Much of what usually makes a movie engaging is its ability to subvert expectations by presenting viewers with a few surprises throughout the narrative. It can get quite stale if an audience knows what's going to happen, so implementing a twist or two will often serve to get spectators invested in the unfolding plot.
Though opinions on twists can vary depending on the viewer, the death of a character will often come as a huge surprise, especially if viewers have come to like the character while watching the movie they appear in. Thankfully, not all movie deaths are as final as they might seem, as countless films implement the fake out death trope to make it seem like a character has died when they have not.
5 Aragorn - The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers
The Lord of the Rings trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, documents the journey of a young hobbit named Frodo on a quest to destroy the One Ring, one of the most powerful and dangerous objects in all of Middle-earth. On his adventure, he makes several friends, but not all of them survive to see the end of the story.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, both Gandalf and Boromir meet bitter ends, but Gandalf gets to return in the sequel. In The Two Towers, Aragorn is placed in a similar situation, but he manages to return before the movie ends. What makes Aragon's death fake-out so impactful is how unlikely it was for him to survive. Not only did he fall off a cliff, but he was also dragged off the edge by a Warg, one of the most vicious creatures to appear in the movie. The fact that he survived the plummet is nothing short of a miracle.
4 Neville Longbottom - Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Many fans of the Harry Potter series have come to accept that Neville could have been the so-called "boy who lived," especially since his backstory is quite similar to Harry's. He has undergone a great deal of hardship throughout his life due to Voldemort's influence, and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is no exception.
Tasked with protecting Hogwarts from the Snatchers hoping to invade, Neville waits patiently at the entrance to the Wooden Bridge while taunting them. Once the protective spell cast on the castle collapses, he is forced to retreat while being pursued by an army of Voldemort's followers. Thankfully, Professor McGonagall planned for this, so the bridge was rigged with explosives. When it explodes, everyone, including Neville, falls. For a moment, it looks like Neville fell to his doom, but after a moment, he reaches his hand up and pulls himself into the frame, revealing to viewers that he survived.
3 Baymax - Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6, directed by Chris Willaims and Don Hall, follows Hiro Hamada on his journey to find his place in the world. He was left distraught after the tragic death of his brother, Tadashi, but he eventually came to accept what happened thanks to the help of Baymax, an inflatable robot whose main purpose is to provide medical examinations.
Hiro comes to love Baymax, both because of Tadashi's connection to him, and also for how much he helps him throughout the story. During the climax of the movie, Baymax and Hiro enter inside a portal to rescue Robert Callaghan's daughter, Abigail, from the void. When Baymax is damaged by debris, however, the only way for Hiro and Abigail to escape is for the robot to sacrifice himself. Hiro reluctantly agrees before thanking Baymax for everything he did for him. Thankfully, Baymax isn't really a living thing, so Hiro restores his consciousness inside a different body once he returns home, allowing Baymax to return.
2 Regina George - Mean Girls
Mean Girls, directed by Mark Waters, documents the life of Cady Heron as she moves to America with her parents and enrolls in North Shore High School. There, she makes a variety of new friends, but not all of them have her best interest at heart. Janis and Ian clearly want to help Cady adapt to her new environment, so they encourage her to steer clear of certain cliques, the Plastics in particular.
Regina George (played by Rachel McAdams) is the ringleader of the so-called Plastics and is therefore a pretty popular figure in North Shore High School. That said, she tends to abuse her position quite regularly to belittle her classmates as a showcase of power. She believes she owns the school, but power fails to protect her when she gets run over by a passing school bus. What makes this death scene so iconic is how brutal it is; the movie never showcases violence to this extent, so it can come as quite a shock when it first happens. Thankfully, Regina George's death was only a fake out, but the collision did fracture her spine.
1 Helen Brand - Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, directed by Rian Johnson, follows Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig) on another one of his famed investigations. This particular case takes him to a remote island in Greece, on which he is tasked with solving a murder mystery orchestrated by Miles Bron. Upon arriving at the island, it is quickly revealed that Miles didn't actually invite Benoit, which results in a great deal of confusion among the rest of the guests. Things get even more complicated, however, when Andi (played by Janelle Monae) is revealed to be an imposter.
Helen Brand disguised herself as her sister, Andi, in order to infiltrate Miles' home. With Benoit's help, she hoped to uncover the evidence needed to prove her sister was murdered, but before she gets the chance to, she gets shot in the chest by an unseen gunman. What makes this death seem so believable is the flashback sequence that plays immediately after. This sequence of events allows viewers to accept Helen's fate, only to learn that the bullet never actually hit her. Instead, the bullet lodged itself in the journal Helen had in her breast pocket, leaving her relatively unharmed.