21 of the Nastiest On-screen Deaths of All Time

Death is as much a part of life as birth, and let’s be honest, it’s way more palatable on a 20-foot screen. It’s no surprise, then, that it’s part of so many on-screen adventures. Whether it’s the carnage of the battlefield, a quietly poignant battle with terminal disease or getting tri-sected by a wire fence under the direction of a vague but menacing unseen force, death is an integral part of storytelling.

Sometimes, though, it’s just plain sick as hell. Maybe that’s the point — maybe it’s a commentary on the gruesome nature of life. Maybe it’s just a special-effects artist having fun with different ways to explode a dummy. Either way, it’s shocking, in the best and/or worst way. For Redditor RightWayIThink, the demise of Tara Knowles on Sons of Anarchy at the hands of her mother-in-law was one of the most heinous on-screen deaths they’ve witnessed. “I didn’t even like Tara that much, but just… a carving fork,” they told r/AskReddit. “And knowing how much Tara meant to her own son… wow, what a bitch.”

They then asked, “What is the most brutal killing in film/TV history?” and nothing but death and despair followed.