Best Film Death Scenes

2004

Club Dread (2004) (aka Broken Lizard's Club Dread)

In co-writer/director Jay Chandrasekhar's and Fox Searchlight's comedic slasher film (a combo horror-comedy spoof) with a who-dun-it element, it told about a swinging tropical resort called Pleasure Island that became the site of violent murders. It included elements of the murder-mystery And Then There Were None (1945), the series of bloody Friday the 13th slasher films, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), stoner dialogue, a serious Scary Movie (2000), low-brow raunchy comedies, Jimmy Buffett, and lots of T&A of the Girls Gone Wild variety.

The characters in the resort were involved in rampant drug-use and drinking, and promiscuous sexual behavior, amidst the many grisly murders. Its tagline was:

A Vacation to Die For

The comedy troupe Broken Lizard's second feature film turned out to be a financial flop - with a budget of 8ドル.6 million, it only grossed 5ドル million (domestic), and 7ドル.6 million (worldwide).

• a hedonistic Costa Rican island resort known as Pleasure Island was owned (and mis-managed) by burned-out folk musician Pete "Coconut Pete" Wabash (Bill Paxton) - a satirical take on Jimmy Buffett; Pete's many staff members included his adopted nephew Dave:
  • Putman Livingston (writer-director Jay Chandrasekhar), a Britisher, the resort's tennis coach-instructor
  • Sam (Erik Stolhanske), the activities and program director, nicknamed "Fun Police"; with a super-soaker
  • Dave "DJ Dave/DJ Drugs" Conable (Paul Soter), the Ecstasy-using DJ; Pete's drug-supplying and stoned adopted nephew
  • Lars Bronkhorst (Kevin Heffernan), a Buddhist pacifist, a burly massage therapist
  • Jenny (Brittany Daniel), a toned, over-sexed blonde fitness and aerobics instructor
  • Juan Castillo (Steve Lemme), from Nicaragua, the flamboyant dive-master/instructor, strong and athletic
  • Hank (M.C. Gainey), Coconut Pete's bodyguard and best friend, a former FBI agent
  • Rolo (Dan Montgomery Jr.), a polygamist
  • Yu (Lindsay Price), a Japanese-American waitress
  • Stacy (Elena Lyons), Putman's assistant
  • Kellie (Tanja Reichert), waitress Yu's understudy
• the resort was being terrorized by a masked, maniacal, machete-wielding killer who was slashing staff members one by one; the first three to die while sneaking off for sex in the jungle were Kellie, Rolo, and Stacy; the death toll began to mount
• after a number of ambushes, stabbings-slashings, beheadings and other murders (electrocution by a television thrown into a pool, for example), there were any number of suspect possibilities
• the staff were warned that they were not to tell the guests of the onslaught of killings, so the activities at the resort continued. Some of the murders seemed to match up to the lyrics of Coconut Pete's songs
• the crazed murderer was eventually revealed to be "fun police" officer Sam; he had objected to Coconut Pete's intentions to sell the island to the military, but then turned over the island to his nephew Dave; insanely jealous, Sam was convinced that Dave would be mis-managing the resort
• after a number of ambushes, stabbings-slashings, beheadings and other murders (electrocution by a television thrown into a pool, for example), there were any number of suspect possibilities
• three staff members Lars, Juan and Jenny, with Penelope (Jordan Ladd) (pronounced "Peen-Na-Lope") - a resort guest and gymnast from Alaska, helped to put an end to the slaughters
• in the prolonged conclusion, after Juan's stabbing death, the remaining trio fought off Sam on a floating dock-raft, twisted a rope tightly around him, and drove away in a motorboat attached to the rope; Sam became pinned on one of the dock's wooden posts; he comically lunged at them when they came close, although they were able to gun the boat, and slice him in half with the rope as they circled the floating dock
• he screamed out as his torso was bisected and split in half, and the bottom half of his body bloodily descended into the water; when Sam finally sank under the water, Lars spoke:
  • "Let's get the hell out of here."
• however, the truncated upper body of Sam - still alive miraculously - grabbed Penelope over the side of the boat, but Lars saved her by seizing the torso and heaving it away
• the shocked group reflected on what had just happened:
  • Lars: "They'll probably kick me out of the Pacifist Club now."
    Jenny: "Or at least ask you nicely to leave. (Chuckling) Tian-tu - the Heaven Point."
• Lars and Jenny both moaned after touching each other's sensual pleasure points, and they also kissed
• as "The End" title came on the screen, Sam's disembodied legs were still kicking through the water

Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004)

• in director Quentin Tarantino's sequel, the Bride's (Uma Thurman) vengeful killing spree continued, after she had been buried alive by Budd (Michael Madsen), Bill's (David Carradine) degenerate and alcoholic brother; she had miraculously escaped from the coffin, and then proceeded in her quest for revenge against Budd - her next target; she didn't know that she would be aided in Budd's death by another one of her targets
• one-eyed, black patch-wearing Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah) met Budd in his small mobile-home trailer with a red case containing 1ドル million, to exchange for the Bride's priceless Hattori Hanzo samurai sword, but then she double-crossed him by placing a Black Mamba snake in the case; the deadly creature bit him in the face as he grabbed the wads of cash, and he died within 20 minutes
• on the floor where he was convulsing and his face was swelling up, Elle discussed calmly and matter-of-factly with him about the snake and how he would die, from Internet notes she had taken on a note pad:
  • "Fascinating creature, the black mamba. Listen to this. 'In Africa, the saying goes, 'In the bush, an elephant can kill you, a leopard can kill you, and a black mamba can kill you. But only with the mamba (and this has been true in Africa since the dawn of time) is death sure. Hence it's handle -- Death incarnate.'' Pretty cool, huh? 'Its neuro-toxic venom is one of nature's most effective poisons, acting on the nervous system causing paralysis. The venom of a black mamba can kill a human being in four hours, if, say, bitten on the ankle or the thumb. However, a bite to the face or torso can bring death from paralysis within 20 minutes.' Now, you should listen to this, 'cause this concerns you. 'The amount of venom that can be delivered from a single bite can be gargantuan.' You know, I've always liked that word, "gargantuan"... you so rarely have an opportunity to use it in a sentence. 'If not treated quickly with anti-venom, ten to fifteen milligrams can be fatal to human beings. However, the black mamba can deliver as much as 100 to 400 milligrams of venom from a single bite.' Now, in these last agonizing minutes of life you have left, let me answer that question you asked earlier more thoroughly..."
• soon after, Elle (who was the Bride's next target) was also confronted and Elle's second eye was plucked out as they dueled with swords

• the detached and bloody right eyeball was dropped to the floor, then squished under the Bride's bare and grungy right foot, and ground into the carpet
• Elle was left to die (presumably) in the trailer with the deadly Mamba

Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004)

• in the conclusion of the film, Beatrix Kiddo/The Bride (Uma Thurman) sought to kill Bill (David Carradine), her fifth and final target; she was his former lover and assassinatrix; in Mexico, she received information about Bill's whereabouts in a villa from retired pimp, Esteban Vihaio (Michael Parks)
• she located Bill and was shocked to meet their four year old daughter B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine), who was playing shoot-em-up with Bill

• during a peaceful evening together, Bill confessed his 'overreacting' reason for shooting and nearly killing the Bride - he felt abandoned and jealously enraged when she became pregnant and was engaged to another "f--king jerk" fiancee:
  • "I'm a killer. I'm a murdering bastard, you know that. And there are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard"
• Beatrix was able to put BB to bed; then outside during another truth-telling sequence, Beatrix explained that she had left Bill because she didn't want her unborn child to grow up and become mixed up with assassins
• during a brief sword fight instigated by Bill, Beatrix was able to calmly deliver fatal blows to Bill's chest and heart, using "the five point palm-exploding heart technique" that she admitted had been taught to her by her martial arts master Pai Mei (Gordon Liu); she hadn't informed Bill about it because she was "a bad person."
• after she applied the forceful blow to his chest, he offered his killer a respectful and calm goodbye:
  • "You're not a bad person. You're a terrific person. You're my favorite person, but every once in a while, you can be a real c--t." (She painfully giggled)
• when he asked: "How do I look?", she paused and then answered: "You look ready."
• Bill stood up, buttoned his jacket, slowly walked away about five steps into the backyard, collapsed on the grass, and died
• Beatrix was finally reunited with her daughter:
  • "The lioness has rejoined her cub, and all is right in the jungle."

Man on Fire (2004)

In this 20th Century Fox revenge action-thriller from director Tony Scott, a burnt-out intelligence agent sought to exact violent vengeance against a corrupt "brotherhood" crime syndicate in Mexico City; he blamed himself for failing at his job as a personal body-guard to protect the young daughter of a wealthy executive from being kidnapped.

• jaded, often drunk, and burnt-out ex-CIA intelligence operative and former Marine Corps officer John Creasy (Denzel Washington) was visiting in Mexico with his friend and former colleague Paul Rayburn (Christopher Walken), a security firm executive and ex-military operative
• during a six day period in Mexico City, there had been an endless string of 24 abductions, leading many wealthy parents to seek protection for their children; Creasy was persuaded, although reluctantly, to be hired as a mercenary to protect Guadalupe "Lupita" (Pita) Ramos (Dakota Fanning), the 9 year-old daughter of weathy parents:
  • Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony), a Mexican businessman/automaker
  • Lisa Ramos (Radha Mitchell), his American wife
• Creasy was contracted to fulfill Ramos' kidnapping insurance policy that legally required a protective body-guard
• gun-for-hire Creasy was left to die when the young girl was successfully abducted by a group of corrupt federal policemen in the bustling city; although he bravely and valiantly defended himself and the girl, and killed three of the four assailants (and wounded the fourth), she was taken away; he suffered multiple serious gun-shot wounds during the attack; remarkably, Creasy was arrested for killing police officers on duty and also was suspected as being involved in the kidnapping of Lupita
• for the remainder of the film, Creasy sought justice by targeting those who were involved in Pita's kidnapping
• a ransom of 10ドル million dollars was paid by "Pita's" father Samuel Ramos to the group of kidnappers (led by an unseen mastermind known as the "Voice" or "La Voz"), facilitated by Federal Judicial Police Lt. Victor Fuentes (Jesus Ochoa) who worked in the Anti-Kidnapping Division
• however, during an ambush of the ransom drop (arranged by Fuentes), the nephew of the "Voice" crime boss was killed, leading to further retributions and little hope that 'Pita' would be safely returned; the Voice blamed the Ramos' and threatened their lives
• Creasy prepared to deliver deadly and redemptive vigilantism on the "brotherhood" of corrupt criminals involved - beautifully and prophetically predicted by his friend-colleague Paul Rayburn:
  • "Creasy's art is death...he's about to paint his masterpiece."
• during his seeking of justice, Creasy learned that Police Lt. Fuentes was associated with the "Brotherhood; he was revealed to be the head of the criminal "La Hermandad" syndicate
• Creasy also discovered that Samuel's lawyer Jordan Kalfus (Mickey Rourke) had coordinated with Pita's father to orchestrate her kidnapping to claim insurance money pay-out; both had expected that the plan would work smoothly and the girl would be safely returned if the ransom was paid with some of the insurance money
• as Creasy proceeded with his quest, lawyer Kalfus was beheaded by an enraged Samuel who blamed Kalfus for Pita's apparent death; then the remorseful Samuel proceeded to suicidally shoot himself in the head; the "Voice" ringleader-mastermind was identified as Daniel Sanchez (Roberto Sosa), who was ultimately executed by special agent Federal Police officer Miguel Manzano (Giancarlo Giannini); also, in the film's ending after an exchange to return Pita, Creasy died of his lethally wounds
• the most gruesome death of the movie occurred before the film's conclusion, when Creasy confronted Victor Fuentes; a 5-minute (counting-down) time bomb was placed up the rectum of the corrupt police gang collaborator Victor Fuentes; Creasy interrogated him to reveal names as he was draped over the hood of a car
• close to the end of the five minutes, Fuentes begged: "A last wish, please, please," to which Creasy replied coldly when only ten seconds were left:
  • "Last wish? I wish you had more time."
• he walked away as the bomb detonated

Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Director/star Clint Eastwood's Best Picture-winning (melo-) dramatic sports film told about an amateur female boxer who through determination and guts became a professional athlete through the training efforts of an under-appreciated boxer-trainer.

• Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) had a white trash background as an Ozark Missouri waitress ("somewhere between nowhere and goodbye"); at the age of 31 with no experience, she was unlikely and dubious underdog fighter, but reluctantly agreed to be trained by veteran LA manager/mentor Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood), who worked at LA's run-down Hit Pit; Frankie's friend at the gym was Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris (Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman), a sympathetic ex-boxer and the gym's janitor
• she proved herself, and worked her way up to participate in a Las Vegas title match for the WBA welterweight championship (with a prize of 1ドル million) against a dirty German fighter and ex-prostitute named Billie "The Blue Bear" Osterman (Lucia Rijker); however, Maggie was severely injured when given an unfair punch from behind on the left side of her face, and she fell into a red wooden stool, broke her neck, and became a bed-ridden quadriplegic dependent upon a ventilator
• during her hospitalization, she developed a leg infection and suffered a leg amputation; she asked a "favor" from her weathered and beaten-down trainer Frankie who was faithfully at her bedside; she requested to be euthanized:
  • I can't be like this, Frankie. Not after what I've done. I've seen the world. People chanted my name. Well, not my name, some damn name you gave me. But they were chantin' for me. I was in magazines. You think I ever dreamed that'd happen? I was born two pounds, one-and-a-half ounces. Daddy used to tell me I'd fight to get into this world, and I'd fight my way out. That's all I wanna do, Frankie. I just don't wanna fight you to do it. I got what I needed. I got it all. Don't let 'em keep taking it away from me. Don't let me lie here 'til I can't hear those people chantin' no more."
• Frankie initially told her:
  • "I can't. Please. Please don't ask me...I can't."
• in the dark, emotionally-wrenching and controversial ending of the film, he finally honored her request one evening; the irascible but caring trainer Frankie entered her room and told her the meaning of the Gaelic nickname or phrase on her green, silk fight robe: "Mo chuisle" (literally meaning "Pulse of my heart" or "My pulse," but also "My love" or "My darling") that cheering crowds had chanted

• after kissing her and saying goodbye (a tear ran down her cheek), he turned off her life-support machine, unhooked her breathing tube and injected her with an adrenaline overdose, to cause her instant death
• afterwards, Frankie's silhouette exited from the hospital - and from boxing altogether

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

In director Mel Gibson's R-rated controversial, passionately-told epic drama of the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life, it depicted - in many lengthy and graphic scenes of blood-letting and torture - Jesus' (James Caviezel) suffering during his sadistic execution by Roman officials. Although there were flashbacks to Jesus' earlier life, it mostly featured the "Passion" - the final twelve hours of Jesus life (in Aramaic and Latin with English subtitles). Even Gibson admitted that the film was deliberately "shocking" and "extreme" in order to depict Jesus' enormous sacrifice.

