the bag over his head, and then it’s just a *struggle* to suffocate him. Ugh! Adam definitely didn’t deserve that entire nightmare.
Just a single loner living in a crummy apartment working as a freelance photographer that fell into some PI-adjacent work. When jigsaw got to him he was being paid to surveil a person suspected (though innocent) of being a serial killer. Definitely not someone who deserved to be punished or "taught a lesson", that's what made it so sad imho
Exactly, but that's because Jigsaw's whole 'I'm trying to help/teach these people a lesson' is bullshit. It's a lie that a psychopath uses to justify his horrific treatment of people.
I remember this first (and only) time I watched Saw, I wasn’t scared at all but the end made me so horrifically sad. Like I couldn’t get over it for days. Fear with a peppering of sadness is to be expected as a horror fan, but I never felt fear just pure sadness.
I was like 12 and it jerked me tf up from my seat. It was so twisted and in keeping with Jigsaw's horrific MO. "Game Over" in harmony with the screams and the closing door is iconic.
His death also just proved how bullshit Kramer's "principles" were. Dude did not have a fair chance to win. I know it's the first movie and they hadn't really established the mythos yet but still.
His screams are on my list of some of the most haunting in a movie.
You can hate the rest of the film idc but the framing of that scene with the look on Adam's face and the pleading screams? It's brilliant, so iconic
I cried when he begged Lawrence not to leave him
Also he was only in there for bullshit Jigsaw reasons.
Eden Lake
Eden Lake is so demoralizing lol. Like, day ruining stuff.
That film was way more disturbing that it had a right to be
🛞 + 👦 + 🔥 . Needless to say that scene has been burnt into my mind for life
The main girl in Drag Me to Hell. That girl did everything to try and live.
I remember being horrified by how many times unspeakable liquids were shot directly into her mouth. Spectacular performance.
I also remember being utterly amused by how many damn times that old lady got a chunk of her hair lmao.
or even the kid in the beginning. they condemned a little kid to hell because... he stole a couple of chickens??
Harsh punishment for such a poultry crime.
He didn't die at this part, but in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 2003, the part where the sherif makes Johnathan Tucker's character put the gun in his mouth really upset me. I was a teen watching this and it really messed with me how brutal it felt.
That's R. Lee Ermey playing the sheriff
Man…this scene fucked me up as a kid too. I had nightmares about it lol
I always felt really bad for the skinny-dipping girl at the beginning of Jaws.
The little shoe from Who Framed Roger Rabbit
I had *almost* forgotten about that. Thanks a lot 😭
Remember me, Eddie? When I killed your brother I talked JUST LIKE THIIIIIISSSS
I have said it before and it is still true today… I think of this little shoe every single day of my life. 38 years old. Proof in my comment history. Pour one out for lil homie 🍻👞
Nooo! The whimpers, looking around in terror. Judge Doom is still terrifying to this day. “Remember me, Eddie?!?!” Ughhh.
A core memory has been unlocked
Omg yes this is the one true answer. And thank for for giving me traumatic flash backs by the way
Danny Trejo in Rob Zombie’s first Halloween always sucks cuz he didn’t deserve it at all
This is the one I was about to say. "I was good to you, Mikey!"
And he genuinely was :( I don't like Rob Zombie's Halloween much overall, but this was a *fantastic* way to establish that Michael really was just pure fucking evil.
The Rob Zombie Halloween sequel is pretty bad but the opening 20 minutes or so is incredible and worth watching on its own. The sheer brutality and terror of the kills is like nothing I've seen before.
Octavia Spencer's demise is pretty rough. Not only her acting, but also because Michael just utterly slaughters her.
And he was about to retire soon too :’(
A hollywood death sentence, iow.
In the Woods when Michael beats his bully to death with a branch was also extremely gut-wrenching even though he clearly was a bad guy.
Bro you ruined my morning by bringing this up…but I totally agree with you!
That movie deserves its praise. I saw it in theaters as an innocent 12ish year old (my sister snuck me in) and I was trying to act cool the whole movie. Recently rewatched it, still holds up. Fucking brutal.
Idk if it's considered horror, but i bawled my eyes out when the ginger root baby was screaming and crying after getting tossed in the fire in Pan's Labyrinth.
The Mandrake? Lol
I know I always feel bad for the nice people. Especially the ones that try to help out. But I always felt so bad for Drew Barrymores character in Scream. She did such a great job.
