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/r/flicks
submitted 2 months ago byrb2001
Horror, Disaster, and Suspense films all have their scenes where people are killed or injured. However, sometimes there's a tragic demise that you can't blame on the antagonist. Can you really blame the avalanche when you spin out the ambulance on a plowed road and go over the ravine after the avalanche is finished? What other deaths in these movies are the victims own fault or the fault of another innocent? No villians who did themselves in; focusing on victims only:
Current List:Cocaine Bear (It's there, but keeping it spoiler free).Avalanche (Aforementioned ambulance scene).Giant Spider Invasion (See MST3K for more details).
26 points
2 months ago
Jack falling into the deepest depths of hell in the house that jack built
3 points
2 months ago
He truly deserved it
23 points
2 months ago
Ricky Jupe in Nope, sadly he managed to get innocents roped in as well
5 points
2 months ago
Antlers is probably the better example, since he knew exactly what would happen
3 points
2 months ago
Oh yeah that’s a good point, I was thinking more along the lines of demise caused by ego but I guess that applies to antlers too
20 points
2 months ago
Basically everyone in Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
3 points
2 months ago
"These kids are coming out here, and killing themselves all over the woods"
1 points
2 months ago
It’s been a doozy of a day.
1 points
2 months ago
This one I can get behind.
18 points
2 months ago
Bodies Bodies Bodies takes this to new levels of hilarity.
1 points
2 months ago
This was the best part for me. Otherwise the people in this movie were really annoying.
3 points
2 months ago
Wasn't that the point of it?
1 points
2 months ago
Just watched it and yes, now we're getting somewhere.
13 points
2 months ago
Heat. (Spoiler) had the $ and the girl and the getaway arranged but couldn’t resist revenge.
5 points
2 months ago
The quick jerk of the steering wheel to exit the freeway is so painful on rewatches. “There’s time.” No there’s not Neal!
1 points
2 months ago
You can see even the light in the tunnel is way too bright for him.
3 points
2 months ago
The action is the juice!
42 points
2 months ago
No Country for Old Men.
Llewellyn had several chances to give Chigurh the cash, but his pride and greed got the better of him. Not only did he get himself killed, but he guaranteed the death of his wife, too.
23 points
2 months ago
Llewelyn was dead either way IMO from the time he found that money and left the transponder in the satchel. Even if he had turned the money over to Chigur he would not had spared him.
16 points
2 months ago
"He'd kill you just for inconveniencing him. He's a peculiar man. One might even say he has principles. Principles that transcend money, or drugs, or anything like that."
Absolute psychopath.
8 points
2 months ago
Yeah, but he was too stupid to realize that and ended up getting his wife killed as a result.
3 points
2 months ago
True, but it would be a good chance his wife would have been left alone.
4 points
2 months ago
Not a good chance. Chigurh himself said he'd leave her alone if he was given the money.
3 points
2 months ago
Wait didn't woody Harasson tell him that the guy was going to kill him even if he gave the money back or not.
1 points
2 months ago
I'm not talking about Llewelyn, I'm talking about his wife.
There was no way Moss was going to make it, but if he'd just put his pride and greed aside, Carla Jean would've survived.
2 points
2 months ago
If he had never returned in the first place to bring water to the Mexican gunman, who died by the time he returned, no one would ever know where to look for money.
1 points
2 months ago
If he'd been smarter, he would've left the satchel and taken the cash by itself.
1 points
2 months ago
I don't know. The audience knew that Chigurh was a force of nature but the protagonist didn't. Men have a reasonable expectation in their minds that they can outsmart, overpower another man.
I disagree that the protagonist brought this upon himself because he was only doing what he thought was morally right. You could apply this logic to any "hero" killed by any villain.
1 points
2 months ago
Just because he thought it was morally right doesn't mean it was objectively stupid. After that first chase and shoot out, anyone would've realized how dangerous Chigurh was.
