Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End

Summary

• Horror films demand that audiences grow attached to characters before ruthlessly ending their lives in terrifying scenarios.
• Not all horror movies have survivors, with some aiming to leave audiences with a dark and bleak ending that haunts them.
• Found footage horror films like Quarantine and The Blair Witch Project set the stage for no survivors, creating an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere.

If this isn’t a sign to avoid getting attached to fictional film characters, it’s hard to know what is. Watching movies is like walking on a tightrope, where one has no idea if they’re going to fall or make it through. We never really know what will happen, especially in horror films, where the build-up is everything. For events to really land, no matter how horrific, audiences have to care about the characters and grow attached to them so that the events of the plot do not go unnoticed. Therefore, who survives is a crucial decision made by horror filmmakers.

Not every horror movie has characters dying left and right. In fact, there is usually a survivor or two at the end to drive home a sense of hope — otherwise, it would be too dark, right? But, in the horror genre, sometimes, the darker the ending, the better. So, why have any survivors at all? If someone is looking for their next horror watch, we’ve got you covered. Here is a list of 13 horror movies where everyone meets their untimely end, from modern classics like Hereditary to old favorites like The Blair Witch Project.

13 Quarantine (2008)

2008’s Quarantine is definitely a found-footage horror film that deserves a watch. This thrilling film follows a woman named Angela (Jennifer Carpenter) and her cameraman Scott (Steve Harris) as they seek to capture footage for a reality show about firefighters. On a late-night call, they discover an outbreak at the scene that threatened their lives. Well, as a qualifier to be on this list, let’s just say that nobody survives this deadly outbreak.

A Rousing Remake

Quarantine is a remake of the Spanish film Rec, and many have said that it helped the original gain more popularity and attention due to receiving a Hollywood adaptation. In order to capture the feel and eerie essence of a found footage film, it contains no musical score and instead relies on ominous side effects. Despite garnering mixed reviews from critics, the horror flick did prove to be a success at the box office and spawned the 2011 sequel Quarantine 2: Terminal. Stream on Max.

12 Cabin Fever (2002)

Horror-comedy is an interesting mixture of genres. The contradicting reactions of gut-wrenching screams and hysterical laughter are not for everyone. However, 2002’s Cabin Fever is worth it. As audiences know, none of the characters survive. But, the ride that gets us there is why this film should be on a must-watch list for those who haven’t seen it. The film follows a group of young students who are fighting against a flesh-eating disease that has infected their water supply.

A Chilling Hollywood Debut

Boy Meets World alum Rider Strong stars in the unsettling film, which marked splatter master Eli Roth’s directorial debut; he was compelled to write and direct the horror flick after he got a severe skin infection while doing farm work in Iceland. Roth drew on legendary classics like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Evil Dead for inspiration, wanting to pay homage to the horror hits of the ’70s and ’80s that influenced him to become a director himself. Stream on Max.

11 House of 1000 Corpses (2003)

Not all horror has to be dark and creepy. In fact, horror-comedies could really use more of the spotlight. House of 1000 Corpses is one of those must-watch films for horror lovers. Through and through, this gory slasher-esque horror film is an experience that will leave your jaw on the floor. Two couples find themselves stranded at the door of the House of 1000 Corpses, a place that houses a deranged family that is hellbent on brutally adding more and more bodies to their collection.

A Cult Classic is Born

With regard to the beloved victims in this encounter, neither couple makes it out to tell the tale. Audiences shouldn’t be surprised about the gruesome outcome, as shock rock musician and director Rob Zombie helmed the black horror-comedy, which has gone on to become a cult classic that led to two direct sequels. House of 1000 Corpses even became a seasonal haunted house attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, much to the delight of the film’s passionate fans. Stream on Tubi.

10 Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Of course, the zombie apocalypse would leave no survivors. 2004’s Dawn of the Dead follows the classic apocalyptic horror storyline. A woman named Ana finds out that her entire neighborhood has been overrun by the undead. She finds a group of survivors to join, and they all band together to try and make it through the new world. Well, no matter how prepared someone might think they are for something like this, the unpredictable world of the walking dead left this group without a single survivor.

