People have been sharing the most horrific – and hilarious – TV and movie deaths and these 10 will keep you awake at night

Bruno Cooke. Updated February 7th, 2025

Death abounds, in life as in art.

In reality, loss of life can be many things. Tragic, horrifying, unexpected, bizarre, shocking, heartbreaking… And the same goes for fiction.

Except, in movies, death can also play a comedic role. A creatively hilarious one. It can be funny. Sorry, it’s true.

As the one thing that unites all life on Earth, death runs the gamut, as varied as life itself.

So, without further ado, here are 10 sensational movie deaths, starting with 5 of the most horrific, followed deliciously by 5 of the most hilarious, as suggested and upvoted by members of the r/moviecritic subreddit – with pictures.

Be warned. Gristly sh-t lies ahead…

Still from the TV series Chernobyl

1. Chernobyl, 2019

That nuclear power worker guy from the Chernobyl series looked fairly grim
–-qqqwwweeerrrtttyyy-

Wasn’t it the firefighter that got it worst? I’m the hospital with his skin falling off
–fatmanstan123

The incredibly melting man got it incredibly worst.
–Dear_Ad_3860

Even worse because its real.
–Wazula23

Not quite. Mate of mine grew up in the Chernobyl area when the disaster happened and he said he could count at least 11 inaccuracies on one hand.
–Big_Scallion2402

Still from the movie Saving Private Ryan

2. Saving Private Ryan, 1998

Yep, that was the one the immediately came to mind. Just brutal.
–frodakai

Saw that movie and scene way too young, I think. I still can’t think of it without getting hot and uncomfortable. No other scene in the history of cinema has stuck with me so long.
–coumfy

Possibly the movie’s most harrowing scene, the stabbing – in the heart, no less – of Private Stanley Mellish, was reportedly only conceived on the day of filming.

According to Screen Rant, the screenplay called for him to die in firearm combat.

Still from the movie Casino

3. Casino, 1995

Joe Pesci in Casino
–4694l

This scene traumatized the 13yo me.
–bi7worker

It still traumatizes 44-year-old me, same as it did back then (my dad and big brother watched that and similar all the time).

Being buried alive has always been a fear of mine but the messed up stuff before it really exacerbated it. I don’t care what his character did to “deserve it”.
–Linzcro

Collider reports that the scene was based on a true story. Euck, no thank you.

Still from the TV series Shogun

4.Shogun, 2024

The sailor boiled alive in Shogun (TV show).
–Vityviktor

That scene was definitely nightmarish. I watched that with my 17yr old and said afterwards, “holy smokes that was a brutal scene.” I still think about it, lol. And that was a TV show! Shows you how far we’ve come.
–revo2022

Still from the movie Bone Tomahawk

5. Bone Tomahawk, 2015

Bone Tomahawk scalp, Silent Hill skin ripping scene.
–plantpussy69

This is the only real answer. Bone Tomahawk.

I’m a trained butcher and have seen some sh-t. Also grew up like most of you encountering some F’d up sh-t online.

But dear god that one scene.

Don’t watch it, it will haunt you.
–Randoomsauce

At least his screams stopped after the second hack so he probably blacked out from the pain before the rip. At least that’s what I tell myself to sleep at night.
–DrPatchet

Sheesh. On to the good stuff now. Here are 5 delightfully hilarious death scenes to lighten the mood. They still might keep you away, but because you’re laughing.

Still from the movie Kick-Ass