101 Movie Deaths to Inspire How to Kill Your Characters

Conflict is everything when it comes to writing a great story. And there's no more compelling and engaging plot device than killing off a major lead or supporting character to create much-needed conflict in your screenplays.

With that in mind, here we present 101 movie character death methods to inspire your next big death scene in your script.

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101 Ways to Kill Your Movie Characters

1. Characters drive off of a cliff while they are being pursued by authorities.
2. A character intercepts an incoming missile to save thousands of lives.
3. The hero turns into a zombie as their friends watch in sorrow.
4. A beloved pet is put down by its owner.
5. A character is stabbed to death as they shower.
6. A mother is killed as their child watches.
7. A character dies on their death bed to open up the story.
8. An alien bursts out of a character's body as their friends watch in horror.
9. A monster falls to their death after being wrongfully tormented.
10. Artificial intelligence slowly speaks its last words as its power/life force is shut down.
11. A father looks into the eyes of his child with regret after years of living on the dark side of life.
12. An innocent man dies in the electric chair.
13. A sea hunter is eaten alive by the very sea creature they were hunting.
14. Characters play Russian roulette against each other until one dies.
15. A character goes out with guns blazing.
16. Two lead characters go out with guns blazing.
17. An otherwise strong and powerful man dies of old age while playing with their grandson.
18. A character is unjustly killed by a police officer.
19. A character freezes to death in a winter storm.
20. An innocent character forced to partake in a violent game of death dies tragically.
21. A character dies peacefully but tragically in a hospital bed.
22. A character dies as their spirit is led into the afterlife by an angel.
23. Soldiers fall together in an epic battle.
24. A character is shot dead by a mugger as their significant other holds them in tears.
25. A character is crushed to death while stuck in the doggie door of a garage.
26. A beloved character dies multiple times in a continual dramatic fashion.
27. A character is stung to death by bees in the woods.
28. A character jumps from a cliff to their death — but they somehow survive.
29. Artificial intelligence kills its creator.
30. A character is pinned to the wall by the killer's knife.
31. A character is gunned down by gangsters in an alley.
32. Longtime lovers die together holding hands in the hospital.
33. Someone sacrifices themself so others can survive.
34. A character is suddenly hit by a car as they wave goodbye.
35. A character is suddenly hit by a car after another character has said goodbye to them and walked off.
36. A character is defibrillating a victim, only for their body to transform into an alien hybrid, killing them.
37. A dying character learns that the one love that gave up their life to be with them despite knowing they would eventually die, dies themselves in an accident.
38. A character allows a demon to take them instead of a child.
39. A beloved character is unexpectedly killed by someone they thought was good.
40. A character creates an explosive vest to save others from impending harm.
41. A character freezes in the cold waters and they are let go by a loved one.
42. A theater full of bad guys is lit on fire.
43. A room full of bad guys is destroyed by a hidden bomb.
44. An ambulance-chasing reporter kills someone for a story.
45. A character puts a grenade into a bad guy's pants.
46. Gangsters are beaten to death by other gangsters in a cornfield.
47. An old person loses their significant other and must cope with their loss.
48. A character cries out in defiance as they are decapitated.
49. A character atones for their sins as they die at the hands of their pursuer.
50. A character is impaled by a broken tree branch.
51. A character reveals a shocking truth as they quietly pass away.
52. A character suffers a sudden heart attack during a fight, leaving their aggressors trying to save them.
53. A character drinks out of the wrong cup and dies a horrible death.
54. A character dies in the arms of another, not understanding what went wrong.
55. A beloved leader is betrayed and killed by their own kin.
56. A character is told they died in an accident, but we see that they actually died a violent and wrongful death.
57. A character that seemingly got away with murder is murdered in their apartment.
58. A gangster is tricked into thinking they're becoming a made Mafia man, only to be whacked.
59. A beloved character sacrifices themself to save the rest of a ship.
60. A hunter appreciates the hunting methods of a beat before it kills them.
61. A martial arts master kills another with an ancient technique.
62. A father sacrifices himself to save his children by alerting the threat of his presence.
63. A character takes a loved one off of life support as a mercy kill.
64. A character's loved one's death is discovered when a box is opened.
65. A hero is mortally wounded before a final showdown with the villain, only to kill the villain before they too die.
66. A character dies a slow and tragic death by way of multiple arrows being shot into them.
67. Someone looking to help a character in need is suddenly killed by the villain.
68. Someone looking to help a character in need is suddenly killed by that character.
69. A boxer dies after a brutal fight.
70. Two characters watch as the planet they are on explodes, killing them.
71. A character is devoured by a beast in their car.
72. A character tries to deactivate a bomb but can't do it in time.
73. A character has faked their death, leading to a shocking reveal.
74. Someone is taken out by a sniper.
75. A witch dies after being splashed by water.
76. A mentor lets a threat strike them down to save their student.
77. A character is killed by a beast while they are on the toilet.
78. Someone dies from the ricochet shot of their own gun.
79. Someone survives a night of zombie attacks until they are killed by people who thought they were a zombie.
80. A soldier thought killed in combat rushes out of the jungle pursued and killed by the enemy in front of their fellow soldiers.
81. A character is suddenly killed by a predator from the woods, just as they are about to kill the protagonist.
82. A character falls down an elevator shaft to their death.
83. Bad guys are melted to death by divine intervention.
84. A character hangs out of an open elevator only to have their arms cut off as they pass the next floor.
85. A robot has a pipe bomb stuck into its exoskeleton.
86. A character eats themselves to death.
87. A character drowns after being forced to hold their breath too long.
88. A gangster is gunned down in the streets as revenge.
89. The significant other of the hero is killed as punishment.
90. A babysitter is killed while babysitting.
91. A character is swept up in a tornado.
92. An astronaut has a suit failure in space.
93. A character incinerated in an explosion.
94. Someone kills a character with a pencil through the eye.
95. Someone kills a character with an icicle.
96. A character dies by being pushed into a propellor.
97. A character dies by being sucked into a jet engine.
98. A deadly virus is injected into someone's bloodstream.
99. A large boulder from above pulverizes someone.
100. A character gets flattened by a steamroller.
101. The villain falls from a building after losing grip of a character in distress.

Read More: Why You Should Take a Stab at Writing Horror

'Terrifier 2' (2022)

Why Killing Your Characters Matter

Character deaths also work as an effective story and character arc resolution:

• You may want that villain to get what they deserve.
• You may want the cathartic moment to make the audience cry, leaving them highly affected by a character's death as they walk out of the theater.
• You may want an entertaining "death" that makes the audience laugh in shock.

Read More: 10 Reasons to Consider Killing Your Main Character

No matter what genre umbrella you're writing under, a memorable movie character's death can do wonders for your script.

This list represents effective types of movie deaths that you can:

• Mold into something new.
• Homage or copy within different story and location settings.
• Mix and match to create an original hybrid.

Or you can just use them as writing prompts to get your creative juices flowing.

If you want to make the list even more interesting, see if you can match the type of movie character death with the original movie(s) that utilized them.

WANT MORE IDEAS FOR OTHER GENRES? TAKE A LOOK AT OUR OTHER STORY PROMPTS!

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Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies