While horror fans expect the body counts to pile up in every slasher movie, there are some deaths that are really upsetting and sad to watch. These characters could be best friends with the final girls, family members who were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or people who appear onscreen only briefly and face a brutal end. While the killers in these movies are, of course, going to commit murder, there are some scenes that are especially difficult, painful, and emotional to watch.
From a major death in Scream (2022) that is still a shame for fans to think about to one of the people who Michael Myers kills in Halloween (1978), there are several slasher film deaths that are just as heartbreaking as they are an important part of the story.
Annie Brackett (Halloween, 1978)
Final girl Laurie Strode's (Jamie Lee Curtis) best friend Annie Brackett (Nancy Kyes) is trying to have a fun Halloween night when Michael Myers kills her from the backseat of her car. This death is really sad as Laurie, Annie, and Lynda Van der Klok (P.J. Soles) are good friends who really care about each other and seem to be having a happy, regular high school experience.
While a lot is going on in the Halloween movies, from the Halloween franchise timeline to the many times that Michael Myers returns to Haddonfield, Illinois to kill people, Annie's death is extra emotional. Laurie expected to have a normal evening babysitting and instead, she is mourning the loss of her two best friends, realizing that her life will never be the same again. Laurie also has to come to terms with Michael almost killing her, too.
Maureen Evans (Scream 2, 1997)
Jada Pinkett-Smith starred in Scream 2 as Maureen Evans, a young woman who attends a screening of Stab with her boyfriend Phil Stevens (Omar Epps). Phil is a huge horror fan and Maureen isn't at all. While Maureen suffers through most of the movie, wishing that the characters would show more intelligence, Phil leaves to use the washroom where Ghostface famously stabs him in the ear.
Maureen is murdered during the screening and this does make for a shocking opening, which contributes to the fact that Scream 2 is a great horror sequel. This is an absolutely horrible and gruesome way to go, especially since Maureen is brutally stabbed and the audience watches, thinking it's part of the movie-watching experience.
Cindy Berman (Fear Street Part Two: 1978)
The end of Fear Street Part Two: 1978 is shocking, as fans learn that Gillian Jacob's character, who has been going by the Nam C. Berman, is really Ziggy, who survived the massacre at Camp Nightwing. Ziggy's (Sadie Sink) older sister Cindy (Emily Rudd) offers herself up to the killer as she wants to save Ziggy.
It's not only upsetting to watch Cindy die, but it's even worse to see a grown-up Ziggy still grieving the loss of her sibling. Ziggy may be an adult now, but she has isolated herself thanks to everything that she has learned about the mystery at hand, and the other characters can see how Ziggy will never get over this death.
Lorraine (X, 2022)
Ti West's X is full of storytelling lessons and Jenna Ortega is impressive as Lorraine, a young woman who accompanies her boyfriend R.J. (Owen Campbell) to the countryside to make an adult film. While it's sad to watch the other characters get killed, including Brittany Snow's character Bobby-Lynne get eaten by an alligator, there's something particularly upsetting about Lorraine's death.
Howard (Stephen Ure) and Pearl (Mia Goth) lock Lorraine in their basement and give her a serious hand injury. As Lorraine stares at her bloody hand in shock, audiences can't help but wish that she could find a way to save herself. Lorraine's death is even worse because she's so close to making it out alive, but Howard shoots her as she walks through the front door of his house.
Dewey Riley (Scream 2022)
It's hard to overstate how sad it is to watch Dewey Riley die in Scream (2022). It's not only heartbreaking to imagine not watching David Arquette in future films, as the actor has inhabited the role so well, but Dewey has been such a solid part of the slasher franchise.
No matter how many times fans watch the fifth Scream movie, it will never be easy to watch Dewey's hospital death scene. He confronts Ghostface and after protecting Woodsboro's residents for so many years, Dewey loses his life. It's hard to watch without tearing up as Dewey has helped Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) so much, and he and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) still have so much that has been left unsaid.