Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers, as well as discussions of gun violence, sexual abuse and suicide.The movie industry loves a good death scene. Whether it's a noble hero fighting to their last breath or the heartbreaking passing of a beloved character, death scenes remain some of the most memorable moments in movies. Horror movies in particular can live or die by their death scenes, and franchises such as Final Destination are built around creating inventive and shocking kills.

RELATED: Every Death in the 'Final Destination' Series, Ranked

While plenty of deaths are predictable, such as when the villain receives his comeuppance, some death scenes come out of nowhere. These moments make you jump out of your seat and fling your popcorn into the air, turning to your friends and saying "I can't believe they just killed them off." The best death scenes are a surprise, and the below kills are ones we never saw coming.

Updated on January 11th, 2023, by Hannah Saab:

The most unexpected movie deaths in cinematic history continue to pile up, with recent entries including shocking deaths from award-winning films like The Menu and The Banshees of Inisherin. The most shocking ones seem to come out of nowhere and leave a lasting impression on audiences who genuinely did not see them coming.

Russell Franklin - 'Deep Blue Sea' (1999)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies.

Whenever the topic of the most shocking death scenes is discussed, this moment is always brought up. Deep Blue Sea is a solid flick about scientists trapped in an underwater base being eaten by bioengineered sharks. The movie is stacked with a great cast, including the always-reliable Samuel L. Jackson.

Jackson plays Russell Franklin, the facility's financial backer. With the group's situation looking dire, Franklin begins to deliver a rousing speech to unite them, the cheesy kind that the mentor delivers in every movie when the heroes look down and out. It might have worked too, if not for the giant shark that leaps from the water and devours him.

Chad Feldheimer - 'Burn After Reading' (2008)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

In this black comedy from the Coen Brothers, gym employees Linda (Frances McDormand) and Chad (Brad Pitt) attempt to blackmail CIA operative Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) after a CD containing his memoirs is left at their workplace. A comedy of errors follows as the characters of Burn After Reading make increasingly bad decisions.

As their plan becomes more desperate, Chad decides to sneak into Osbourne's home in order to find more information. When US Marshal Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) also enters the house, the stranger's appearance startles the agent. He shoots Chad dead, giving Pitt an early exit from one of the best spy movies of the 21st century.

Charlie Graham - 'Hereditary' (2018)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

All the marketing for one of A24's most popular horror movies, Hereditary, gave the impression that Charlie (Milly Shapiro) would play a major part in the preceding spookiness. So it came as a surprise when she's offed before the movie's horror elements even rear their head.

After her nut allergy is flared by eating cake at a party, Charlie's brother Peter (Alex Wolff) is speeding down the highway to get her home. When she sticks her head out the window in an effort to breathe, an oncoming pole decapitates her. The young girl's death proves the catalyst for the supernatural events that soon torment the surviving family.

Austin Travis - 'Executive Decision' (1996)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

The '80s and '90s were the golden age of action films, where big brawny men routinely saved the day by mowing down hundreds of goons. One of the biggest action stars at the time was Steven Seagal, so seeing him attached to Executive Decision conjures images of him beating up bad guys across every inch of the movie's plane setting.

It comes as a shock, then, when his army colonel character is sucked out of the plane during the film's first act, robbing the movie of its action hero. Instead, that honor falls to David Grant (Kurt Russell), a nerdy consultant who boarded the plane alongside Seagal's team.

Marvin - 'Pulp Fiction' (1994)

Available to stream on Showtime.

One of Quentin Tarantino's best movies, Pulp Fiction is filled with many classic moments. One of the best is when Vincent (John Travolta) and Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) confront a group of thieves who double-crossed their boss and blow them away after Jules waxes lyrical about the bible.

Abducting the lone survivor of the incident, Marvin (Phil LaMarr), Vincent and Jules drive around debating the concept of miracles. When Vincent turns to Marvin in the backseat to ask his opinion, his gun accidentally fires and blows Marvin's head off. The two hitmen are just as shocked as the audience as they are covered in the dead man's blood and brain matter.

Alberto Parker - 'Hell or High Water' (2016)

Available to stream on Hulu.

This acclaimed crime thriller is a throwback to the Westerns of yore, following two brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) as they go on a bank robbing spree in Texas. Hell or High Water also follows two Texas Rangers (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham) as they hunt the brothers.

The two police officers, Hamilton and Parker, are veterans of the force, and their ribbing of each other cannot hide the deep respect they share. So when Parker is suddenly killed in a shootout with one of the brothers, the utter despair shown by Hamilton in reaction to his partner's death is heartbreaking.

Hoban 'Wash' Washburne - 'Serenity' (2005)

Available to stream on Starz.

Diehard fans of Firefly who campaigned for the show's revival probably wished it stayed dead after witnessing this fan-favorite character's demise. Picking up where the cult television series ended, Serenity follows the crew of the titular spaceship as they are pursued by the all-encompassing Alliance.

Wash (Alan Tudyk) is the ship's reliable pilot, and he is responsible for getting the crew safely through all manner of last-minute escapes. When a fleet of cannibalistic Reavers pursues the Serenity crew, Wash narrowly gets them to safety, but not before a spear pierces through the front of the ship and kills him, robbing fans of one of the universe's best characters.

Libby - 'Super' (2010)

Available to stream on AMC+.

This DIY superhero film was unfairly overshadowed by Kick-Ass at release, and also missed the big superhero boom by a few years. Super follows Frank Darbo (Rainn Wilson), an ordinary man who decides to become a superhero after his wife leaves him for a drug dealer.

