Movies where the main character dies are rare. We're more used to seeing a hero save the day – and then, as has become the case with the majority of superhero movies, go on to have a sequel. Well, we're here to explore thos꧙e movies where the protagonist perishes. That's right, we're looking at the deadlier side of the flicks.
The below therefore contains a whole lot of spoilers. Expect few survivors as we delve ♋into 50 movies where the main character dies during the runtime. Blood, guts, fire, and turning to dust ahead!
The Matrix (1999)
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
The Movie: Genre-redefining sci-fi from the Wachowskis. What is 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the Matrix? That🐻's what Neo (Keanu Reeves) wants to know – and th🀅en he discovers that the world around us is all just a lie.
Braveheart (1995)
The Movie: Bloody and historically-dubious epic starring 🌼Mel Gibson as William Wallace, the 13th-century warrior who leads the Scots into a war against the King of England. Brave indeed.
The Death: Wallace comes to a sticky, grisly, gut-wrenching end as he's placed on the (cr🍎oss-shaped) rack and hung, drawn and quartered in front of a braying audience - while he's still conscious.
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How Shocking Is It? Everybody knows it's coming now, but Wallace's demise is just so grisly it caꦑn't help but turn the stomach. No dinner for us tonight.
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button (2008)
The Movie: David Fincher's epic fantasy drama about a boy, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), who's born as an old man and, bizarrely, ages backwards until he ends up a little baby.
The Death: Aged 84, Benjamin resembles little more than a tiny baby as he passes away in the arms of Daisy (Cate Blanchett), the woman he loves. How Shocking Is It? The whole film's weird and c♈onformity-dodging, but we sort of knew all along that it'd end with Benjamin dying☂ as a baby, so it's not all that shocking.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Movie: Kooky family drama from Wes Anderson. Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) returns to his family after years of neglect, announcing that he's dying of terminal cancer.
The Death: Despite the fact that he faked terminal cancer, Royal eventually (and somewhat unexpectedly) dies at the film's close of a heart attack.
His epitaph states that he "died tragically rescuing his family from the wreckage of a destroyed sinking battleship". How Shocking Is It? It's surprising and darkly humorous, but not necessarily shockin🍎g.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
The Movie: Gun-toting Shakespeare adap from Baz Luhrmann following the titular star-crossed lovers in present day Verona Beach.
The Deaths: Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Juliet's (Claire Danes) plot to escape together goes horribly wrong when they both drink poison - and die in each others' arms.
How Shocking Is It? If you didn't know anything about Shakespeare, this woul꧅d have ꦺcome as a shock.
The Devil's Rejects (2005)
The Movie: Gory horror from Rob Zombie. Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe) attempts to bring down the murderous Firefly family in revenge for the death of his brother.
The Death: Wydell is killed by Tiny (Matthew McGrory), despite the former landing a few good (bloody) blows to Tiny's family members. How Shocking Is It? Not p🐠articularly - it's clear that nobody's safe in Zombie's worlꦑd. Basically, the gorier the betterer.
Turner & Hooch (1989)
The Movie: A pooch-y spin on the 'good cop, bad cop' set-up, in which police officer Scott Turner (Tom Hanks) is teamed up with drooling hound Hooch.
The Death: During their investigation, Hooch ends up shot and bleeds out while being cradled by a sobbing Turner.
How Shocking Is It? It was responsible for an entire generation of kids being emotionally scarred by 'that doggy movie where the doggy dies'. Talk about shocking.
Titanic (1998)
The Movie: Titanic in name, titanic in nature, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:James Cameron's historical disaster flick sees poor boy Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) falling for rich girl Rose (Kate Winslet) aboard the doomed vessel.
The Deaths: Both Jack and Rose end up dead by the close of Cameron's flick - Jack as a young man, doomed to a watery grave, and Rose as an old woman, dreaming of her love as she dies.
How Shocking Is It? So shocking th🙈at people were caught openly weeping as th🐬ey left the cinema - then going back for more.
