Death is never fun, and these characters learned that the hard way!
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00:00Character death in horror TV is about as common as taxes and, well, death is in real life.
00:05And the last decade of horror TV in particular has been no stranger to allowing the Grim Reaper
00:11to step in, and all of the following deaths are a pure indication of just how brilliant
00:15the swing of their scythe can be, even if it breaks your heart in the process.
00:20I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are the 10 Best Death Scenes in Recent Horror TV Shows.
00:2610. The Walking Dead 1 More – Maze
00:29After 11 seasons, The Walking Dead naturally lost a bit of its bite. After countless death
00:34scenes and a bit of creative fatigue, it was rare for the show in its final years to muster up a
00:39genuine gut punch, though one of its final shockers came in the even unlikelier run
00:45of the bonus self-contained COVID-19 episodes that bridged the gap between season 10 and 11.
00:51The episode in question, 1 More, features franchise staples Aaron and Gabriel out on
00:56a supply run when they're ambushed in the night by a crazed lone gunman. This guy, Maze, played
01:03by the freaking excellent Robert Patrick, forces the pair to play a twisted game of Russian Roulette.
01:08He gives them a choice, keep taking turns until one of the pair blows their own brains out,
01:13or turn the weapon on their friend to save their own life. It's all apparently to prove his own
01:19ideology, that humans, no matter how close they may be, will always turn on each other when the
01:24going gets tough. Now, while a total nutter, Maze isn't entirely unsympathetic. It's clear that he's
01:31been through some serious trauma, explaining that his own brother tried to kill him for his remaining
01:36scraps of food. Likewise, when he realises that Gabriel and Aaron really are prepared to take
01:41their own lives to save the person in front of them, despite both having family and children
01:46back home, Maze does come around. He sets them free, breaking down and eventually having a change
01:53of heart. And at this point, it seems like we're in for a happy-ish ending, with Maze realising
01:58that people can change, and trusting the two men. But just as he and the audience let their guard
02:04down, Gabriel brutally bashes his head in with Aaron's mace arm. It's a shocking and genuinely
02:11deflating moment, and a reminder that even the good guys in the world of The Walking Dead
02:16aren't always as good as their word.
02:189. Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities – The Autopsy – Dr. Carl Winters
02:24Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities was the deliciously macabre treat that many
02:29were hoping it would be. And when it comes to picking a favourite episode, most people will
02:33likely differ, but one undisputed highlight has to be The Autopsy. This episode saw Dr. Carl
02:40Winters perform an autopsy, big shock there, on a strange body. He pieced together the mystery of
02:45the corpse, and learned that an alien parasite had actually been using it as a physical host.
02:51Towards the climax of the episode, Dr. Winters found himself on the cutting room floor with
02:55the alien creature, attempting to make his body it's new host. However in a moment of pure ingenuity,
03:02he used his own knowledge of the creature, that being that it can't see or hear without a host,
03:07in order to trap it. As the alien infested his body, he stabbed out his eyes and ears,
03:13and then slit his own throat, trapping the monster inside of him with nowhere to get out.
03:18He also wrote a message in blood, encouraging the incoming sheriff to burn his body,
03:24taking himself and the creature out together. It was a sublime moment that allowed the
03:29character's final moments to be an act of pure heroism.
03:338. The Sandman – Gregory
03:35Everyone knows that killing animals off in TV shows is pure evil, and Netflix's The Sandman
03:41only went and did it twice. However, it was the death of Gregory that really togued the
03:46viewer's heartstrings. After losing everything, Morpheus, otherwise known as Dream, was forced
03:52to go back to his land and attempt to regain his strength. There, he ran into Cain and Abel,
03:56alongside their adorable pet gargoyle Gregory. This guy was the cute figure the show needed,
04:02but things were about to get painful. In order to perform a ritual, Morpheus needed to
04:08take Gregory back, essentially erasing him from existence to give himself some power.
04:13Now, this scene was as heartbreaking as it comes, as this innocent and kind creature
04:18willingly gave itself over to the person who created him. While most entries on this list
04:23consist of brutal executions or violent conflicts, this is a simple and poignant
04:28scene that shows a brave character making one final sacrifice.