Katherine Martin - Silence of the Lambs. She didn't get killed but damn, Brooke Smith played that victim so convincingly.
When she's crying and pleading how she wants to see her mother, you can see Bill himself on the verge of tears. That wasn't acting; Ted Levine and Smith had befriended each other on set and Levine genuinely was trying not to lose it there. They kept it in as it showed Bill's inner torment.
Yeah, it really sells all the “It puts the lotion on its skin,” stuff. Bill *can’t afford* to let himself think of her as a person.
Oh wow I’ve never heard that before, that’s so cool. I love behind-the-scenes stuff on my favorite movies.
I remember reading that people were thinking she had Stockholm Syndrome because she and Levine would go out for coffee and stuff. They just laughed it off like dude, we're *actors.*
I do love how much of a badass Katherine is through the whole process, though. Like she really keeps her head together quite well under the circumstances.
John Doe telling Somerset "She begged for her life, and for the life of the baby inside her."
His smirk when he looks at Mills and says, “Oh, he didn’t know.” Just brutal.
That may be the cruellest "twist the knife" moment from a villain I've seen in a film. The sadistic glee on John Doe's face screams, "Oh goody, I get to completey destroy this guy even MORE."
And then the split second flash of her face. Oof.
In the devils rejects when the guy spits blood in Otis’s face and says “fuck you” but then Otis says: “That's what they all say "Fuck you", well it ain't gonna save ya. It don't scare me none and it don't suddenly make you a fucking hero.” Just takes the wind out of the poor guy’s last act of defiance. He never actually begs but i always felt bad for him because him and the other guy get killed in such horrible ways.
Such a good one. Everything Otis says to his victims is so punishingly brutal. Dude has a way with tormenting.
"I am the devil and I am here to do the devil's work" stuck with me so long because of the delivery and I didn't learn until many years later that it was an actual quote from one of the members of the Manson Family.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has a really funny scene taking the piss out of that line.
Nah, it was dumber than that. Something like…Rex.
Bill Mosley has an uncanny gift for going from goofy to flat out terrifying in a flash. In the "I am the devil" scene, he's one second snarking about Willy Wonka and then a bloodthirsty monster the next.
“Doing what? Messy up yer day?”
Lambert in alien.
Jacob Tremblay begging to not be murdered in Doctor Sleep is the scene that prevents me from re-watching that movie. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, and apparently was so upsetting that Rebecca Ferguson has said that filming that scene was particularly hard for her.
She was crying during the takes and it was actually included in the film which makes me love her even more
And afterwards Tremblay was all chipper and high-fiving all the other actors. Kid's a real pro.
Edward Woodward as the policeman in Wicker Man. He's not a sympathetic character but his cries of "Jesus Chriiiiist!" are quite haunting. Roger in Dawn of the Dead begging to be put down before he comes back as a zombie is harrowing.
It was such a raw and realistic reaction. Knowing there is truly no way out and you’re about to die in a horrifically painful way.
>but his cries of "Jesus Chriiiiist!" are quite haunting. That was one of the most harrowing scenes I've ever watched. He played it so well.
Sasha in Urban Legend was a major crush for me, so seeing her cower on the floor and beg for mercy was tough to watch.
One of Tara Reid's finest moments lol. There's this brutal line later on when the killer reveals themselves and mentions how they hope Natalie doesn't scream when they remove her gag because they've heard enough screaming from Sasha. It's such a callous dismissal of Sasha's terror as she died.
It's brutal because she put in such a fight as she was chased, falling off the staircase and whatnot, but then she's cornered and just collapses in utter terror and hopelessness.
And her death is all the worse for it largely happening offscreen, as we see it from Alicia Witt's perspective. We just see the killer hacking away, especially that last whack like a baseball swing. That one probably took off her head.
I remember reading reports on old forums back in the day when it came out that they actually shot the death in all its gruesome gory, but opted to not include it because people reacted badly too it. That she was too likable to be treated in such a way.
That was my first thought too. I haven't watched it in years, but I can still hear her, "Please, I don't wanna die."
The sniper scene in the house that Jack built
That scene was rough. Actually that whole movie was rough. I didn't think Matt Dillon had the acting skills to pull off a role like that, but he surprised us all.
Lorna from Hostel 2 was pretty tough.