Seven Pounds (2008)
The Movie: An "extraordinary story" (according to the tagline) in which Tim Thomas (Will Smith) makes it his mission to change the lives of seven strangers for the better after killing seven people in a car crash.
The Death: Tim climbs into the bath with a deadly jellyfish, which kills him quickly - if not painfully.
How Shocking Is It? It's a weird way🧸 to go, to say🌱 the least - we definitely didn't see that coming.
The Prestige (2006)
The Movie: Warring stage magicians Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) attempt to outshine each other with increasingly mind-boggling shows.
The Death: It all becomes clear as a mortally-wounded Angier discovers that Borden is actually a pair of twins. He dies with that knowledge, though, having been shot by one of the brothers. Meanwhile, his tanks full of clones all drown.
How Shocking Is It? The death itself is somewhat overshadowed by what is a great final tw꧙ist.
V For Vendetta (2005)
The Movie: Wachowski-produced adaptation of Alan Moore's dystopian graphic novel. In the near-future, freedom fighter V (Hugo Weaving) plans to bring down the UK's fascist regime with acts of terrorism.
The Death: After a stand-off with police chief Creevey, V is shot and mortally wounded, staggering back to thank Evey (Natalie Portman) before he finally dies. His corpse is sent into the Houses of Parliament alongside the explosive devices that will destroy them.
How Shocking Is It? It's more poetic th♑an shocking - even though he's died, V lives on in the peop𝓡le, who don his signature mask.
Burn After Reading (2008)
The Movie: Black comedy from the Coen brothers. Personal trainers Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) discover governmental records and decide to bribe Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich).
The Death: While hiding in a closet, Chad is shot and killed by a surprised Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney). SPLAT. No more Chad.
How Shocking Is It? It's one of the most unexpected (and bloody) deaths ever. Not only 𝔍is Brad Pitt killed, he's killed by buddy Geo𝓡rge Clooney!
Cloverfield (2008)
The Movie: A found-footage spin on Godzilla in which a group of New Yorkers attempt to escape the clutches of a giant monster that's tearing their city apart.
The Death: Well, we presume they're dead. Rob (Michael Stahl-David) and Beth (Odette Yustman) are caught in the path of another bomb as it detonates, and all we hear is screaming. How Shocking Is It? Matt Reeves expertly ups the stakes over the course of the film to such a degree that it becomes clear quite quickly that nobody's going to get out of this alive. In that sense, then, it's not hugely shocking.
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Movie: Third film in the X-franchise. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) unexpectedly returns after supposedly dying in X2, but she's evolved into the Dark Phoenix, a formidable weapon that Magneto (Ian McKellen) hopes to exploit.
The Death: During the film's standout action sequence, Dark Phoenix is responsible for killing Professor X (Charles Xavier) by using her powers to levitate and then obliterate him. Yes, Professor X!
How Shocking Is It? This couldn't be more shocking if Phoenix had dispatched with Wolverine hi🥃mself.
Scarface (1983)
The Movie : Epic crime saga following Tony Montana (Al Pacino), a Cuban refugee who becomes a drug kingpin in eighties Miami. The Death: Cornered in his mansion by the hitmen of Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar), Montana snorts an Everest-sized mound of cocaine and comes out guns blazing, only to wind up face down in his indoor fountain. Mmm, blood cocktail. How Shocking Is It? The most shocking thing is that M📖ontana didn't die earlier than this - he's been asking for trouble for over two hours by this point.
American Beauty (1999)
The Movie: Oscar-winning drama written by Alan Ball. Lester (Kevin Spacey) is going through a mid-life crisis that's exacerbated by his crush on his daughter's friend Angela (Mena Suvari).
The Death: When Lester's neighbour Frank (Chris Cooper) mistakenly comes to the conclusion that Lester's having a relationship with his son (Wes Bentley), he shoots Lester dead.
How Shocking Is It? Lester's already hinted in his narration that he won't have a happy ending, but the nature of his death is definitely shocking.
