Off With Their Heads: The Best Horror Movie Decapitations

Marie Antoinette practically made losing your head in vogue and my how it’s lasted through the years! Undoubtedly one of the worst ways to go, our favorite genre films kept rolling (ha!) with the punches, supplying one gratuitous decapitation after another. And how we love them!

1. The Omen (1976) – Without a doubt, the greatest decapitation scene brought to celluloid, David Warner’s infamous death left audiences in horror rapture.

2. Friday the 13th – Mrs. Vorhees’ gruesome decapitation really needs no introductions. It would have come in first, if the Omen hadn’t of been so damn GOOD.

3. Blood Diner (1987) – “Ever heard of battered girlfriends,” is the question Mike Tutman poses before he deep fries his victim’s cranium and when she’s breaded to perfection, he knocks it off with a broomstick! It brings new meaning to the words Hush Puppy!

4. Halloween H20 (1998) – Perhaps the most shocking beheading, originally Laurie was to have ended Michael Myer’s reign with a swift axe move. Unfortunately, the box office dictated otherwise, and it turns out Michael’s baby sis had accidentally killed an innocent man. It’s still one of the best should-have-been endings of any franchise series.

5. Prom Night (1980) – Heads literally roll in this silly and endlessly enduring slasher classic. Lou, the school bully literally loses his mind when his ex wins Prom Queen. He decides to rain on her parade though and his noggin ends up on the dance floor during the festivities. Ah Lou, we hardly new ya!

6. Hide and Go Shriek (1988) – As if it wasn’t enough that poor Kimmy had to wear stonewashed denim shorts, she’s also beheaded in a nasty elevator mishap. Then to add insult to injury, her head gets kicked by a potential victim attempting to get away!

7. Trauma (1993) – Horror master Dario Argento crafts a fun, if not mind-blowing, movie all about losing one’s head. Best scene – a recently beheaded man speaks moments before the end. Creepy.

8. Nightmare (1981) – If watching heads getting cut off is your bag, check out the underrated grindhouse classic The Nightmare Never Ends. There’s only one beheading but it’s played over and over again with such gratuitous and gleeful gluttony, it’s a memorable experience. Aka Nightmares in a Damaged Brain

9. Macabro (1980) – Not only do you get an awesome decapitation (in slow mo no less!), Macabro is all about the noggin. Literally. When a philandering wife loses her lover’s head, she loses her mind. A must see.

 
10. Madman (1982) – An underrated slasher, Madman goes as far as to decapitate a woman via a truck hood, leaving a little gift for the next hapless victim!

Honorable Mention: Getting you block knocked off

Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) – Jason punches Julian’s head off his shoulders and off the building!

Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) – Klown exacts revenge on bully. YAY!

Deadly Friend (1986) – Kristy Swanson commits a foul against Anne Ramsey during a not-so-spirited game of basketball

Se7en (1995) – You never see the decapitation, but I’ll be damned if you don’t remember Kevin Spacey’s little gift to Brad Pitt.