Refreshing Update of a Classic

The polarizing Zack Snyder made his directorial debut with the remake of the George A. Romero masterpiece, and despite having large shoes to fill his version of Dawn of the Dead garnered largely positive reviews from both critics and moviegoers. Many were impressed by the amped-up blood and gore, pulse-pounding scares, and dazzling special makeup effects. Snyder did not want to simply recreate the original, instead opting to create a straight horror film that would be “as serious as a heart attack”, and felt that the concept of running zombies added to the terror factor and sense of dread. Stream on Netflix.

9 Chernobyl Diaries (2012)

Set in the ghost town of Pripyat, Ukraine where a group of American tourists decide to explore the abandoned site located close to where the 1986 disaster occurred, Chernobyl Diaries chronicles the unspeakable horrors and terror the young explorers experienced when they became stranded at the abandoned location. The group makes the chilling discovery that they are not alone in Pripyat, and are stalked by horrific mutant creatures that will stop at nothing to see the dead; naturally, the mutants succeed.

Controversial Subject Matter

Unsurprisingly, Chernobyl Diaries caused quite an outrage when it premiered, with many calling the film’s premise insensitive and disrespectful to those who lost their lives and were affected by the devastating disaster. Nonetheless, the eerie monster movie was a box office success and grossed over $37 million on a modest $1 million budget, though both critics and audiences largely panned the horror flick upon watching it. Rent/Buy on Prime Video.

8 Final Destination 5 (2011)

Audiences should know by now that any installment in the Final Destination franchise will rack up a pretty high body count, seeing as the characters are literally being hunted by Death manifested. In Final Destination 5, a young man heading to a corporate retreat has a premonition that the bridge they are traveling across is going to collapse, and despite trying to save the lives of his co-workers, he and his ex are the only ones to survive. The pair quickly learn that Death will not be easily deterred, and they find themselves fighting for their lives (and ultimately losing).

Paranoia Runs Rampant

The Final Destination films have instilled fear and terror into the hearts of moviegoers for nearly 25 years and became famous for the many gruesome and bizarre ways the characters met their grim fates. From lumber crashing on the freeway to being trapped in a tanning bed, the horror franchise knows exactly how to put its audiences on edge, and the series has become a guilty pleasure for moviegoers. 2011’s Final Destination 5 was initially thought to be the last entry, but a sixth installment is in the works, entitled Final Destination 6: Bloodlines. Rent/Buy on Apple TV+.

7 Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Night of the Living Dead is a horror classic that cannot be missed, especially on this list. This isolated horror film is the best that the zombie subgenre has to offer. In the picture, we follow a group of people who hide inside an abandoned house when the surrounding graveyard comes to life. As bodies slowly start to emerge from the ground, the group is forced to fight and fend off any intruders. At some point, there is nothing else they can do as the zombies descend on the house.

Romero’s Horror Masterpiece

Both acclaimed and critiqued for its shockingly explicit blood, gore, and violence, Night of the Living Dead steadily gained a devoted fan following and became a cult classic, emerging as a major trailblazer in the horror genre. It has retrospectively been deemed one of the cinema’s greatest and most influential films of all time and launched a lucrative and beloved franchise that included five sequels all directed by the great George A. Romero, and has left a lasting impact on the face of horror. Stream on Max.

6 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

Serving as a prequel to the ’70s horror classic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is set four years before the events of the original groundbreaking film and centers on a group of couples who set out on a cross-country road trip for one last adventure before the men are shipped off to serve in the Vietnam War. While traveling through rural Texas, the young group is targeted by a deranged sheriff and ends up on the doorstep of a young Leatherface, who is honing his sinister skillset.

Prequel to a Horror Staple

Leatherface and his trustee chainsaw made sure that no survivors were left, and the installment provided audiences with a look at the iconic horror villain’s origins and how he transformed into the killing machine. Director Jonathan Liebesman was skeptical of creating a worthy new entry in the franchise, but when he discovered it would be a prequel was intrigued at not providing a reason for the violence and murders but rather making sure that “the movie needed to feel like the beginning of hell.” Rent/Buy on Prime Video.