Donnie Darko (2001)
The Movie: Jake Gyllenhaal is the titular Donnie, a moody teenager who has visions of the end of the world. Oh, and he also sees a guy in a scary bunny costume called Frank.
The Death: In a time-twisting, er, twist, Donnie is crushed by the very airplane engine that crashed into his empty bedroom 28 days ago, bringing the movie full circle.
How Shocking Is It? It's more head-scratchy than shocking. Richard Kelly's original edit doesn't exactly molly-coddle audiences, and the result is a nightmarish oddity with a tragic (if confuzzling) ending.
Atonement (2007)
The Movie: James McAvoy and Keira Knightley play star-crossed lovers whose lives are turned upside-down by the lie of a young girl (Soirse Ronan) during World War Two.
The Deaths: We discover that McAvoy and Knightley's characters never reunite - he dies from septicaemia at Dunkirk and she is drowned during the flood at Balham underground station.
How Shocking Is It? Director Joe Wright cleverly wrong-foots us with this one as our narrator attempts to give 👍the pair a happy ending before revealing the truth of their sad deaths - which only serves 🥃to increase the final revelation's shock factor. Get the hankies ready…
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)
The Movie: The culmination of dozens of Marvel movies, Avengers: Infinity War may have seen Thanos kill half the universe, but the follow-up brought the majority of them back. Everyone who died in Avengers: Endgame, though, was dead and gone forever..🍸.
The Deaths: Iron Man and Black Widow, two of the founding Avengers, both met their demise in Endgame, while Captain America also essentially left the mortal coil after going back in time and later becomi𝔍ng an old man.
How Shocking Is It? We all knew Spider-Man, Black Panther, and the rest w💧ould be back – there were too many sequels at risk! But seeing Iron Man and Blackꦿ Widow make the ultimate sacrifice... there wasn't a dry eye in the cinema.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Movie: James Cameron's stellar sequel to The Terminator, in which a teenage John Connor (Edward Furlong) is targeted by the deadly future assassin T-1000 (Robert Patrick).
The Death: Though it depends on your definition of death, the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has become so human in our eyes by the end of T2 that it's really upsetting when he's reduced to a globby blob of liquid metal. How Shocking Is It? It's sort of clear this has to happen - 🌜the T-800 was never going to stick around as John's surrogate dad - but it still has serious emotional h𒐪eft.
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (1969)
The Movie: Classic, achingly cool Western following outlaw Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) and his train-robbing Hole in the Wall Gang. Cassidy goes on the run with Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) after a botched raid.
The Deaths: Hiding out in Bolivia, Butch and Sundance are surrounded in a barn by Bolivian soldiers who aren't going to let them out alive. True to their character, the duo break out of their hiding place with guns blazing, fearlessly facing their demise. How Shocking Is It? We don't actually see the titu🍃lar team die, which dampenౠs the shock factor, but it's still pretty distressing that they don’t make it out alive.
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
The Movie: Arthur Penn directs Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the titular crims, who embark on a bank-robbing spree during the Great Depression.
The Deaths: Finally cornered by the cops, Bonnie and Clyde are subjected to a firing squad-style death as they're pumped fill of led.
How Shocking Is It? If you know the story of Bonnie and Clyde at all, the ending won't shock you. What IS⛦ shocking is the explicit nature of their deaths - the hugely visual portrayal caused quite a scandal in the sixties and remains unsettling today.
Man On Fire (2004)
The Movie : Former CIA agent and functioning alcoholic John Creasy (Denzel Washington) is hired as the bodyguard of nine-year-old Pita Ramos (Dakota Fanning). When she's kidnapped, he'll stop at nothing to get her back.
The Death: In order to save Pita, Creasy surrenders himself, but not before he's been shot by Aurelio (Gero Camilo). He bleeds out in the company of the kidnappers…
How Shocking Is It? It's 🐲more tragic/moving than all-out shocking. Creasy redeems himself as a character and we leave the ci♏nema knowing he was a good guy at heart.