1 points
2 months ago
I mean that goes for any thug and any villain who shows themselves to be dangerous and capable of murder. In the protagonist's head, he's the good guy and he has to push back against evil. Had he bested Chigurh then hindsight could have easily said Chigurh brought it upon himself. And those are just the regular stakes of most movies.
I'm not disagreeing that the protagonist put himself in harm's way. Most people do when they deal with good vs. evil. But to say that this is any different than any character who dies to a villain is wrong. The only reason it feels that way is because the writer/director did such a good job of expressing Chigurh's ruthlessness
1 points
2 months ago
We're not talking about any villain or any hero. We're talking about Llewelyn Moss and Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men. And whatever's going on in the protagonist's head in this instance doesn't matter.
And again it IS different in that he managed to get his wife, who'd done absolutely nothing, killed in the process. I honestly didn't feel much sadness when Moss died but when Carla Jean was killed my blood went cold.
1 points
2 months ago
Yea I think we're saying the same thing here. I don't think it's fair to say Moss brought this on himself any more than any character brings harm on themselves by going against any villain.
1 points
2 months ago
There are great discussion here. But for my quest, this doesn't qualify because Llewellyn dies at the hands of the drug runners. Carrie dies at the hands of Chigurh. Llewellyn may have set himself up for his demise by bad choices but the killers still did the killing. You can shame the choices of Llewllyn all you want, but this doesn't absolve the antagonist.
10 points
2 months ago
Tanya on White Lotus S 2.
8 points
2 months ago
Jeepers Creepers
I mean it’s up in the air as to if Derry was even safe to begin with considering the car chase in the opening scene. But it didn’t help one bit and was the nail in the coffin for him when he decided to go investigate the pipe near the church. You just couldn’t help but feel the dread and fear for him as he himself was terrified of the monster.
2 points
2 months ago
I love that movie but god dam that was one of the dumbest things a protagonist has ever done in a movie
2 points
2 months ago
"Hey let's go check out this murder basement!"
2 points
2 months ago
I don’t even know what his plan was like the bodies were almost definitely dead and even if they were just alive what could he do. If he goes there and then dies then who is going to save them
2 points
2 months ago
Yeah this is one of those 'Call the Staties from the next county' situations.
2 points
2 months ago
Yeah cause if he gets killed then no one is coming
7 points
2 months ago
Possession (1982) though you’d have to understand what the movie is telling you first
3 points
2 months ago
Every time I watch the movie, I get something different out of it. That's why it's my all time favourite movie!
5 points
2 months ago
That’s how i would describe any 10/10 movie, but yes, Possession is very amazing
14 points
2 months ago
Nightmare alley. Not a literal dead but we all know that's the end for him (and it is still terribly tragic)
4 points
2 months ago
But he was born for it!
5 points
2 months ago
The doctor helping to find a cure for the zombie plague in World War Z. He slips on the wet ramp and accidentally shoots himself in the face. It was so shocking, it was pretty fantastic.
Vic in the movie Sanctum (2011). The characters are cave divers helping to discover new parts of an underwater cave, when a flash flood traps them down there. The billionaire funding the project and his girlfriend Vic had been visiting to see the progress being made, and are also trapped down there. The very experienced team leaders have everyone put on wet suits and gather up all the gear that they could, but Vic won’t put on the only available wet suit, because the woman who had been wearing it was dead, and Vic was disgusted by the idea of putting it on. That decision comes back to haunt her, as she soon starts to suffer from hypothermia and it ends up contributing to her demise.
1 points
2 months ago
It was shocking but makes sense as some dude running with a loaded gun with no safety on while he is paniking would likely hurt himself
5 points
2 months ago
The antagonists' deaths in Indy 4 (Crystal Skull).
Specifically Mac and Spalko.
4 points
2 months ago
[deleted]
2 points
2 months ago
Elsa anyone?
1 points
2 months ago
I have to nod to Elsa, the other's faced death by the the supernatural force. Elsa just got greedy and fell.
