10 Non-Horror Movies Where All The Main Characters Die

10 Non-Horror Movies Where All The Main Characters Die


Warning: This article discusses topics of extreme violence and death.

Horror isn’t the only genre with movies where all the main characters die. Some of the best movies of all time see the deaths of one or more characters, and it’s always a shock when a prominent figure dies. However, it’s an unusual occasion in which all the main characters die. Plenty of slasher movies kill off every character, although this is the staple of the subgenre.

While it’s normal for a horror movie to slaughter its characters, whether that’s one-by-one or all in one go, it’s strange when another genre kills so many people. Sudden character deaths in movies often cause a significant shift in tone, so killing more than one off is a brilliant way for a film to grab the audiences’ attention. Whether it’s because of an apocalypse, revenge, or a series of coincidental events, these movies continue to astound viewers when all of their main characters die.

10

Hamlet (1996)

Shakespeare’s Famous Tale About Death After Death

Revealing that everyone dies in Hamlet is far from a spoiler, and anyone who is vaguely familiar with the works of William Shakespeare should know this, too. The 1996 adaptation of Hamlet is one of Kenneth Branagh’s best movies, which is frequently praised for how well it lives up to its source material. Hamlet is the ultimate murderous revenge story, with the titular character setting his sights on his uncle Cladius, after the death of his father. However, Cladius isn’t the only one to be killed off in Hamlet.

A custom image combining West Side Story, She's The Man, Warm Bodies

Related


10 Movies You Never Knew Were Secretly Shakespeare Adaptations

Shakespeare’s works have had a massive influence on the stories we tell today, and in fact, many movies are direct adaptations of the Bard’s stories.

Various other characters die in several ways. Ophelia appears to commit suicide due to madness, Polonius is killed by Hamlet by accident, and Gertrude mistakenly takes the poison that is meant for Hamlet, to name a few. Although Horatio is technically listed as a main character, he is more of a supporting figure as he plays a backseat role during a large chunk of the film. However, the fact he is the sole survivor, despite threatening suicide at the end of the movie, is a more harrowing fate than death itself.

9

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

The Final Battle Is One Of Star Wars’ Most Fatal

While it’s not unusual for one or two villainous characters to die in the Star Wars movies, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story goes to the extreme by killing off all of its main characters in the final battle. It’s baffling that Rogue One only killed one main character originally, considering the final death count is so unexpected for the Star Wars franchise. K-2SO sacrifices himself to buy Jyn and Cassian more time, only for the pair to die when the Death Star destroys the citadel.

Every member of the Rebel command ship is butchered by Vader, too, so it’s not just the main characters who are dead by the end of the film.

Chirrut is brutally killed after he activates communication with the Rebel Fleet, followed shortly by Baze’s demise, and Bodhi meets his end by a grenade. Every member of the Rebel command ship is butchered by Vader, too, so it’s not just the main characters who are dead by the end of the film. Although the slaughtering of hundreds isn’t new in the Star Wars universe, it’s usually Stormtroopers or Clones that are killed in such large groups, and it’s shocking that Rogue One features the deaths of so many prominent characters.

8

Sunshine (2007)

The Crew’s Dangerous Mission Isn’t Their Biggest Concern

Danny Boyle and Cillian Murphy’s sci-fi movie Sunshine, implies that there will be death from the beginning. Sunshine follows a group of eight astronauts from the year 2057, who leave Earth in the attempts to reignite the Sun in order to save a freezing Earth. Their mission immediately suggests that the group will be in extreme danger, despite the characters insisting that they are going to return home. It’s no surprise that everyone dies, but the ways they are killed off are unexpected.

Capa and Cassie are the only ones to die from the bomb explosion at the end of Sunshine. The rest of the crew is picked off in other ways, though. Kaneda is incinerated while fixing a panel, Harvey misses the airlock when jumping from Icarus I and dies from space exposure, Searle is exposed to unfiltered sunlight and burns, Trey commits suicide, Pinbacker stabs Corazon, and Mace freezes to death. Even though Sunshine isn’t a horror movie, it feels like one at times, especially as audiences are never sure who will die next.

7

This Is The End (2013)

A Hollywood Culling

​​​​

This Is the End is a fantastic apocalyptic comedy by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, which follows the fictionalized versions of several Hollywood actors, including Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, and many more. There are many deaths in This Is the End, and shortly after the film’s beginning, dozens of huge celebrities like Rihanna and Michael Cera are swallowed up by the ground. While a small group survives the early hours of the apocalypse, by the end of the movie, everyone is dead.

Collage of Michael Cera and Rihanna in This Is the End

Related


Rihanna Did WHAT To Michael Cera In This Is The End?

Michael Cera had a particularly intense scene with Rihanna when filming the 2013 comedy movie This is the End. What happened between the co-stars?

However, many of the deaths in This Is the End are very comical. Franco is eaten alive by cannibals, Hill is possessed by a demon and burned to death, and anyone else who manages to keep themselves safe until this point is raptured by God. Although the characters reunite at the end, strangely encountering the Backstreet Boys, they are technically in Heaven and are now dead. This Is the End is a movie in which audiences aren’t exactly devastated by the demise of the characters, and considering it’s a barely realistic apocalypse movie, it makes sense nobody survives.

6

Don’t Look Up (2021)

It’s Hard To Avoid An Earth-Destroying Comet

Don’t Look Up’s characters are loosely based on real people, although this doesn’t necessarily make it easier to root for their survival. Every single person in Don’t Look Up is killed by a comet colliding with Earth, whether that’s the characters or just the billions of unknown people living their lives. It’s admirable that Mindy refuses a space on the sleeper ship, despite working so hard to open humanity’s eyes to their impending doom, although it’s later clear that this is the correct decision.