Psycho (1960)
The Movie: Hitchcock's defining feature following the proprietor of the Bates Motel, who turns out to be a not very nice guy.
The Death : Only one of the most famous death scenes in cinema history, as Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is attacked in the shower by a 'woman' wielding a butcher's knife. How Shocking Is It? Even if you've never seen Psycho, you'll know all about this scene. That said, back in the sixties it was so shocking that people actually screamed and covered🎃 their faces in cinemas.
Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
The Movie: David Lean's World War II flick, adapted from Pierre Boulle's same-named book. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) attempts to build a bridge as a symbol of British spirit.
The Death: Nicholson's comrades all end up variously beaten, bludgeoned and bullet-riddled, while Nicholson himself collapses onto the plunger that detonates the bridge, derailing a train in the process… How Shocking Is It? "Madness! Madness!" sums it up pretty well in what is a brilliantly shocking finale.
Get Carter (1971)
The Movie: Classic revenge flick in which gangster Jack Carter (Michael Caine) returns to his home turf of Newcastle to get revenge for his brother's death.
The Death: Having beaten Eric to death (in the same way that Eric killed his brother), Carter strolls off down a beach - and is shot in the head by a sniper with a rifle… How Shocking Is It? So shocking i🍎t had us lurching out of our seats in horror. Carter's fulfilled his vendetta and we think this is a happy ending - until that sniper shot.
Harold & Maude (1971)
The Movie: Pitch black comedy following Harold (Bud Cort), a death-obsessed teenager whose life is given fresh meaning when he befriends and falls in love with sweet-natured pensioner Maude (Ruth Gordon).
The Death: Believing that 80 is the proper age to die, Maude takes some sleeping pills at her birthday party and passes away in Harold's arms.
How Shocking Is It? It's more upsetting than shocking. We love Maude just as much as Harold, and though she's talked about ending things at 80, we can't help harbouring a secret hope that she won't go through with it.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The Movie: Quentin Tarantino's bloody debut following a gang of suit-wearing thieves who diamond heist goes horribly wrong and causes an outbreak of paranoia amongst the ranks.
The Deaths: Um, who DOESN'T cark it at the end of Reservoir Dogs ? Even Mr White (Harvey Keitel) doesn't seem to survive, shot down amid the bullet-riddled bodies of his comrades.
How Shocking Is It? The film's bloodbath finale has gone down in history as one of the most outr🔯ageous, claret-soaked scenes ♍in cinema history. So, yeah, pretty shocking.
Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
The Movie: Heart-rending adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's novel, set during the Second World War as siblings Seita and Setsuko attempt to find a way to survive despite overwhelmingly bad odds. The Death : Suffering from malnutrition, Setsuko begins hallucinating and shortly after dies. Just a few weeks later, Seita's own ravaged body fails and he, too, passes away. How Shocking Is It? Massively. For anybody who dismisses animated movies as 'for kids', just watch this and tel🏅l 💧us they're not capable of addressing hugely disturbing issues.
Dancer In The Dark (2000)
The Movie: Lars Von Trier's musical drama starring Björk as Selma Jeková, an Eastern European immigrant living in America. When her landlord steals her savings, she attempts to get them back - and ends up killing him.
The Death: Put on trial for murder, Selma is sentenced to death and hanged as she sings the film's final, accompaniment-free song. How Shocking Is It? So shocking that just thinking about it is making our eyes ✨water. Th♈is is surely one of the most upsetting things ever put on film.
The Wicker Man (1973)
The Movie: Creepy British horror. When Sergeant Neil Howie (Edward Woodward) visits Summerisle to investigate the case of a missing girl, he discovers the island is home to a cult of pagans…
The Death: At the film's close, Howie discovers he's to be sacrificed to pagan gods by being burned alive in a giant wicker man. No screaming, now…
How Shocking Is It? Shocking AND iconic. And no, Nicolas Cage's remake🅷 couldn't come close.
Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Ediౠtor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteriﷺes and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.
