The recent remake of Hellraiser is a reminder that, even with the high body counts in horror movies, some characters face a worse fate. Surely, meeting a bloody end from some masked killer is bad, but some movies that put their characters through so much more than that.
Fans on Reddit have highlighted some of these instances where characters suffered worse than a simple death. Being put through psychological torment, relentless and inescapable pain, or being left with a tragic future might make fans sympathize more with these horror movie characters than the ones who were killed off.
Detective David Mills - Se7en (1995)
David Fincher's the unhappiest movie endings of all time as the killer John Doe reveals how Detective Mills is his final victim.
After luring the detectives out into the desert, a box is delivered which is revealed to contain the head of Mills' pregnant wife leading the detective to execute Doe. One Redditor pointed out when "Brad Pitt realizes what's in the box" it confirms this is the worst-case scenario for Mills.
Man In The Tent - The Endless (2017)
The Endless is a small horror movie that not many fans might know about. However, those who have seen it will likely agree on the most memorable scene in this story about two brothers who return to the cult they left as children.
It becomes clear that the cult is overseen by some mysterious and powerful enemy. It has trapped some of the people in a time loop including one man seen in a tent whose entire existence consists of only a few seconds where he is forced to relive his painful death over and over. Redditor sophies_wish called it a torturous fate "in a way I hadn't ever considered before watching the film."
Adam - Saw (2004)
Jigsaw is certainly one of the Saw movie.
After the twist reveals the supposed dead man on the floor was actually Jigsaw the entire time, the killer simply tells Adam the game is over and leaves him chained in a dark room screaming. Bobusbroughtmehere simply added that they "don't wanna be that guy."
Wallace - Tusk (2014)
Kevin Smith's horror movie Tusk is one of the most bizarre premises in recent horror movie memory. Justin Long stars as a podcaster who goes to interview a reclusive old man living in Canada only to become the subject of the man's gruesome experiments.
As it turns out, the man's plan is to turn his victim into a walrus, amputating his limbs, surgically implanting tusks in his mouth, and sewing him into a walrus suit. The movie ends with Long living out his life as a walrus at a zoo as Redditor nightgon pointed out "his mind was too broken and too far gone."
David Drayton - The Mist (2007)
Initially, movie ending that leaves fans speechless.
With hope gone, David decides to use his remaining bullets to give the other survivors, including his son, a painless death. But as he sets out to face the monsters, he sees the army arriving to rescue them. Redditor jk-alot itted "that ending hit hard."
Peter - Hereditary (2018)
Some of the most disturbing aspects of Hereditary have nothing to do with the supernatural threat but rather the breakdown of the family in the aftermath of a tragedy. As if that weren't enough, they also find themselves targeted by an evil spirit looking for a new host.
Though some of his family die in horrific ways, the family's son Peter perhaps gets the worst outcome. As Redditor Quiet_Guarantee337 points out, Peter "saw his whole family die and then got taken over" by the evil spirit.
Lindsay - The Human Centipede (2011)
Similar to Tusk, The Human Centipede is a bizarre and disgusting horror movie about the experimentation of a sadistic and evil doctor. In this case, the villain kidnaps people and sews them together in an attempt to make a human centipede.
With her precarious position in the middle of the three-person centipede, Lindsay already had it worse than anyone. However, she is left in an even worse place in the end as the other two die leaving her trapped between them. One Redditor found it such a terrible fate that "it seems a bit too obvious to pick."
Anna - Martyrs (2008)
Anna in Martyrs is a heroic protagonist who seeks to help her friend who was traumatized as a young girl after being abducted and tortured by a cult. However, once her friend is killed, Anna becomes the new test subject for the cult, wanting to learn about the afterlife through extreme suffering.
The movie ends with Anna final "test" as the cult skin her alive in hopes of having her reach a state of knowing. It is an extremely disturbing outcome for the movie's hero and Redditor Three_Froggy_Problems stated that it "seemed like the worst possible way to go."
Andre - Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele became one of the most interesting modern horror directors with Get Out. The movie follows Chris, a young Black man visiting his girlfriend's rich white family when things turn bizarre.
It turns out that the family abducts Black people for procedures that puts an older white person's consciousness into their bodies. While the movie features a satisfying ending as Chris gets away, Andre's fate is left in question. As Redditor Logan07GD stated, the "sunken place is f***ing terrifying" and Andre is seemingly stuck there, a enger in his own body.
Wade - House Of Wax (2005)
The remake of House of Wax is most well-known as the horror movie featuring Paris Hilton and her memorable death scene. However, there are some disturbing moments in the movie that centers around victims being turned into wax statues.
One such character who meets this fate is Wade and as Redditor etbiludecalcinha pointed out, "the worst part is that he's still alive." Even as his friend tries to peel off the wax only to remove Wade's skin, his eyes are shown moving in silent pain.