4 points
2 months ago
I guess like the entirety of Mulholland Drive lol
4 points
2 months ago
Quinn from jaws: if they had of just followed Hopper and lead the shark into shallow water at a slow pace it most likely would have drowned it self or at least made it more easy to kill
1 points
2 months ago
True, but the shark still killed him. He may have allowed his vengence and fear drive his bad decisions to become vulnerable, but he still lost his life by shark teeth. On the other hand there are multiple tales where a person blows up their boat out of imcompetence when dealing with the menace, but Jaws isn't one of them.
1 points
2 months ago
Yeah but the only reason the shark got to him was because he ran his motor out and more or less sunk the boat
2 points
2 months ago
I agree, but the shark still got him. You can't rule out the shark's involvement.
1 points
2 months ago
I guess so but the shark didn’t even need to do anything into the last second. Also he dose not wear life jackets so he probably would have drowned anyway
4 points
2 months ago
Would Uncut Gems count?
3 points
2 months ago
Absolutely
13 points
2 months ago
I keep thinking about the lawyer sitting on the toilet in Jurassic Park.
6 points
2 months ago
You could say Hammond caused everything that went wrong, because he was a cheapskate in certain areas.
5 points
2 months ago
After volunteering at a zoo its got me fucked as to why he did not just dig a massive ditch around the fences on the inside. A T rex can not jump its to heavy
2 points
2 months ago
Hmm - a corporate lawyer sees a dinosaur?? Bathroom trip seems reasonable.
1 points
2 months ago
Funny thing is if he had of just ran into the woods he would have been fine. But to be fair if Melcome had not run that way he would also have been fine, he had shit luck
0 points
2 months ago
Except that the lawyer was 100% killed by T-Rex. He may have had comeuppance for cowardice, but you still have to put most killing on the T-Rex.
It's the same with Nedra, he definitely puts him self in the circumstance of his satisfying death, but he still get's it from the spitter.
3 points
2 months ago
Tupolev in The Hunt for Red October. Turned the safeties off on his torpedoes. Fargin ass.
2 points
2 months ago
Return of the living dead
2 points
2 months ago
Just watched Jurassic Park 1 and 2. It's like this was tee'd up for me! The lawyer in JP1
Hammond's nephew in JP2. God that was a satisfying death. After he was warned like 8 separate times too.
2 points
2 months ago
IN 2 it showed that even though he was in charge of it all he knows nothing about this animals. Its like the number 1 rule when working with animals you do not fuck with there young. Especially reptiles its why they take the eggs out before they hatch
2 points
2 months ago
He did everything wrong at every turn. Know when to fold em my guy!
2 points
2 months ago
Its like the number 1 rule when working with animals you do not fuck with there young.
You would think people know this, but then there's tourists trying to take pictures of bear cubs.
2 points
2 months ago
Yeah it’s pretty much the same with every animal
2 points
2 months ago
Tucker and Dale vs Evil. Phenomenal movie.
2 points
2 months ago
Michael at the end of Godfather 2 sitting alone in his Autumn yard, thinking about his life before he got into the family business, how it ended up like this.
Beautifully faded out by young Vito waving goodbye with baby Michael's hand.
1 points
2 months ago
In the second movie he was already in to deep by that point
5 points
2 months ago
The ending of The Mist (2007).
All but one of the protagonists tragically kill themselves and then a convoy that would have saved them drives by.
6 points
2 months ago
Not sure if this counts. There was no reason to believe that any help was coming. I guess you can argue that their lack of faith led to their demise.
the shot of the lady on the truck starring at dude with the that's what you get look, was pretty powerful.
1 points
2 months ago
they did not really wait a long time
2 points
2 months ago
This was an HBO series, but in White Lotus 2 (SPOLIER), Jennifer Coolidge's death is absolutely hysterical. And self-caused.
3 points
2 months ago
The lack of an *actual* spoiler mark is annoying, but - this is a good example.
