25 Films and Exhibits that Carry On After the Essential Character’s Demise

Posted On Mar 10, 2024 By admin With Comments Off

Plenty of films and TV shows feature a main character’s tragic death, but the protagonist’s demise is typically reserved for the end of the movie or series. However, some movies and shows shock f ans with a protagonist’s sudden death less than three-quarters of the way into the film or TV series. From Alien (1979) to Hereditary (2018), a surprising number of movies kill off their main characters before the film’s climax or the series finale.

1. No Country for Old Men (2007)

No Country for Old Men, Josh Brolin — Image Credit: Miramax Films.

No Country for Old Men is a Western crime thriller about a man named Moss who stumbles upon the scene of a drug deal gone wrong. There, he finds a briefcase filled with cash, which he steals. But soon, a hired hitman is on his trial, ultimately ending in his death. The film continues for at least four more major scenes to wrap up the story without Moss’ presence.

2. Alien (1979)

This iconic space sci-fi horror film follows a team of astronauts returning to Earth when they stumble upon a strange alien vessel. The main characters die off one by one after they disrupt an alien’s nest on the ship, leaving one survivor to understand her unknown enemy and become the film’s sole protagonist.

3. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Game of Thrones Richard Madden — Image Credit: HBO Entertainment.

Game of Thrones is a medieval fantasy series about two warring kingdoms who each crave omniscient power over the vast kingdoms. This epic series is known for killing off major characters when fans least expect it. Watch the first season finale to get a good idea of how the brutal show progresses.

4. Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock’s famous horror film Psycho begins with the story of a woman on the run with a massive chunk of change she stole from her job. When she finds a motel to stop at for the night, the hotel manager kills her while she takes a shower. Not even halfway through the film, the protagonist is dead.

5. Midnight Mass (2021)

Midnight Mass Hamish Linklater, Zach Gilford — Image Credit: Intrepid Pictures.

This psychological horror miniseries follows Riley, an ex-con who recently got out of prison after accidentally killing a young woman while drunk driving. He returns to his hometown, an isolated island with a bustling Catholic population. But the young new priest in town begins acting strange. Eventually, he reveals a secret to Riley that kills him before the series’ fifth episode begins.

6. The Lovely Bones (2009)

The Lovely Bones is a heart-wrenching drama film about a 14-year-old girl whose neighbor lures her into an underground den and brutally murders her within the film’s first fifteen minutes. As her family frantically searches for their missing daughter, the girl watches them from the afterlife while keeping an eye on her killer.

7. The King’s Man (2021)

When a group of brave spies attempts to disrupt a group of terrible tyrant’s plans for taking over the world, they risk their lives to protect future generations from a terrible fate. When one of the men poses as a soldier in the war, a man targets his fake identity and kills him in the process.

8. Hereditary (2018)

Hereditary (2018) Toni Collette — Image Credit: A24.

Hereditary is a twisted horror film about a family who uncovers sinister family secrets after the grandmother dies. A husband, wife, and their two kids cope with the loss of the family matriarch only to be forced to grieve another family member after a tragic and surprising death left the film’s viewers shocked about thirty minutes in.

9. To Live and Die in LA (1985)

To Live and Die in L.A. John Pankow, William Petersen — Image Credit: MGM/UA Entertainment Co.

This action-packed crime thriller follows a secret service agent on a mission to avenge his old partner’s death. As he and his new partner seek out the criminal, they’re led down a sinister path of death and destruction that takes the protagonist’s life and leaves his partner to complete the mission himself.

10. Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Deep Blue Sea Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows, Jacqueline McKenzie — Image Credit: Warner Bros.

When the executive of a deep-sea research facility takes a routine trip to investigate a project to use shark brains to cure Alzheimer’s, one minor mishap leads to a breach that frees the intelligent sharks, which begin to prey on the researchers. About halfway into the film, the executive becomes one shark’s lunch, and other characters are left behind to continue the story.

11. The Hunt (2020)

The Hunt Betty Gilpin — Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

The Hunt is a thrilling horror film about a group of people who become the targets of a sick game. When twelve strangers wake up in a field, they begin to be killed from all angles. Whenever the audience starts to believe someone is safe because they’re the main character, viewers get a shocking surprise.

12. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Full Metal Jacket Matthew Modine — Image Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This drama brings the realities of war to the big screen by killing major characters when you least expect it. It’s about a group of Marine Corps recruits who undergo basic training before some are sent to fight in Vietnam.