5 The Cabin in the Woods

When Dana, Curt, Jules, Marty, and Holden go off for a fun, relaxing vacation, the cabin they are staying in holds more secrets than they could ever anticipate. 2011’s The Cabin In the Woods is yet another zombie film that takes the lives of our beloved protagonists. However, this delightfully over-the-top horror comedy is full of exciting twists and turns that make zombies not the only threat to their lives.

Writing Dream Team

Director Drew Goddard teamed up with Joss Whedon to write the screenplay for the entertaining flick (having previously worked together on Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and he set out to masterfully blend horror and comedy in the ambitious project. The Cabin in the Woods is Goddard’s love letter to the genre and he set out to provide a critique about society and how people are depicted on-screen; he told Filmmaker Magazine:

“The question that is interesting to me is – why do we feel this need to marginalize youth on screen?” Why do we feel this need to idealize youth, and then slaughter them? What is it about that that is so satisfying to us as viewers? And it’s not just in movies, it happens in society.”

Stream on Hulu.

4 Hereditary (2018)

Modern-day horror films are hit-and-miss. However, Hereditary has garnered a reputation for being one of the best to have come out in the last 10 years. With Toni Collette’s stunning, Oscar-worthy performance at its core, Hereditary uses ominous storytelling that has audiences on the edge of their seats from start to finish. This film follows the dark and deranged secrets of a seemingly normal family coming into light as grief tears them apart from the inside out.

Collette’s Heart-wrenching Performance

From Charlie’s (Milly Shapiro) graphic beheading to Steve getting lit on fire as he tries to get rid of Annie’s sketchbook, there was no going back for any member of this family. Though she was initially hesitant to appear in a horror film, Collette was one of director Ari Aster’s first choices to portray the struggling family matriarch, and she was attracted to the project because of how grounded the script was: “He [Aster] just really understood the dynamics in the family, has such an understanding of what it is to be human, what it is to experience loss.” Stream on Max.

3 Cloverfield (2008)

Creature flicks are some of the best to come from the horror film genre. The creativity it takes to develop a terrifying creature to wreak havoc meant to send chills down audiences’ spines is a tall order. In 2008, Cloverfield did that, and then some, even if no one survived. This found-footage film will have moviegoers shaking in their boots as a group of friends document the horrific events that unfold in their city of New York.

Japanese Horror Inspiration

J.J. Abrams executive produced the trailblazing horror picture, coming up with the idea when he was in a toy store in Japan with his son. He explained what inspired the premise of the movie monster at Comic-Con: “We saw all these Godzilla toys, and I thought, we need our own American monster, and not like King Kong. I love King Kong. King Kong is adorable. And Godzilla is a charming monster. We love Godzilla, but I wanted something that was just insane and intense.” Stream on Paramount+.

2 The Blair Witch Project (1999)

The found footage film is one of the most beloved subgenres of horror out there. Why not highlight the one that is credited with starting it all? The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999 and brought the idea of found footage filmmaking into the forefront of horror. The premise of found footage already implies that there are no survivors and that is why the footage was lost, and then found.

Fact or Fiction?

The Blair Witch Project famously follows three students who are dedicated to documenting a murderer known as the Blair Witch. As they find out more from interviewing locals, they soon find themselves lost in the woods, face to face with something they are not ready to face. As this list implies, none of the students survive the encounter. Due to the mystery surrounding the main actors in the flick and the marketing used, people genuinely thought the students were missing, and the website for The Blair Witch Project garnered a mind-boggling 160 million hits in its first month back in ’99. Stream on Freevee.

1 The Thing (1982)

Remote, isolated, and rigidly desolate settings are the perfect backing image for a horror movie. 1982’s The Thing follows a group of American researchers at their base in Antarctica. When the group takes in what appears to be a dog inside of the base, they soon discover a creature that can shape-shift. This nightmare scenario had the entire group fighting for their lives until the creature brings each and every one of them down.

Another Celebrated Creature Feature

The Thing is a must-see horror in every sense of the word and is sure to tap into fears that one may not even know they have. The John Carpenter masterpiece both shocked and thrilled audiences with its gruesome special effects, and pushed the boundaries of what had been previously depicted on screen. It has gone on to become a revered classic and both fans and critics now regard The Thing as one of the greatest films of all time and a major milestone in the horror genre. Rent/Buy on Prime Video.