Thursday, July 29, 2010

Breakdown - Crushed by his Own Semi


Married couple Jeff and Amy Taylor (Kurt Russell, Kathleen Quinlan) have had a terrible trip so far. Their car breaks down in the middle of the desert, Amy is kidnapped and held hostage, and Jeff is threatened at gun point to pay her ransom. Not the greatest cross country trip.

Fast forward to the end. As the couple attempt to escape the wrath of a trucker named "Red" (J. T. Walsh) and his semi, they almost get rammed off the side of a bridge. Jeff gets out and fights Red as the truck falls off the bridge and gets stuck on a support beam. While Jeff hangs from the truck, Red tries to whip him off with a chain but Jeff grabs it and pulls Red down to the rocks below.

Jeff frees Amy and the two look down at the seemingly-dead Red, who then starts to move. Jeff looks on in disbelief, but before he could blink, his wife shifts the vehicle into neutral which dislodges Red's truck. The semi truck then falls off the bridge and crushes Red below.

What makes the death scene even better is the fact that the truck doesn't explode upon impact. The film-makers could have went the low road and just have the truck explode for no reason like it was a Michael Bay movie. But they didn't and it really sells the scene.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Speed - Subway Decap


According to Cinemorgue.com, Dennis Hopper has died a whopping 30 times on-screen. All starting in 1957 with Gunfight at the OK Corral, Dennis Hopper has had a movie death career spanning six decades. From getting blasted in the head in Blue Velvet to... well, getting blasted in the head in True Romance. Most of his death scenes involved gunfire or explosions, but in 1994 came the crowning moment of his movie death career.

In Jan de Bont's Speed, Payne(Dennis Hopper) and Jack(Keanu Reeves) have their final confrontation atop a speeding subway train. As the two struggle, Keanu forces Hopper's head upward as an overhead subway light flies by and.......well you know the rest.


Later on when Annie(Sandra Bullock) asks where Payne is, Jack replies, "He lost his head"

Friday, July 23, 2010

Walking Dead Comic-Con Trailer


Did you enjoy Comic-Con 2010? Didn't make it out there huh? Well don't worry, the best part of Comic-Con 2010 has been conveniently uploaded in this four and a half minute video. Here is the new trailer for the upcoming television series based on the Robert Kirkman's epic graphic novel, The Walking Dead. The preview looks very faithful to the comic, to the point where it gave me goose bumps as I watched it. This show is guaranteed to be a hit, and having Frank Darabont direct the pilot doesn't hurt either. So, what does this have to do with movie deaths? Absolutely nothing, this is just too awesome to not talk about, but I'm sure there will be plenty of people being eaten by Zombies too.

Apparently this is the 'Family Friendly' Comic-Con trailer, I will post the full version when it is released.

Machete - Red Band Trailer


What started as a fake trailer for Grindhouse is now the newest action exploitation film by directer Robert Rodriguez. Steven Seagal and Robert De Niro as villains, Danny Trejo as the lead? Oh yeah, I'm all wet just thinking about this movie. Watch the Red Band trailer and find out just how violent this movie is, can you say Movie Deaths?

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Halloween II - Face Stomp


Arguably the best death scene from both Rob Zombie remakes. Howard(Jeffrey Daniel Phillips) is taking out the trash when he runs into our gargantuan friend, Michael Myers. "Don't give me no reason," says Howard. The tough guy he is, Howard takes the first swing, but Myers is too much for him and he gets slammed to the ground. Michael slowly walks over to his head, then suddenly stomps Howard's face in. Not once, not twice, but FIVE TIMES! Howard will never look the same again.
SCENE STARTS AT 5:11

SCENE STARTS AT 5:11

Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Godfather - Michael's Rise to Power


Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather series is filled with one iconic death scene after another. Sonny's ambush, Fredo's fishing trip, and of course.....the Moe Greene Special. But perhaps the most important death scene takes place at Louis' Restaurant, where Michael met Sollozzo and McClusky to resolve their hostilities. Important because it is Michael Corleone's first brush with the family business, THE key moment for Michael as he sacrifices everything for his family....

After Michael returns from the bathroom the tension builds. Sollozzo converses in Italian, but the film provides no subtitles because what he's saying doesn't matter. Coppola wants you to focus on Michael Corleone and his state of emotion. The tension builds further as the camera slowly zooms in on Michael, suddenly the sound of a subway train drowns everything else in the room. That's when Michael leaps to his feet and shoots Sollozzo in the forehead, killing him instantly. He quickly shoots McCluskey in the throat, and then again in the forehead. McClusky violently spasms and smashes his head on through the table as Michael flees the scene. Not only is it a great death because of what it signifies, but holy shit, he shoots him in the throat man. You don't see that too often. Michael has now taken the first step to his own downfall.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Universal Soldier - Discharged


The final fight between Luc Devereaux(Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Sergeant Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) in the 1992 film Universal Soldier. The fight basically starts out like the first round in Rocky IV, a complete Ivan Drago ass kicking. That is until Devereaux injects himself with a "muscle enhancer" and goes...well Van Damme on him. His roid rage rampage on Lundgren's face gets to the point of ridiculousness until he kicks him through the barn, revealing the giant hay harvester in the background. After about five more kicks, Devereaux gives Scott the final blow, sending him flying into the spikes of the harvester. Ah, he must be dead. NOPE, he grabs Devereaux's head and tries to impale it on one of the spikes in a desperate last attempt. After a short struggle, Devereaux snaps Scott's arm and hits the switch on the harvester. The machine turns on and grinds the Sergeant's body into pieces. WATCH IT HERE

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory - Watch Your Fingers


Over the top and sometimes just downright ridiculous. Steven Seagal returns as Casey Ryback in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Watch Seagal leap from a speeding train, kill bad guys, and save Washington, all without putting a mark on his immaculate black suit. So many plot holes and hilarious B-movie one-liners ("Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups!") make this Seagal flick a must watch. Take this scene for example. As the train crashes head-on into another train(an impressive crash using models), Seagal OUTRUNS the impact as he sprints to the back of the train, jumps and grabs a rope ladder from a helicopter. But our bad guy, Travis Dane, has survived the crash and attempts to climb onto the helicopter. As Dane holds on to the edge of the helicopter, Ryback slides the cabin door shut, severing Dane's fingers and causing him to fall into a massive fireball while yelling "Ryyyyyyybaaaaaaaack!" on the way down.