• the dramatic film told of the agonizing, unsparing crucifixion death of "Jesus Nazareth/ King of the Jews" on the cross. He was first severely beaten, forced to carry part-way his own heavy wooden cross to the hillside of Golgotha outside Jerusalem, and then was nailed to the cross to suffer and die

• the scenes were visceral, horrific to watch, and brutal, although artfully portrayed with gorgeous cinematography and slow-motion in part; when Jesus' spirit perished, a single magnified drop of rain fell from the sky, causing an earthquake that destroyed the Second Temple

Saw (2004)

The first film in the Saw franchise marked the directorial debut of filmmaker James Wan. In the endless series of Saw films (10 in total by 2023), sadistic mastermind serial killer and terminally-ill cancer patient Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) devised impossible live-or-die situations for victims. In them, individuals had to make outrageous moral choices to survive in the trap-filled environments, while self-inflicting lethal wounds and finding a new "life-purpose."

On a budget of 2ドル million, the film grossed revenues of 56ドル million (domestic) and 104ドル million (worldwide). It was one of the more profitable films in the long-running series.

The main plot was set in an industrial bathroom where two confined individuals woke up and realized that they faced a terrible fate, with a dead body between them. Each were given specific instructions to either kill their opponent, escape, or face other deadly consequences.

• besides this main plot, another earlier victim, a 46 year-old male named Paul (Mike Butters), had to claw through a cage of razor wire to reach safety within two hours, but he didn't succeed
• detectives David Tapp (Danny Glover), Steven Sing (Ken Leung) and Kerry (Dina Meyer) entered a trap door and descended some stairs as they came upon the crime scene (lit in lime-green); Kerry noted the victim while black and white crime photos were taken of the bloody corpse:
  • "This one's not fresh anymore. At least three weeks out...Died of massive blood loss. Mostly through the femoral artery. He started at the back of the cage and tunneled his way through that razor-wire so fast, it's amazing he got as far as he did. Cut himself so deep we found traces of stomach acid on the floor."
• Kerry also explained how they had found a cassette tape recording, which she played, of Jigsaw instructing Paul about the 'Razor Wire Room' (with some flashbacks):
  • "Hello Paul. You are a perfectly healthy, sane, middle-class male. Yet last month, you ran a straight razor across your wrists. Did you cut yourself because you truly wanted to die, or did you just want some attention? Tonight, you'll show me. The irony is that if you want to die, you just have to stay where you are, but if you want to live, you'll have to cut yourself again. Find the path through the razor-wire to the door - but hurry. At 3:00, that door will lock and then, this room becomes your tomb. How much blood will you shed to stay alive?
• one of the additional wounds found on Paul's body was a piece of flesh carved out in the shape of a jigsaw puzzle piece - hence the name Jigsaw killer, although it was a misnomer:
  • "Technically speaking, he's not really a murderer. He never killed anyone. He finds ways for his victims to kill themselves."

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

In director Sam Raimi's second blockbuster superhero film sequel (from Columbia Pictures), it was set two years after the previous film Spider-Man (2002). In this film's plot, Columbia University student Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) crime-fighting alias Spider-Man was causing problems for his personal life due to constant interruptions ("disturbances) to engage in crime-fighting.

With a budget of 200ドル million, the successful film grossed revenues of 375ドル million (domestic) and 788ドル.2 million (worldwide). Of its three Academy Awards nominations, including Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing, the film won a sole Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