Dubbing himself The Crimson Bolt, he enlists the aid of comic book store owner Libby (Elliot Page), who becomes his sidekick. When the two wannabe heroes make their siege on the drug dealer's house, they are soon shot at by henchman. A shotgun blast takes off a big chunk of Libby's head, confronting Frank and the audience with the horrific dangers of vigilantism.

Joe Black - 'Meet Joe Black' (1998)

Available to stream on Hulu.

This romantic drama features one of the most unintentionally funny death scenes in film. When a young man (Brad Pitt) shares an encounter with Susan (Claire Forlani) at a coffee shop, he is smitten. His fascination with the woman is distracting, and he walks into traffic where he is struck dead by two different cars.

Meet Joe Black shifts gears then as Death itself inhabits the body of the dead man, so it can harvest the soul of media tycoon William Parrish (Anthony Hopkins). The film peaks early with the death scene, and its confusing plot and massive runtime (181 minutes!) will leave you hoping for more vehicular manslaughter.

Billy Costigan - 'The Departed' (2006)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video and Google Play Movies.

The Departed is one of Martin Scorsese's best movies, a crime epic that follows the police and a ruthless crime family as they attempt to infiltrate each other. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Billy Costigan, a state trooper who goes undercover in the criminal organization, while Matt Damon plays Colin Sullivan, a mole within the police.

When both men discover there is a spy on the other side, they attempt to flush the other out. Costigan wins the race and arrests Sullivan, but before he can bring the criminal into custody he is shot dead by another spy. It is always shocking when the protagonist is suddenly killed, but even more so when they are played by an actor as popular as DiCaprio.

Sous-chef Jeremy - 'The Menu' (2022)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

Featuring an all-star ensemble cast led by Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu revolves around a group of wealthy diners who travel to an exclusive restaurant on a remote island. There, renowned celebrity chef Julian Slowik (masterfully played by Ralph Fiennes) prepares an elaborate course that's (literally) to die for.

While the first bizarre hints that something's not quite right don't cause the guests to panic and leave, it's sous-chef Jeremy's (Adam Aalderks) suicide that confirms (to most) that they're in actual danger. Up until then, viewers who watch director Mark Mylod's film not knowing much about the plot are just as clueless as the confused diners, making Jeremy's decision to shoot himself for the sake of "the menu" even more shocking.

Ättestupa Ceremony Elders - 'Midsommar' (2019)

Available to stream on Showtime.

Director Ari Aster's Midsommar is a renowned psychological horror film that follows psychology student Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh), a young woman who travels to a secluded Swedish community to participate in a festival that only happens once every 90 years. She accompanies her boyfriend and his friends, who are researching the festival for their anthropology thesis, but what begins as a cultural experience soon becomes a nightmare when the celebration takes a dark and violent turn.

The friends soon witness the Ättestupa ritual, a fictional ceremony depicting an intense and horrific moment in which the villagers participate in a ceremonial suicide of the older residents, who are thought to be no longer important to the community. The ritual is a public display, with the entire community taking part, including children, who are shown to be there without exhibiting fear. The visceral atmosphere, quiet background and the clear shock and confusion from the main characters make the hair-raising deaths both jarring and unforgettable.

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - 'Avengers: Endgame' (2019)

Available to stream on Disney+.

Avengers: Endgame is the culmination of a series of related Marvel Cinematic Universe films that follow the surviving Avengers as they try to undo the destruction caused by Thanos and his snap, which killed half of all life in the universe. The epic film finishes the arc of the other movies, and depicts the way the characters must face the repercussions of events from those films.

In a surprising twist, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), also known as Black Widow, sacrifices herself in order to get the Soul Stone. When Red Skull (Ross Marquand), the Keeper of the Soul Stone, reveals that in order to receive the stone, one must sacrifice someone they love, Natasha fights with Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and ends up dying so that Hawkeye can get the stone and return to the present. Natasha's unexpected death is tragic and poignant, and serves as a reminder of the fact that the stakes are higher than ever before.

Bill Murray - 'Zombieland' (2009)

Available to stream on Hulu and AMC+.

Director Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland is a zombie comedy horror film starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin as a group of survivors navigating a post-apocalyptic landscape overrun by the undead while grappling with their own pain and misery. In a genuinely surprising reveal at that time, Bill Murray appears as a fictional version of himself, depicted as a survivalist living in a fortified residence, and is soon visited by the main characters, who are looking for a safe place to stay.

Bill soon reveals a more somber side, talking about how he misses his former life and regrets some of the decisions he's made. He also tells them about his unrealized dream to appear in a zombie film. This inspires a terrible idea for a joke on Columbus (Eisenberg) and Little Rock (Breslin), where Bill pretends to be an actual zombie, which leads to Columbus accidentally murdering him. It's funny, unexpected and tragic all at once.

Dominic Kearney - 'The Banshees of Inisherin' (2022)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

Set on a bleak and isolated island off the west coast of Ireland, The Banshees of Inisherin depicts the abrupt end of a long friendship between Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson). As the more naive Pádraic tries to mend their broken relationship, things escalate and take violent and dark turns.

Directed by Martin McDonagh, the most shocking death in the movie (not counting Jenny) happens to a supporting character, Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan). Mildly annoying but still endearing, Dominic is a young man who just wanted to see the best in people, and was mostly on the sidelines. This is why it's so jarring to see him floating around the lake, where it's implied he died by suicide. When audiences realize that his father's sexual abuse and Siobhán's rejection was more than he could take, Dominic's tragic death begins to leave a pit in the stomach and an unshakable feeling of dread for the rest of the film.

NEXT: Films That Shocked Audience Members During Screening