The horror genre is so much more than its kills. Sure, it’s part of what makes the genre so curative, what with it juxtaposing the absolute worst against life’s brightest, most hopeful moments (however fleeting those might be). Yet, the genre operates beyond these deaths. After all, classics such as Halloween, The Exorcist, or The Ring don’t necessarily have noteworthy death scenes. There’s death, sure, but they’re not the focal point. Still, a good kill goes a long way. After an hour-and-a-half of sustained tension, death is sometimes the best release.
Here, in no particular order, are the 10 very best horror kills of the year, with several honorable mentions at the end. Spoilers abound, so proceed with caution.
Nope – Gobble, Gobble
Jordan Peele emerges victorious with a remarkable group death. Like his entire filmography, Nope can be difficult to conceptualize at first. Is it a comedy? A satire? A contained family drama with extraterrestrial elements? It’s all of those, but it’s also a bonafide horror movie. This fact is made most evident as the audience gets full access to just what kind of terror the UFO has in store for anyone unfortunate enough to look directly at it. As Steven Yeun’s Jupe prepares to invite the UFO to his ranch as part of a special preview, the spectacle is at first overwhelming. That is, of course, until it devours everyone there. In brief flashes, Peele shows the unsuspecting audience members being gobbled up, floating through fleshy tubes as they’re absolutely devoured. It’s so shocking and disturbing, no small part of which is on account of just how restrained Nope has been up until that point. It’s going to haunt me for years.
Terrifier 2 – Add a Little Bit of Spice
Terrifer 2 is less a movie, and more an extendo-reel of graphic death scenes. Miraculously, it worked. Arguably 2022’s singular indie breakout success, Art the Clown broke free from the niche confines of horror fandom to become a full-borne, mainstream phenomenon. Any kill from the movie could work here. Like the first, Damien Leone is simply operatic when it comes to staging scenes of carnage. Early in the film, Art stalks and harasses Allie (Casey Hartnett) in her home. Later that evening, he returns, brutally killing her. Among his many acts; Art slices her eye open, scalps her, skins her back, rips several limbs off, and then pours both bleach and salt on her wounds. It’s… a lot. It’s also a testament to where the slasher genre has been and is going. For better or worse, horror kills are synonymous with Art the Clown.
Barbarian – Bill Skarsgård, Mom’s Chum
Barbarian was the little horror movie that could. With an impressive box office haul of $45 million against a meager $4.5 million budget, it again proved that horror remains the surest box office bet. Notoriously subversive, Barbarian might as well be two movies in one. The first, a claustrophobic odd couple pairing where two renters end up in the same Airbnb for the evening, comes to a shocking close just as Georgina Campbell’s Tess finally figures out what’s hiding in the tunnels beneath the rental. As she stumbles in, she finds Skarsgård’s Keith. He pleads with her to run. Moments later, a monstrous woman emerges from the dark, slamming Keith’s head into the wall until it’s nothing but mush. Go, Barbarian, go! It’s a horror kill worth going crazy for.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre – The Wheels on the Bus
Texas Chainsaw Massacre is not a good movie. The studio knew that, hence their handing it over to Netflix. Netflix knew that, hence their nonexistent marketing for a new entry in one of the most popular horror IPs ever. There’s very little worth recommending about the newest Leatherface saga. It looks great, and the idea isn’t innately terrible, but it’s all executed so badly. There’s nothing worth remembering beyond the carnage. And, well, there is luckily plenty of carnage. The obvious standout is when Leatherface (Mark Burnham) boards the bus holding all the errant influencers hoping to settle in his rural Texas town.
While the humor doesn’t land—one sap threatens to “cancel” him—the carnage is at least delivered with gusto. Sure, in retrospect, it’s almost aggressively distasteful to relish in so much young adult slaughter after spending the first act grounding the film in real life, mass shooting PTSD. But there’s no denying the sheer, Grand Guignol joy of watching Leatherface let loose after years away. No one else can make chainsaw carnage look so artful. It’s a revved-up horror kill.
Scream – Grab the Ricola
Radio Silence’s Scream reboot is arguably the most brutal the Scream franchise has been since the original. Amber’s (Mikey Madison) death is an infernal showstopper, and of course, there’s poor Dewey Riley (David Arquette), almost split in two in a hospital corridor. The best kill might not be the most obvious, but in terms of presentation, context, and sheer oh-God-look-away ickiness, it’s Dylan Minnette’s Wes Hicks whose throat stab takes the proverbial Ghostface cake. After his mother Judy (returning player Marley Shelton) is killed out front, Wes wanders aimlessly around his house, unaware that his mom’s corpse is splayed outside the door. The tension is dragged to its sensational breaking point, with Wes finally turning just as Ghostface lunges at him. While they struggle over the knife, Ghostface gets the upper hand. He slowly pierces the side of Wes’ neck, carving into his throat as he gargles and bleeds out. You’ll be missed, Wes.
Halloween Ends – Record Scratch
Love or hate Halloween Ends, there’s no denying it’s precisely the kind of movie David Gordon Green had in mind from the get. Sure, 2018’s Halloween reboot was the closest Halloween had been in years to feeling like the original, but it also featured Laurie Strode by way of John McClane. A movie that had Laurie living on a survivalist compound whose fiery finale had her trapping Michael Myers in a booby-trapped basement was never going to be anything but unusual.