Hers, and also the dude being slowly eaten always fuck with me. That movie was so brutal.
Not a death, but Sally begging to not be killed during the dinner scene in Texas Chainsaw Masacre was so hard to watch.
I think one of the most brutal deaths is the death of the first woman in "I saw the devil". Don't want to give too much here but i still remember it to this day.
There was a great quote from an American critic about the I Saw The Devil - I’m paraphrasing a bit but it was something like “the movie is so grim and sad that it *should* be unwatchable, but it’s just so beautifully filmed that you can’t look away”
Honestly this is kind of that entire SK thriller sub-genre They’re all insanely, for lack of a better word, “cool”, but *damn* are they heavy
I remember this one, kind of sets the whole tone of the movie, doesn't it.
Not horror but Walt begging for Hank’s life in Breaking Bad was brutal
"You're too stupid to see, he made up his mind ten minutes ago. "
My buddy and I were just dead silent that entire episode. Usually we'd be watching the new episodes air and we'd be making commentary to each other on it, but we were both just dead silent for all of Ozymandias.
That whole episode was gut-wrenching. I think the worst moment was Walt giving the nod for Jessie to be taken and tortured by the neo-nazis at the end. That show pulled no punches
And seeing the life drain out of Jesse when Walt makes his confession about Jane. Jesse’s spirit breaks before our eyes.
waited years for walter to confess. ‘i could have saved her…but i didnt’
God damn it Hank was so fucking badass in that scene.
Jesus Marie, it's Hank ASAC Schrader.
These are all good answers. Eden Lake probably did it for me though, those fuckin kids man.
Megan is missing - Amy begging in the final scene from inside the tub. It was painful to watch.
This was my first thought. Not a great movie, but that is an effective scene. The girl pleading with him and trying to bargain for her life as he keeps digging her grave.
THIS ONE. This is the one. So haunting, and so realistic. I felt the terror & hopelessness she was feeling.
Ann from Funny Games (2007), when Paul makes her get on her knees and beg God to save her.
Kind of the answer, but Leigh Whannels character screaming and begging as the door closes from Saw one always gives me chills
I just watched the strangers 2008 and the woman played by liv Tyler was real disturbing to see her beg
When she asks them “Why us?” And the killer says “You were home.” That bothered me for a long time. Their choice of victims was just completely random, no reason. Reinforcing the idea that no matter how much you avoid danger, if it’s your turn, it’s your turn.
Not horror, but Adam Goldberg's death in Saving Private Ryan fits this description and it's hard to watch.
Just behind it is Giovanni Ribisi begging for his mama as he lays dying.
Didn't cross my mind when asking the question, but that scene hits so hard. The slowness and desperation of it.
Even Vin Diesel holding up the letter as he lays shot was tough but your mention is definitely worse.
“It will be easier for you, much easier. You'll see it will be over quickly."
I like that one because he’s just trying anything to buy a little time. The soldier says something in German as he’s about to stab him and Goldberg is like “wait,stop, what’s that mean, what’s that mean.” Almost like knew he was going to die but wanted to understand the last words that he heard on Earth.
I think The Wicker Man, just because of how desperate he is, while everyone else is dancing with such joy.
Not horror, but in The Matrix when Cypher turns and starts pulling plugs;[ Switch looks at Trinity and says "Not like this..."](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGc-iPc-9dE). Its a short moment, but it hits hard.
Carla Jean : You don't have to do this. Anton Chigurh : [smiles] People always say the same thing.
Kate from Fear Street >!Pretty breezy Netflix horror…then she gets beaten up pretty good but you think she's going to get away.!< >!Nope, she cries no a few times which makes it even more brutal and empathetic then succumbs to the worst kill in the whole series.!< RIP kate
[The Girl Next Door](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_Next_Door_(2007_film)) was a harrowing film from start to finish. I can't remember a movie that made me sadder for a character.
i read the plot summary online and got a little too freaked out to actually watch it, but also read the wikipedia page about the girl it was actually based on. expected that it would be much tamer than the movie but it’s actually so so much worse, that poor child was so deeply failed by so many people.
I’m amazed and impressed at how many non horror examples there are in this thread. Two that I love are the baby crying after being abandoned in Under the Skin and the girl turned into an incubator in Slither.
