Typically, audiences can rely on seeing a movie’s protagonist make it to the end unscathed. However, every so often, filmmakers like to defy expectations by having the character we have been following meet their maker, usually at the story’s conclusion, but sometimes even earlier. Beware of SPOILERS as we revisit some iconic movies that shocked the world by showing the main character’s demise.
Ghost (1990)
The acclaimed romantic “horror” movie Ghost is a prime example of a film in which the main character is dead for the majority of the story. Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered about 20 minutes in, but his spirit remains to solve the truth behind his death and reach out to his longtime girlfriend, Molly (Demi Moore), with the help of a medium named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg, in an Oscar-winning performance).
Titanic (1997)
The fictional romance at the center of James Cameron‘s Titanic comes to a tragic end when Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) succumbs to the ocean’s freezing temperatures – a death many believe could have been prevented if Rose (Kate Winslet) shared her makeshift liferaft. She is later reunited with her lover, however, when she succumbs to old age at the end of the Best Picture Oscar winner based on a true story.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Tom Hanks‘ Captain John H. Miller does, indeed, accomplish his eponymous mission in Steven Spielberg‘s harrowing war movie classic, Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, he does not survive the task, but not before urging Private John Francis Ryan (Matt Damon) to “earn” the life he has been given, thanks to this rescue.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame comes to a bittersweet conclusion when the team is forced to say goodbye to the hero who kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first place, Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), after he saves the universe. Using nano-bot equipped armor to form a makeshift Infinity Gauntlet, he erases Thanos (Josh Brolin) and his army from existence with a finger snap that is, unfortunately, too much for his mortal body to handle.
Gladiator (2000)
Director Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator is the story of Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe), who is sold into slavery by corrupt emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who also murders his family. However, he does reunite with them in the afterlife after defeating Commodus in a duel that he does not survive, having been previously and unfairly wounded by his opponent.
Beetlejuice (1988)
The title character is not the main character in Tim Burton’s ghoulish comedy, Beetlejuice, although Michael Keaton’s mischievous bio-exorcist (whose name is actually spelled “Betelgeuse”) is dead throughout. The plot kicks off when Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara Maitland (Geena Davis) suffer a fatal accident and then try to rid their house of its new living tenants.
Alien (1979)
We all think of Scream Queen Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley as the hero of the Alien movies, but that is not quite the case at the beginning of the saga. Ripley is promoted to the hero of the story and captain of the Nostromo after the Xenomorph attacks Dallas (Tom Skerritt) in a shocking twist.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
There is not exactly one true protagonist in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, as each of its three non-linear stories ultimately has a different lead. However, John Travolta does get top billing for the Oscar-winning drama and his character, Vincent Vega, is mowed down with an uzi by Butch (Bruce Willis) in the second chapter, which is also the film’s chronological finale.
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Technically, Tommy Lee Jones’ Ed Tom Bell is the true central character of Joel and Ethan Coen’s Oscar-winning adaptation of author Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. However, much of the modern Western movie classic follows Josh Brolin’s Llewellyn Moss and his struggle to outrun and outwit the sadistic Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), up until his abrupt murder.
Psycho (1960)
It at least seems like Janet Leigh’s Marion Crane is the central focus of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterful horror movie, Psycho, until about halfway through the story. After the real estate secretary is brutally killed while taking a shower in her motel room, we realize the true “psycho” is Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who murders Marion and others while subconsciously taking on the identity of his dead mother.
Logan (2017)
Hugh Jackman’s retirement from the role of Wolverine was confirmed by the end of Logan, in which the former X-Men member, whose healing ability had been diminishing, gives his life to protect Laura (Dafne Keen) and other young mutants. Of course, seven years later, a variant of the Adamantium-clawed mutant would star in Deadpool & Wolverine, but the emotional conclusion of James Mangold’s Oscar-nominated film is no less effective for it.
Citizen Kane (1941)
The first scene of co-writer and director Orson Welles’ revolutionary drama, Citizen Kane, depicts the death of the megalomaniacal title character, Charles Foster Kane (Welles). The succeeding story follows an investigation regarding the meaning of his final word, “Rosebud.”
Hereditary (2018)
The marketing for first-time feature director Ari Aster’s stunning A24 horror movie, Hereditary, made it seem as if the story would follow young Charlie (Milly Shapiro), making her demise all the more shocking. The unsettling twist confirmed that Charlie’s mother, Annie (Toni Collette), was the film’s true protagonist, but, of course, she would end up losing her head as well.
The Departed (2006)
Director Martin Scorsese’s The Departed is the story of two men on opposite sides of the law, namely undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Sgt. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), who has ties to Boston’s Irish Mob. Both lose their lives by the end, with Costigan getting killed by James Badge Dale’s also corrupt Trooper Barrigan, and Sullivan getting killed by Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg).
The Sixth Sense (1999)
In The Sixth Sense, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) tries to help a young boy (played by Haley Joel Osment) come to terms with his ability to see ghosts. At the end, in just about the best M. Night Shyamalan movie twist, it is revealed that Malcolm himself is a ghost, but neither he nor the audience knew the entire time.
