 Slasher Movie Deaths  KNIFE PIN-UP from Halloween Chris: While most slasher deaths involve gallons of blood and heaps of gore, none have made such a creepy impression on me like when Michael Myers pins P.J. Soles' boyfriend to the kitchen wall. It's not really the act of violence that got me; it's Michael's curious, quizzical look and head tilt that sticks with me to this very day. Josh: Although this is not as extravagant as the other kills on this list, its power lies in its subtlety. The strength of Michael Myers is fully displayed as he holds Bob up with one hand and stabs him with the other. It only takes one thrust to do the job. What makes this so effective is the way that Michael inspects his work after the fact and cocks his head like a dog unsure of what his has done. This silent gesture shows us what a psycho this guy is and also his complete lack of remorse firmly establishing him as horror cinema's ultimate killing machine. TINA'S DEMISE from A Nightmare On Elm Street Chris: If Wes Craven was looking for a Hell of a way to kick off a movie, he accomplished it here. At the time, A Nightmare On Elm Street was an unknown quantity but thanks to the success of the original, and Robert Englund's iconic role as Freddy Krueger, it's the best-known series in horror. But seeing Amanda Wyss' Tina being bloodily dragged up a wall onto the ceiling and spinning around screaming her lungs out stands as the series best death - and led to the eerie moment where Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) sees a death Tina in a body bag with her feet surrounded by creepy crawlies. Josh: When many of us reflect back on the most nightmarish visions of our adolescent viewing habits, we think of the original Elm Street. In particular, there was the sequence of Tina in the bodybag that prevented us from sleeping soundly. Although this was scary, how can we forget how she got there? The girl is sliced up by an unseen assailant and the blood flows freely while her boyfriend helplessly looks on in his tighty whities. Not only that, but she is dragged up the wall and across the ceiling as she is being slaughtered. We had never seen a kill like this and it made Freddy one of the scariest monsters to grace the silver screen. DEER ANTLERS, MEET BABYSITTER from Silent Night, Deadly Night Chris: There's not much one could say about Linnea Quigley that genre fans don't know already. One of the busiest "Scream Queens" of the day, Linnea was killed in many various ways over the years but none stick in your brain like when she's pinned up, topless, to some antlers while babysitting one wintry evening. It fills your quota of naked skin and "shit, that was cool!" all in one scene. Josh: I couldn't complete this list without including my favorite scream queen, Linnea Quigley. This is probably her most well-known death and it is as funny as it is unsettling. After an extended nude scene, Linnea is poked in a much different way than she was expecting. This cemented her place in horror history to be the first person to be impaled on a set of antlers by Santa Claus. This exposure led to a lengthy career and this kill still entertains me after all these years.  UNSAFE SEX from Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday Chris: Say what you will about this ninth Friday The 13th entry and all its body-switching stolen from 1987's The Hidden but, even considering all the quality deaths seen in the series since its debut in 1980, when a promiscuous girl is split in two by a tent pole while straddling her boyfriend (and this after Jason, in a "wink" to the audience, steps on a condom discarded outside) you can't help but take notice. This is one of my favourite slasher deaths of all-time and to see it in its full glory you need to watch the unrated version on DVD. Josh: Just when I thought that old Jason was beginning to lose his touch, along comes this kill. This is one of those "holy shit" deaths where you have to rewind and watch it a few times because it is so awesome. Not only is there the usual stabbing but Jason goes all out and rips his implement of death up so hard that the victim is torn in half. This all happens in the middle of a sex scene. I don't think I will ever feel comfortable with the girl on top if I am getting it on in a tent. FRONT SEAT SHOTGUN from Maniac Chris: A list of our favourite slasher movie kills wouldn't be complete without a Tom Savini creation in the mix. He's done the effects for tons of memorable deaths in such films as The Prowler, The Burning, and Friday The 13th, but it's doubtful there's any as outright brutal, and stomach-turning, as when mama's boy nutter Joe Spinell leaps onto a copulating couples car hood and shotgun's the driver through the window. Josh: This is one of the most gruesome and shocking slasher deaths as it is so sudden. What makes it even more fun is that it is essentially Tom Savini blowing his own head off. Savini created all of the effects on this infamous flick along with Rob Bottin. This is one of those scenes that you can't unwatch and I can still picture Joe Spinell jumping on the hood and proceeding to mess up the inside of a car in a way I had never seen before. Anyone who has witnessed this death will never forget it. |