• in the film's opening, still-bitter Harry Osborn (James Franco) who held Spider-Man responsible for his father Norman's death (in the previous film) - was now head of the Special Projects division of his father's company Oscorp
• Oscorp was funding fusion experiments being conducted by Peter's mentor and idol, mad scientist Dr. Otto ("Doc Ock") Octavius (Alfred Molina), who told Peter about his work to create: "a perpetual sun providing renewable power for the whole world" - in other words, to produce energy through fusion
• in a NY waterfront warehouse, during an initial demonstration of Dr. Octavius' fusion-energy-producing apparatus (fueled by rare tritium) with 4 artificially-intelligent (AI) mechanical tentacle-arms ("impervious to heat and magnetism") attached to his waist-harness and controlled by a spinal-computer-brain interface, the unstable device overheated and exploded; the apparatus became fused to Octavius' body
• during surgery to save him, the tentacles (rendered uncontrollable after damage to its AI restrictors) Octavius killed his doctors and escaped; now as a super-villain with a corrupted mind, he went to work to rebuild and enhance his machine
• in the film's tense finale and conclusion in Octavius' lair (where Peter's conflicted love interest Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) was being held), after fighting against Spider-Man and being electrocuted by his still-unstable fusion machine, Doctor Ock appeared to come back to normal; Spider-Man unmasked himself to reveal his alias as physics student Peter Parker, and convinced Doc Ock to shut down and destroy the reactor mechanism:
  • "You once spoke to me about intelligence. That it was a gift to be used for the good of mankind...These things have turned you into something you're not. Don't listen to them....Sometimes, to do what's right, we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most. Even our dreams."
• Octavius took control of the antagonistic, anthropomorphic tentacles when he told them:
  • "He's right. Listen. Listen to me now. LISTEN TO ME NOW!"
• he decided to drown the doomsday reactor in the river in a self-sacrificial death move, to save the city of New York; he collapsed the floor of the structure to drown himself and the reactor in the bay. He spoke his final words:
  • "I'll do it... (screaming) I will not die a monster!"
• the last view of him was from underwater

Troy (2004)

In director Wolfgang Petersen's action-adventure drama, it was a very loosely-based historical adaptation of Homer's great epic poem "The Iliad"; condensed into just a few weeks, it followed the decade-long assault on the city of Troy (and Hector's Trojan Army) by united Greek forces (Achaeans), led by Achilles and Agamemnon..

The expensive, big-budget film with a production budget of 175ドル million produced gross revenues of 133ドル.4 million (domestic), and a whopping 497ドル.4 million (worldwide). Its sole Academy Award nomination was for Best Costume Design.

• in the film's opening, one-on-one combat was staged between two formidable combatants, a David vs. Goliath type contest:
  • Achilles (Brad Pitt), the Greek's greatest legendary and mighty heroic warrior
  • Boagrius (Nathan Jones), a seven-foot opponent from Thessaly
• they were backed up by their respective armies - with the decisive victory going to the winner of the contest; instead of fighting a traditional battle between the two armies, Greek King Agamemnon (Brian Cox)) of Mycenae had proposed to the Thessalonian leader Triopas (Julian Glover) that they avoid a "massacre" with another kind of contest:
  • "I don't want to watch another massacre. Let's settle this war in the old manner, your best fighter against my best."
• a messenger boy was sent to look for Achilles, and when he located him naked in the arms of a lover, the boy asked him questions about his legacy:
  • "Are the stories about you true? They say your mother is an immortal goddess. They say you can't be killed."
• Achilles replied:
  • "I wouldn't be bothering with the shield then, now would I?"
• the young messenger told Achilles of the fearsome Thessalonian opponent he was daring to fight: "He's the biggest man I've ever seen. I wouldn't want to fight him." Achilles replied: "That's why no one will remember your name."
• Before fighting, Achilles was advised:
  • "Look at the men's faces. You can save hundreds of them. You can end this war with a swing of your sword. Let them go home to their wives."
• Achilles acquiesed to Agamemnon, although he muttered: "Imagine a king who fights his own battles. Wouldn't that be a sight?" Agamemnon spoke as Achilles readied himself:
  • "Of all the warlords loved by the gods, I hate him the most."
• helmeted Achilles raced on foot toward his fearsome opponent as he dodged spears with his shield, then lept into the air; with one stroke, he thrust his broadsword into the left shoulder of the muscle-bound giant and directly into the opponent's heart; Boagrius stumbled away, dropped to his knees, and fell over dead

• after his victory, Achilles walked over to the Thessalonian army - and challenged their leader:
  • Achilles: "Is there no one else? Is there no one else?"
    Triopas: "Who are you, soldier?"
    Achilles: "Achilles, son of Peleus."
    Triopas: "Achilles? I'll remember the name. The ruler of Thessaly carries this scepter. Give it to your king."
    Achilles: "He's not my king."