13. Soul (2020)

Soul Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Donnell Rawlings, Daveed Diggs — Image Credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

A middle school band teacher with dreams of becoming a professional jazz musician dies within the first 15 minutes of this family-friendly Pixar film. When he dies, he’s transported to the afterlife, where he helps a lonely spirit discover her deepest passion.

14. Barbarian (2022)

Barbarian is a shocking horror film about a woman who rents a home to stay in for an out-of-town job interview. But when she arrives, she realizes the rental was double-booked by a strange man. The two grow closer when they happen upon a terrifying corridor in the basement, where one of their lives ends in a sudden, brutal twist.

15. The Crow (1994)

The Crow Brandon Lee — Image Credit: Miramax Films.

When a man and his fiancé are found dead after a gruesome murder, no one expects the dead man to become the film’s main character. But one year after his death, the man rises from the grave as a feathered creature with supernatural abilities to avenge his and his fiancé’s deaths.

16. Promising Young Woman (2020)

Promising Young Woman Carey Mulligan — Image Credit: Focus Features.

Promising Young Woman is a dark thriller about a woman whose best friend was assaulted in high school and later took her own life. At the time, the perpetrator of the assault received no legal consequences and was about to get married. Disturbed by the injustice, the woman goes on a mission to exact revenge in her late best friend’s name, but she’s killed when her plan goes wrong.

17. Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

Bad Times at the El Royale Dakota Johnson — Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

Bad Times at the El Royale is a compelling thriller about guests staying at the El Royale hotel years after its heyday. A shocking series of twists and turns causes the strangers staying at the hotel to come together in mysterious ways, resulting in one main character’s early demise.

18. Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

This tragic family-friendly fantasy adventure is about two friends who invent a fantasy world in the woods by their homes to cope with bullies and life’s challenges. But when one of the friends dies when their rope swing snaps, the other engulfs himself in the fantasy world they created together.

19. Alice in Borderland (2020-)

Alice in Borderland Tao Tsuchiya, Kento Yamazaki — Image Credit: Robot Communications Inc.

Alice in Borderland is a mysterious Japanese thriller series about three best friends who accidentally wander into a strange alternate universe where most of Tokyo’s population has disappeared. As they wander the abandoned streets, they encounter a deadly game and learn that they must partake in a series of games if they ever hope to return to their lives. But just a few episodes in, two of the best friends perish in a disturbing game of hide and seek.

20. Carnival of Souls (1962)

Candace Hilligoss in Carnival of Souls (1962) — Image Credit: Herts-Lion International Corp.

This mysterious psychological thriller is about a woman who resurfaces on a lake after she and her two friends careen over the edge of a bridge in their cars. With no memory of how she survived, the woman returns home. She begins suffering from visions of a terrifying man at a local abandoned carnival. As the film progresses, we eventually learn that the woman never really survived the car accident.

21. Enter the Void (2009)

When a Tokyo drug dealer dies in a drug bust, his spirit leaves his body and embarks on a journey through time to observe his parents before he is born. As he travels through time in the afterlife, the audience learns more about the man and his family’s lives.

22. Ikiru (1952)

Ikiru, which in English means “to live,” is a Japanese drama film about a man in a tiresome bureaucratic job who learns he has stomach cancer and only one year left to live. As he searches for meaning before he passes, he advocates for constructing a new playground. After his death, his coworkers, friends, and family gather in his wake to discuss the man’s sudden change in behavior before his passing.

23. Weekend at Bernie’s (1989)

Weekend at Bernie's Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart — Image Credit: 20th Century Fox.

Weekend at Bernie’s is a hysterical dark comedy about two men who visit their boss’ mansion for a weekend of celebration only to find his corpse when they arrive. In fear that the cops will falsely accuse them of murder, the two men stick sunglasses on Bernie’s dead body to pretend he’s still alive as the party rages on.

24. Damsel (2018)

Damsel Robert Pattinson — Image Credit: Magnolia Pictures.

This dark Western comedy follows a wealthy pioneer on a mission to rescue his love interest from her kidnappers. But when he arrives to save her, he learns she is in love with one of her alleged kidnappers and rejects him. Soon, our courageous protagonist takes his own life, leaving his assistant and love interest to tell the rest of the story.

25. Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis — Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Within the first few minutes of Beetlejuice, Adam and Barbara die after their car falls off a bridge, but the film continues as they try to navigate the new rules of the afterlife and people moving into their homes. While there’s a cast of the living, the main characters are dead from the jump.

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