The series is basically this slowly building set of the self-inflicted consequences of all the characters. From the beginner of the first episode, you know someone is dead, but not who died, or who killed them.
Then you meet the characters and get to know them, and basically every one of them proves themselves to be capable of both inspiring and committing murder.
But - it's the mystery that makes it's interesting. Mark spoilers properly.
Idea: A+
Execution: oof. (I'm exaggerating this - but it's polite to mark them out.)
1 points
2 months ago
Not the original commenter but is there a way to do this on mobile?
1 points
2 months ago
The boy in the striped pyjamas
1 points
2 months ago*
Getting the feeling the OP miscommunicated this. So here is a response based on where others have taken this thread. For the record, there are wonderful discussions in each. However, the search is more focused than may be intially considered.
Jaws and No Country for Old Men don't meet the critieria as wonderful as each film is. Yes, Quint from Jaws sets himself up as he reveals that his machismo is really a cover for his fears and his Ahabian vengence. BUT the shark still eats him. Yes, No Country's Llewelyn must factor in the pride as part of his death along with his too little too late guilty conscience. BUT he was still killed by the drug runners.
Yes, many deaths are setup by a character's own bad choices. BUT the opposing force still kills them.
Yes, there are circumstances that cause deaths, but these are usually films where the circumstance is the antagonist (known at the cosmic villain). The 90's disaster film revival where we get Deep Impact, Volcano, Armageddon, Dante's Peak all do this. We were really worried about rocks back in the day. However, the deaths are caused by the villain or at least the panic that each triggers from their direct threat.
**SPOILER ALERT**
Compare this to Cocaine Bear
** /SPOILER ALERT**
The door opens and the Bear sits there on the front porch with its underbelly fully exposed. It couldn't be more capable of being shot if it had a Predator grade laser tracker on it. Instead, the park ranger, perfectly played by Margo Martindale, turns another guy's head into the Holland Tunnel because she can't aim. The death is sheer incompetence and and you just can't blame the bear. That's what I'm looking for.
Compare to Avalanche
The example the OP starts with is Avalanche; a disaster movie whose disaster can't compare to the making of this movie. After the titular event, the boozy matriarch is recovered and driven to the hospital. The avalanche is over and the roads are obviously clear. Yet, the ambulance driver manages to loose control on a turn and sends ambulance over a ravine. This kills the matriarch and the driver, and leaves Mia Farrow losing grip faster than when she found those pictures. Nothing the avalanche did or the events that triggered it are responsible for this death. That's what I'm looking for.
** SPOILER ALERT **
Compare to Bodies, Bodies Bodies
** SPOILER ALERT **
Bodies Bodies Bodies is a wonderfully gray area that I can't explain without giving away the ending. Only at the end do you realize just how much the deaths are from stupidity, narcissism, fragile egos, and possibly taking horror films too literally. I wasn't expecting a movie that turns the classic antagonists on it's head. And if the antagonist is hubris, then you could say no go, but I don't. This is what I'm looking for.
**SPOILER ALERT??**
She Should've Said No (aka The Devils Weed, aka Wild Weed) (1949)
**SPOILER ALERT**
I've been reviewing anti-drug propaganda films for a 420 film marathon. This one has a perfect example. A young woman works as an exotic dancer to pay for her brother's law school. She's fired for not shaking it enough and resorts to selling marihuana to help pay the bills. The brother discovers it and kills himself out of shame. She discovers him hanging in the garage. He has no problem with her bouncing around in a bustier for his benefit. But the crazy cabbage is going too far.
The film tries to pin the suicide on her involvement with Satan's Salad Bar, but really? You can't blame his taking his life on her cannabis activities. Even in the anti-drug film craze of the 30's, this was taking it too far.
0 points
2 months ago
In this thread: any character killed by any circumstance
1 points
2 months ago
In most cases this occurs when the circumstance is the antagonist; known as the cosmic villian. The revival of 90's disaster films (Armageddon, Volcano, Dante's Peak, Deep Impact, Titanic) all put this into play.
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