04:327. Creepshow – Public Television of the Dead – Mrs. Brookberry
04:37Shudder's Creepshow series has been an unpredictable, but often delightful slice
04:41of pure horror fun. You can never really tell what the series will give you next,
04:46but one shock nobody saw coming was the segment Public Television of the Dead. This short saw a
04:52Bob Ross-inspired painter battling against a deadite-possessed Ted Raimi. Yes, really.
04:59This tongue-in-cheek evil dead parody introduced us to a character called Mrs. Brookberry,
05:04a violent, arrogant woman who wanted more screen time to herself, and didn't care who got camped
05:09for it. So, seeing her eventually possessed by a deadite certainly felt like karma on that one.
05:16Eventually, she found herself facing off against the protagonist Claudia, who took an axe to her
05:21head after proclaiming the supremely cheesy one-liner, I'm cutting your budget. Just magnificent.
05:29Brilliant stuff. Now, decapitation themselves in horror like this are often a ton of fun,
05:34but what makes this one even better was that the head slice was broadcast on public television.
05:40You got to see the chop in person, and then the image of kids reacting to it on their TV screens.
05:46This added a hilariously mean-spirited flavour to the death, and it's all the better for it.
05:516. Alice in Borderland – Chota, Karabe and Sayori
05:55For anyone unfamiliar with the death game mayhem of Netflix's Alice in Borderland,
06:00you're missing a real treat. This Japanese series is a fun yet terrifying delve into action,
06:06violence, mystery, intrigue, and unfortunately, betrayal. In this series, a young man named
06:12Arisu is transported to a strange world alongside his two best friends, Chota and Karabe. There,
06:18they meet with a woman named Sayori, and compete in a slew of terrifying games.
06:23And the price of losing these games is an agonising death. In episode 3, a devastating
06:29challenge sees Arisu play against Chota, Karabe and Sayori in a game that will result in only
06:34one of them surviving. They're all fitted with neck braces that have charged explosives in them,
06:39and forced to play hide and seek, with the seeker being the only one who makes it out alive.
06:45After an emotionally harrowing conflict and a physical struggle between the friends,
06:49they all decide to hide and allow Arisu to take the win. He tries desperately to find them and
06:54let one of his friends live, but in the end he's forced to watch as Karabe's head explodes right
06:59in front of him, and this is only three episodes into the whole show.
07:05All of Us Are Dead – Hangeyong-su As the title may suggest,
07:08plenty of people die in this horror show. However, that shouldn't come as much of a surprise,
07:13seeing as the series focuses on high school kids battling against waves of the undead,
07:17and if even Rick Grimes struggled, then you know these kids will. Picking just one death
07:23from the bunch is a tough ask, but one that really stood out, mostly for its unfairness,
07:28was the tragic demise of Hangeyong-su. This character was the incredibly likeable and
07:33loyal friend of Chiyoung-san. However, thanks to his poor financial position,
07:38he was despised by the spoilt rich kid, Lee Nayoung. And this hatred became all too real
07:43after she falsely claimed he was infected, causing him to be quarantined. Rather than admitting her
07:49fault later on, Nayoung decided to forcibly infect him with zombie blood from her handkerchief,
07:56causing him to turn. And it was devastating to watch as he was the last person who deserved
08:01such cruel treatment. Midnight Mass – Riley
08:05Wow, a Mike Flanagan project on a horror TV list? Who saw that one coming? Midnight Mass
08:12is a compelling piece of TV full of tension plot twists and a slow burn horror that doesn't
08:18patronise you with frequent jumpscares. Initial main character Riley is a troubled man who returns
08:24to his hometown of Crockett after getting released from prison. He's haunted by the
08:28images of the girl he accidentally killed while driving under the influence, not to mention the
08:32bizarre supernatural happenings following the arrival of Father Paul Hill. One saving grace
08:39for Riley is being reunited with Erin, a girl he's known since childhood. Unfortunately,
08:44just as this relationship begins to blossom, he stumbles upon the town's secret. A vampiric angel
08:50that's lurking on the island. As the beast notices Riley, it immediately pounces and takes a bite
08:56out of his neck. That's not all though. Waking up transformed, it seems as though Riley is destined
09:02to spend the rest of the show as the first real townsperson to become an undead monster. However,
09:08unable to live with himself, he takes a rowboat out with Erin, confesses his love to her,
09:13and to prove to her that he's not crazy about what just happened to him, allows himself to
09:18turn to ash in front of her as the sun rises. It is a haunting scene and a huge surprise to
09:25see the main character bite it before the climax of the show had even kicked into gear.
