Many great horror movies start by killing off the biggest name in their cast, since this is a surefire way to shock an audience. Whether it is a supernatural ghost story, a slasher, or a teen horror movie, it is tough for scary movies to shock audiences. The genre’s well-worn tropes have become familiar to viewers over the decades, and fans of horror movies know that anyone opening a mirrored bathroom cabinet should expect to see someone lurking behind them when they close it. As such, horror movies like 1996’s classic slasher Scream have to get inventive.
The best horror movies subvert the genre’s familiar conventions, rewriting the rules and twisting audience expectations. Some horror movies will kill off a paranormal expert early on to signal that no amount of expertise can keep the heroes safe. Alternatively, movies like The Descent start as grounded survival thrillers, only to introduce more explicit horror elements after viewers are lured in by a realistic story. Some horror movies take place in the hero’s head since this is one of the few twists that viewers can’t guess in advance. However, all these approaches pale in comparison to killing off an A-list star.
10Alien—John Hurt
Alien’s first kill proved that no one was safe in the sci-fi horror
Alien (1979)
ThrillerRelease DateJune 22, 1979CastSigourney Weaver , Ian Holm , John Hurt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , Tom Skerritt , Yaphet KottoRuntime117 minutesFranchise(s)AlienDirectorRidley ScottStudio(s)20th Century Fox
One guaranteed route to shocking the audience is introducing a famous cast member and then killing them off early on. 1979’s Alien killed off John Hurt’s Kane near the beginning even though, at the time of the movie’s release, Hurt was one of the most famous members of Alien‘s cast. Performances in Midnight Express, 1978’s The Lord of the Rings, and A Man for All Seasons raised Hurt’s profile, so it was a gruesome shock when his early exit came in Alien’s first act.
9Return to Horror High—George Clooney
George Clooney’s brief Return to Horror High proved hilariously ironic
While George Clooney wasn’t a major star when he appeared in Return to Horror High, the prescient meta-slasher’s early kill is so fascinating that it still warrants mention. Return to Horror High is a horror comedy about a film crew shooting a trashy slasher movie on the site of a real-life killing spree, only for them to be picked off by the original killer. Clooney’s Return to Horror High character is the first to die, immediately after the arrogant actor insists he’s destined for bigger things.
8Life—Ryan Reynolds
2017’s sci-fi horror owed a creative debt to Alien
Life
R
Sci-Fi
ThrillerRelease DateMarch 24, 2017CastRyan Reynolds , Alexandre Nguyen , Rebecca Ferguson , Hiroyuki Sanada , Ariyon Bakare , Olga Dihovichnaya , Jake GyllenhaalRuntime110minutesDirectorDaniel Espinosa
Although Life might not be the most inventive sci-fi horror movie ever made, the Alien homage does feature one legitimately shocking death scene. A strong cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ryan Reynolds stars as engineers on a space station who encounter a bizarre extraterrestrial life form. However, before viewers can even begin to wonder who will survive and who is doomed, Reynolds’s character is killed off brutally in Life‘s opening act. Thanks to the actor’s star power, it’s a genuine shock.
7A Haunting In Venice—Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh’s role in Poirot’s murder mystery was cut short
A Haunting in Venice
NOT YET RATED
Crime
Drama
Horror
MysteryRelease DateSeptember 15, 2023CastKyle Allen , Kenneth Branagh , Camille Cottin , Jamie Dornan , Tina Fey , Jude Hill , Kelly Reilly , Michelle YeohRuntime100 MinutesDirectorKenneth Branagh
Director Kenneth Branagh’s third Poirot adaptation is by far his strongest thanks to its eerie gothic atmosphere. A Haunting In Venice’s opening scene does give away its killer, but it is easy to forgive the movie’s predictable elements thanks to its strongest surprise. Fresh off her Oscar win for Everything Everywhere All At Once, Michelle Yeoh briefly plays a medium in A Haunting In Venice. However, minutes after Poriot debunks her act, the star is dead, and the mystery is underway.
6Feast—Eric Dane
This 2006 horror-comedy thoroughly misled viewers early on
2005’s Feast is a gory horror comedy that never takes itself too seriously, as epitomized by its opening scene. When Grey’s Anatomy star Eric Dane first appears onscreen, an on-screen name tag labels him “Hero.” He warns the patrons of a Nevada bar that there are bloodthirsty monsters on their way, displaying the severed head of one creature to prove his point. The locals are convinced and ready to rally around his leadership, before Dane’s character is torn to pieces by the monsters seconds after his introduction.