While it’s fair to contend Ends mangled some audience goodwill, notably removing Michael from the equation almost entirely, it did at least have the decency to deliver a few standout kills. Chief among them is the poor fate Keraun Harris’ Willy the Kid meets. Having taunted Corey Cunningham earlier in the movie, Corey stops by in full Myers garb. He slams his head repeatedly into the turntable, detaching his jaw from the rest of his face in the process. At the end, he sets his head down, with Willy’s mangled face scratching the record as the music fades out.
The Harbinger – I Hate to Say it, but I Don’t Know Who That Woman is
Andy Mitton’s The Harbinger is one of 2022’s scariest movies. Akin to A Nightmare on Elm Street for the Covid era, it’s one of the few horror movies about COVID-19 to actually feel warranted in being about Covid (the only other might be Ben Wheatley’s In the Earth). Here, Gabby Beans’ Monique travels from the inoculated safety of her rural home to visit friend Mavis (Emily Davis) in the city. Having promised years before to be there if Mavis ever needed help, Monique risks illness and isolation to help however she can. Upon her arrival, Monique learns that Mavis is suffering from bouts of lucid nightmares, being pursued by something that wants to take her. And take her it does.
Expanding on the nightmarish mythos in uncomfortably existential fashion, those taken aren’t just killed; they’re erased. As Mavis is dragged away screaming, Monique wakes up, unsure of why she’s in a random apartment in the city. Mavis is simply wiped from existence. It’s not violent. It’s not gory. Yet, it’s perhaps the most haunting horror kill on this list.
Pearl – Edge of the Axe
Pearl, the better-than-it-should-have-been sequel to Ti West’s already immaculate X might seem like an axe swing from left field. But once you see it, you’ll understand why West zigged with his slasher sequel when most would have zagged. Considerably less violent—and conventionally frightening—than his grindhouse throwback from earlier in the year, Pearl excels almost exclusively on account of Mia Goth’s truly transcendent performance. Her double-duty work in X was fantastic enough. Here, Goth transcends to the land of the greats with a performance that oughta earn her an esteemed spot in the annals of horror history.
The deaths here, given the origin story approach, aren’t as gnarly as they were in X (especially Chekov’s Croc). Yet, there is one standout, a full body mutilation teased for the entirety of the film. After an earth-shattering monologue from Mia Goth’s Pearl, friend Mitsy (Emma Jenkins-Purro) is trying (and failing) to flee without arousing suspicion. You can’t trick ol’ Pearl, though. Soon, poor Mitsy is being chased down with an axe. Pearl easily catches up to her, chopping her to bits before feeding what remains to her favorite crocodilian friends. Pearl was the killer icon 2022 truly deserved.
Violent Night – Up Through the Chimney
I might have my issues with Violent Night (namely that the deaths are way too cruel for what otherwise jives as mainstream action/horror caper), but in the final duel between David Harbour’s Santa Claus and John Leguizamo Jimmy “Mr. Scrooge” Martinez, at least the death feels earned. In truth, Violent Night never has quite as much fun with Christmas iconography as it should. Save for a Santa sack here or ornament there, the deaths and makeshift weaponry aren’t nearly as festive as audiences might expect. Yet, in the final act, Santa seems to be close to defeat. That is, of course, until the magic of Christmas allows him to travel through the cabin chimney before which he and Scrooge are tussling. In doing so, Scrooge’s body is torn to shreds, emerging from the top as a pile of goop, his body eviscerated, bent, and broken beyond recognition on the way up. Ho, ho, wow for this horror kill.
The Sadness – I’ve Got my Eye on You
I don’t even think I can describe this death in any detail without the Google Ad Council permanently removing the article writ large from ranking. I’ll do my best, though. First, of course, make sure to check out The Sadness if you haven’t already. It’s a remarkably accomplished movie, one that doesn’t just push boundaries, but in effect eradicates them entirely. It’s bound to be polarizing, but look beneath the blood and viscera, and there’s a lot to unpack and interrogate. The Sadness ostensibly follows Jim (Berant Zhu) and Kat (Regina Lei) as they try to reunite after a viral outbreak descends upon the city, one that incites the infected to act upon their worst impulses. A creepy businessman (Tzu-Chiang Wang) has a lot of terrible impulses. He pursues both Kat and a friend, Molly (Ying-Ru Chen), a young woman whose eye has been stabbed. Later, as Molly recovers in a nearby hospital, the businessman finds her. And, well, he makes use of the empty socket where her eye once was. It’s hard to watch. It’s shocking. But, it’ll likely endure, a key part of The Sadness’ inevitable horror legacy.
Honorable mentions must go to the final meal in Bones and All. All the chains in Hellraiser work hard. And, of course, the aforementioned crocodile dinner in X. Prey ends perfectly as Amber Midthunder’s Naru finally defeats the seminal predator. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is kicked off with Pete Davidson’s slit throat, a death rendered better in retrospect as the audience pieces together what happened.
What was your favorite death of the year? Any we missed here? Let us know over on Twitter @DreadCentral! And, of course, here’s to 2023, a year poised to bring just as many fantastic kills to a screen near you.
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