2000 people, including the President and BASH’s CEO, escape Earth and arrive on an alien planet thousands of years later.

Don’t Look Up’s after credit scenes reveal President Orleon is abruptly killed by a bird-like creature, and it is assumed that the 1999 remaining survivors also succumb to a similar fate. The only character who is alive by the end of Don’t Look Up is the President’s son, Jason, although he likely doesn’t survive for long after by himself. Nobody wants an extinction-level event, but considering the government and BASH’s behavior, it’s easy to argue they deserve their brutal demise.

5

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Not Every Death In A Western Is A Shootout

There are several movies where every character is actually horrible, and one of those is The Hateful Eight, which is why the deaths of the main personalities aren’t exactly hard to watch. Quentin Tarantino’s Western is set just after the Civil War and follows a group of strangers who all take cover from a blizzard in a stagecoach stopover, and throughout the film, each of them is brutally killed off. The various confrontations are viscous, which results in deaths from shooting, poisoning, and hanging.

Tarantino’s depiction of extreme violence is like no other, so it’s no surprise that everyone dies in The Hateful Eight.

The Hateful Eight’s timeline is complicated, and flashbacks reveal others are killed before the events of the film begin. Mannix and Warren appear to survive The Hateful Eight, but considering how badly damaged they are, the movie’s ending is up to interpretation, as it seems likely that the pair quickly succumb to their injuries after the credits roll. Tarantino’s depiction of extreme violence is like no other, so it’s no surprise that everyone dies in The Hateful Eight.

4

Melancholia (2011)

Everyone Faces The End Of The World Differently

Melancholia is a fascinating watch, and while it is an end-of-the-world movie that actually ends the world, Lars von Trier’s take on the events that lead to the disaster is definitely unique. Justine’s ever-growing despair and further descent into depression suggests that she’ll meet her end by killing herself, but she doesn’t. In fact, it’s Claire’s husband, John, who commits suicide after his enthusiasm for astronomy betrays him.

With the titular rogue planet on course to collide with Earth, the sisterly relationship between Justine and Claire is somehow stronger and simultaneously more strained than ever. Justine finds peace at their impending doom, as does her nephew Leo, although it’s likely that he doesn’t fully understand the situation. It’s Claire who loses control of her emotions just before the three of them, and the rest of the world, are engulfed in a wave of fire. Melancholia is scary in its own way, and the movie proves that the effects of climate change are undoubtedly terrifying.

3

Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World (2012)

The Epitome Of Bad Timing

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World stars Keira Knightley as Penny and Steve Carell as Dodge, two complete strangers who find comfort in one another in the lead-up to an asteroid wiping out life on Earth. While a majority of the deaths are due to the asteroid, others die in different ways. Shortly after the announcement of the extinction-level event, several people commit suicide, including one of Dodge’s colleagues and a man called Glenn, who the pair encounter while on their crazy journey to get Penny back to England so she can say goodbye to her family.

The Cabin In The Woods, Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World and Melancholia

Related


10 End Of The World Movies That Don’t Focus On Saving It, According To Reddit

In recent years, there has been an influx of apocalyptic end-of-the-world movies but these few abandon the need to save it and instead accept it.

Penny’s awful ex-boyfriend Owen is left behind in the riots, and if he doesn’t die when the asteroid hits, it can be assumed that he is killed during the chaos in the streets. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World doesn’t focus on saving the world, rather the importance of making the last days count. It’s heartbreaking that Dodge and Penny find one another in such a terrible situation, especially as they have been neighbors for years, but at least they find solace together as the Earth is destroyed.

2

Employee Of The Month (2004)

Faking A Death Can Be Fatal

It isn’t suggested everyone is going to die throughout a majority of Employee of the Month, that is, until its shocking movie twist ending. Employee of the Month follows Dave, a man who loses his job at the bank, and his fiancée Sara, all in the same day. When Dave is injured in a bank robbery, it seems that his luck has completely run out. However, it turns out that the robbery is part of a convoluted plan between Dave, Sara, and their friends Wendy and Jack, which results in all of their deaths.

Greed is a complicated thing, and after faking Dave’s death and claiming his life insurance, the group plans to split the money. Employee of the Month highlights the complexities of long relationships between people, and Jack abruptly shoots Dave over a childhood accident that causes a lot of animosity. To add a twist to a twist, Wendy then kills Dave and runs off with the money and Sara, who turn out to be a secret couple. Although it seems like Wendy and Sara get their happy ending, it’s cut short when their car is hit by a bus.

1

Scarface (1983)

Power Comes At A Price

There are over 40 deaths in Scarface, and while most of these aren’t those of the main characters, it’s still astounding how many people die in the film. From the arrival of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in Scarface, the smell of death is in the air, and the protagonist is quickly forced to watch Angel be dismembered with a chainsaw. This sets off a chain of events in which Tony kills several other people and climbs the gangster ladder, which leads up to Scarface’s iconic gun scene.

Tony murders his right-hand man, Manny, because he is jealous of his relationship with his sister, Gina. She is, in turn, killed by a henchman after she shoots Tony in a rage. Chi-Chi is also killed by invaders, which sends Tony into such a state that he attacks them with a grenade launcher. Tony’s death is a shocking moment, although the shot of him falling from the balcony and into the pool is a beautiful piece of cinematography. Nobody from Tony’s past survives, nor him, although the impact he leaves behind isn’t forgotten about.

Share your love

Related Posts