09:293. Squid Game, Ali
09:32Squid Game was a series that walked hand in hand with death. The kill count on this Netflix
09:37original was so high that you were lucky to even make it out with just one of your favourite
09:41characters still breathing. Unfortunately, anyone who fell in love with the kind-hearted Ali,
09:46which was admittedly most viewers, knew this all too well. Throughout the show,
09:51characters would backstab, betray, and attack anyone and everyone to keep themselves afloat
09:56in the game, but Ali was not like that. He was trusting and helpful and did his best to keep
10:02his friends alive. Sadly, then the marbles game came along and his naive nature was used against
10:09him. During this game, the character was paired with Chang Sang-woo and taught to compete for a
10:13collection of marbles in any way they chose to. However, Sang-woo ended up deceiving Ali by
10:18stealing his marbles and trading them with a bag of small stones. So, when the timer went off,
10:24Ali looked inside the bag and saw that he'd been tricked and knew that a gunshot would soon come
10:30to his head. The moment was utterly heartbreaking, but did stand as one of the crowning pieces of
10:35storytelling in this stellar series. 2. Stranger Things – Chrissy
10:40Yes, if you've been on any social media site that allows sound in the past year or so, you'll no
10:46doubt be familiar with the dramatic cries of Eddie Munson as his drug deal with popular cheerleader
10:51Chrissy turned into a painful mess. The fourth season of Stranger Things was a dramatic return
10:56to form in general for the Netflix horror show and it brought in the terrifying Vecna as the
11:02new Big Bat, as well as delivering some of the scariest moments to have ever taken place in
11:07Hawkins, Indiana. But the demise of Chrissy takes the prize as the most visceral one yet.
11:13Now this poor girl was tormented by strange visions and terrifying events,
11:17leading the audience to believe that a terrible fate was coming her way. And eventually this
11:22prophecy came true as Vecna, from inside her own mind, contorted her body and tore out her eyes.
11:29The moment was shocking to be sure, but what made it all the more dramatic was the fact that Eddie
11:34and Chrissy had such sublime chemistry. Seeing this happen to such a kind and likeable character
11:39stung hard. 1. The Haunting of Hill House – Nell
11:43Yep, it's Mike Flanagan back at it again with yet another genuinely genius character demise.
11:50However, while Riley's death in Midnight Mass was an emotionally charged exchange,
11:54Nell's death was simply a mind-blowing revelation. All the characters in The Haunting of Hill House
12:00went through hell, but poor Nellie had it especially hard. She was haunted from a young
12:05age by the terrifying appearances of the Bent Neck Lady, that being a ghostly figure with a
12:11snapped neck. This all came to a head when her therapist recommended that she return to the
12:16site of her trauma, the titular Hill House. However, whilst there, she's greeted by visions
12:22of her life as a child, though those visions eventually fade, and she's met with the ghost
12:26of her mother, who puts a noose around her neck and pushes her off a stairwell. And as if the
12:32hanging wasn't bad enough, Nell then transports through time to all the moments where the Bent
12:36Neck Lady appeared before her, realising that she had been this ghostly figure all along.
12:42It's the kind of reveal that simultaneously scares you and gives you the goosebumps,
12:47and that's all you can ask for really when it comes to horror TV.
12:50So that's our list, I want to know what you guys think down in the comments below. Are there any
12:54other horror TV death scenes that you think deserve a spot on here, and what did you think
12:58of this lot? Let me know, and while you're down there if you could please give us a like, share,
13:02subscribe, and head over to What Culture Horror for more lists and news like this on the regular.
13:06Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.