Promising Young Woman (2020)
The Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman is a unique type of revenge movie, following Cassie (Carey Mulligan) and her bid to punish those involved with the assault that drove her friend, Nina, to take her own life. In the end, she achieves her goal, but by allowing herself to get murdered by the man who assaulted Nina, Al Monroe (Chris Lowell), which finally incriminates him.
The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)
The Place Beyond the Pines is widely considered one of the best Ryan Gosling movies, despite the fact that the actor is not actually in the film for very long. Roughly halfway through the story, his character, Luke, dies whilst struggling to get away from a bank robbery job gone wrong.
A Quiet Place (2018)
In the heartbreaking final act of the acclaimed post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, A Quiet Place, Lee Abbott (John Krasinski, who also co-writes and directs) lets out a loud scream to attract the vicious, sound-hunting aliens away from his children, ultimately sacrificing himself for them. In addition to returning to helm the sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, Krasinski reprises the role in a flashback to the day the Death Angels’ invasion begins.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems sees self-destructive jeweler Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) jump through hoops to pay off his insurmountable debt. At the shocking end of the intense, acclaimed A24 movie, just after finally landing the big win he needs, he is abruptly shot in the head by his brother-in-law’s unstable goon, Phil (Kevin William Richards).
Train To Busan (2016)
An essential reason why South Korean import Train to Busan is regarded as one of the greatest zombie movies ever made is its heartbreaking conclusion in which Seok-woo (Gong Yoo) is bitten trying to protect his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an). The father is seen reminiscing about Su-an’s birth right before he becomes one of the undead and, with all the humanity he has left, makes the decision to throw himself off the train and not bring harm to anyone else.
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is not only a film that gets real about mental health, but depicts one of the bleakest realities imaginable for an asylum patient, as seen in the eyes of criminal Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), who only ended up in the institution by pleading insanity. After discovering that McMurphy has been lobotomized and that life has left his eyes, “Big Chief” Bromden (Will Sampson) mercifully suffocates his friend to death before escaping.
Soul (2020)
One of Pixar’s best movies, Soul, tells the story of a jazz musician (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who dies in an accident just after landing the gig of his life. He then explores the afterlife, struggling to figure out a way to return to Earth.
Terrifier (2017)
Terrifier 2 introduces one of the most beloved horror movie Final Girls in Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera), but the woman you expect to make it out alive in its predecessor is not so lucky to be called a Final Girl. In fact, Tara Heyes (Jenna Kanell) even dies in a subversive way, as it seems she is about to put an end to Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) before the sadistic harlequin pulls out a pistol and shoots her in the head.
300 (2007)
Zack Snyder’s 300 is an intense, highly fictionalized account of events surrounding the Battle of Thermopylae. One detail that the film does get right is that the Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) was killed in battle.
To Live And Die In L.A. (1985)
Director William Friedkin’s intense crime thriller, To Live and Die in L.A., follows Secret Service agent Richard Chance (William Petersen) and his determination to find Rick Masters (Willem Dafoe), a counterfeiter who killed his partner. Unfortunately, Masters manages to escape as Chance and Masters’ associate, Jack, fatally shoot each other.
Deep Blue Sea (1999)
One of the most essential reasons why Deep Blue Sea is a classic shark movie is the moment when the film takes a literal bite out of its biggest star, Samuel L. Jackson. The actor’s character, Russell Franklin, is in the middle of a heroic speech when a genetically engineered shark leaps out of the water, pulls him underneath the surface, and eats him alive.
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
A movie dad we would be proud to have is Guido Orefice, played by co-writer and director Roberto Benigni in the heartbreaking Holocaust-era drama, Life is Beautiful. The Jewish-American man remains committed to using humor to shield his young son from the unspeakable tragedy surrounding him up until the very moment he is shot by Nazi officers.
Carnival Of Souls (1962)
In the cult horror film Carnival of Souls, Candace Hilligoss stars as Mary Henry, who takes a job as an organ player for a traveling carnival after suffering a terrible car accident. However, as the final scene reveals, Mary never actually survived that accident.
Sean Connery was open about how much he disliked one of his last movies, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which is based on a comic book by Alan Moore that groups various iconic figures of literature together, including Captain Nemo and Tom Sawyer. At least, if there had been a sequel, the former James Bond actor would not have needed to show up for it as his character, legendary adventure hero Allan Quatermain, passes away at the end.
15 Minutes (2001)
15 Minutes is a buddy cop action flick in which veteran New York detective Eddie Flemming (Robert De Niro) teams up with fire marshal Jordy Warsaw (Edward Burns) to investigate the crimes of two Eastern European convicts seeking fame and fortune by selling off video recordings of their violent acts. One video they successfully sell to a popular news program is the murder of Flemming, who is suffocated to death roughly halfway through the film.
Alien 3 (1992)
Sigourney Weaver explained to the Chicago Tribune that she only agreed to star in Alien 3 if Ellen Ripley is killed off, which does occur when she jumps into a burning furnace as a baby Xenomorph bursts from her chest. Of course, the actor would come back just once more for Alien: Resurrection, but as a clone of Ripley.
The Lovely Bones (2010)
Many critics and audiences agree that director Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones is not a great movie despite its interesting plot. Based on author Alice Sebold’s novel, it stars Saoirse Ronan as a teenage girl watching over her family, and the man who murdered her, from the afterlife.