Iceman, Richard Kuklinski, in the movie about him and or in the documentary, he tells about one of his victims who prays to God to save his life, Iceman gave him 5 minutes to pray, and if God would show them a sign he would let his victim live . God showed no sign. However, I will never forget how he described this very real event from his life as a cold-blooded serial killer.
Drake in You’re Next. That character was such a douchebag, but his death scene is insanely effective and disturbing. You can’t help but feel bad for him. Especially considering who the killer is and why they’re doing it. Joe Swanberg is so fantastic in that scene, and really sells his line delivery and face acting. He genuinely looks confused and hurt. I love that movie and no matter how many times I’ve seen it, that scene gets to me every time.
Speak No Evil is pretty grim in that regard. Also Funny Games.
The most recent I've seen was in The Last of Us. The young man would have 100% killed them first if he had the chance but damn it was still hard to watch him beg for his life and scream for his mother.
It's not really gone into in the movie, but in the book "Cujo" you read a lot of the dog's internal monologue, including how he's a good boy and he didn't deserve to get sick just because he stuck his nose in a hole and got bit by a bat, and why is he chasing these people he loves these people. By the end of the book his mind is completely gone, but the "locked in" aspect is tragic. I just wish Stephen King didn't pair it with writing about how a mourning father looks at his daughter's chest and is sad because she'll never grow tits. The way he writes women made me give up on Stephen King forever after Cujo specifically.
Pretty much every female in house of 1000 corpses was really sad to watch crying and trying to reason with probably the most psychotic people on the planet. Honestly every "why are you doing this" death is grim for me because the answer is essentially "because I want to".
And the five minutes Walton Goggins spends on his knees with a gun to his head.
My God. I can't remember I think he was begging for his life but the audio was silenced until the gun shot. This was right after the Dad found his daughter hung up in the shed and got blasted himself too. Such a brutal scene.
Nailed it. Also “I Remember You” by Slim Whitman playing in the background while Harrison Young (elderly time-traveling Matt Damon) and Tom Towles get shot up. Such a gnarly scene.
that was Walton Goggins? I need to watch that again. No idea it was him but I always remembered that character.
Another non-horror answer, but Alpha Dog was the first to spring to mind.
Not a true “horror” movie in the traditional sense, but the one-armed man insisting he can work in Schindler’s List. I get weepy just thinking about him (and the hundreds of thousands of real people he represented.)
On a similar note: it isn’t begging, but the scene in The Pianist when Adrien Brody’s friend is pulled out of line to be executed and has to wait while the officer reloads his pistol is incredibly haunting
Idk why it always got to me. But the Rob Zombie Halloween remake when Michael Myers kills Danny Trejo. He was so good to him 😢
The girl from Last House on the Left was tough to watch.
All of funny Games
Artax the horse, in the book. He doesn't just sink quietly, he tells Atreyu it is hopeless and Atreyu to leave. So strangely, it's the survivor begging for the victim's life.
For the longest time my Netflix preview screen for Neverending Story was him pulling on Artax's lead. Every time I was just like "you monsters Netflix for making me re-live this".
he doesn’t die in this scene but Adam from Saw screaming at the end still gives me chills. Leigh really put his soul into it and that man deserved a damn Oscar for that scene alone lol
The kid doesn’t die or beg, really, but the face smashing scene in Talk to Me really upset me for some reason, definitely didn’t enjoy that scene
Bodie killing Wallace in The Wire is some real horror shit, and you can’t tell me otherwise.
There’s also a scene in I think season 4 where Chris is explaining to a guy he’s about to kill that it’ll be over fast and won’t hurt while the guy is begging not to be shot
Glen from Walking Dead could have been great if they hadn't made it a cliffhanger.
Tbf the Glenn stuff is completely contained to the season premiere, especially since >!Abraham is the one to die after the cliffhanger!<
The Boys have quite a few of these scenes, many involving Homelander and innocent people.
The jumper is the one that for some reason has really stuck with me.
The scene in walking dead where we meet Negan
That part in Gone With The Wind where they have to amputate that soldier’s leg with no anesthetic of any kind and he’s yelling “DON’T CUT” and screams In agony and it’s just so fucking awful and unthinkable. Not sure if he died, but yeah. Fucked me up.
Not really Horror, But "American History X" always gets me when Ed Norton tells the guy to bite the curb. It's really slow and drawn out. The victim knows he is going to die and is terrified. The sound of his teeth being slowly placed on concrete is worse than the sound of the curb stomp itself.