5Vampires Vs The Bronx—Zoe Saldana
The ubiquitous Saldana barely appeared onscreen before her death scene
Vampires Vs the Bronx
PG-13
Horror
ComedyRelease DateOctober 2, 2020CastGregory Diaz IV , Jaden Michael , Sarah Gadon , Method Man , Shea WhighamRuntime85 minutesDirectorOsmany Rodriguez
Not all of Vampires Vs The Bronx’s subversive gags work, but its opening scene is strong. MCU mainstay Zoe Saldana appears as the salon patron Becky and viewers are immediately led to believe that the Avatar star must be the movie’s heroine. It seems as if this horror comedy couldn’t just kill off Saldana after only a minute of screen time, but that is exactly what the pre-credits sequence does, disarming viewers in the process.
4House of Wax (2005)—Jared Padalecki
This slasher remake wasn’t as predictable as some might have assumed
House of Wax
R
Horror
ThrillerRelease DateMay 6, 2005CastBrian Van Holt , Paris Hilton , Elisha Cuthbert , Chad Michael Murray , Jared PadaleckiRuntime113 minutes
2005’s House of Wax may be nothing like its supposed inspiration, but this slasher does still have its moments. For example, introducing Jared Padalecki’s Wade as if he were the movie’s hero, only to kill him off first, is a truly unexpected move. The rest of the slasher lacks this level of invention, but this initial subversion of expectations remains an effective twist.
3Fear Street: 1994— Maya Hawke
Fear Street’s first kill echoed a famous ‘90s slasher
Fear Street: Part One – 1994
R
Horror
MysteryRelease DateJuly 2, 2021CastDarrell Britt-Gibson , Benjamin Flores Jr. , Maya Hawke , Jordana Spiro , Fred Hechinger , Olivia Scott Welch , Ashley Zukerman , Kiana Madeira , Jeremy Ford , Julia Rehwald , Jordyn DiNataleRuntime105 minutesFranchise(s)Fear StreetDirectorLeigh JaniakStudio(s)Netflix
Although the Fear Street movies pulled from every decade of horror for inspiration, the first movie in the trilogy is firmly indebted to the slasher boom of the ‘90s. Specifically, Fear Street: 1994 owes a lot to Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and their slew of imitators. To this end, it makes sense that Fear Street: 1994‘s opening scene sees Stranger Things star Maya Hawke killed before the title card even appears onscreen, a witty homage to Scream’s infamous opening scene.
2Polaroid—Madelaine Petsch
Riverdale’s star didn’t last long in this horror movie
Polaroi
DramaRelease DateSeptember 17, 2019CastKeenan Tracey , Javier Botet , Samantha Logan , Mitch Pileggi , Kathryn Prescott , Tyler YoungRuntime88 minutesDirectorLars Klevberg
It is tough to know how intentional Madelaine Petsch’s stunt casting was in 2017’s Polaroid, since the actor may have gotten the gig before Riverdale made her a star. Regardless, Polaroid’s opening scene kills off the biggest name on its cast list in the lone truly shocking moment from this otherwise middling supernatural horror. Petsch’s upcoming The Strangers reboot won’t be able to repeat this trick, but Polaroid ending her role so swiftly made the movie feel much less predictable than most ghost-centric teen horror stories.
1Scream—Drew Barrymore
Barrymore’s unforgettable Scream death was an iconic moment in slasher cinema
Scream
Not availableRelease DateDecember 20, 1996CastDrew Barrymore , Kevin Patrick Walls , David Booth , Carla Hatley , Neve Campbell , Skeet UlrichRuntime111 minutesFranchise(s)ScreamDirectorWes CravenStudio(s)Woods Entertainment
While Alien’s first kill was a surprise, it can’t compare to the most famous A-list death in horror cinema history. Drew Barrymore was featured heavily in Scream’s promotional materials, with the creators of the seminal meta-slasher movie implying that she was its star and Final Girl. As such, when the iconic actor died in the opening scene after enduring a terrifying, tense game of cat and mouse, viewers had no idea what to expect. This subversion of expectations made Scream one of the strongest horror movies of the ‘90s and remains the gold standard for stunt casting in the genre.
