Okay, so the original Wicker Man doesn't have Nicolas Cage fighting an island full of women dressed as a bear, but back in the day, its bonkers and bleak ending was considered the original WTF. Edward Woodward's untouched British bobby is considered the perfect sacrifice to revitalise Summerisle's arid crops - apparently, using a spray or two of VertiGrow never occurred to these simple island folk.
29. GETTING TO THE POINT
GROSSE POINT BLANK (1997)
When choosing a death from John Cusack's hitman flick you could choose between this one, Dan Aykroyd taking a TV to the head, and the scene later on in the movie where Martin repeatedly shoots an assassin, bashes his head in with a frying pan and then deadpans: "Debi, I'm in love with you. And I know we can make this relationship work." But this one wins as it's a brutal fight with awesome flying kicks and a less than textbook tracheotomy with a ball-point pen.
28. "I'M FINISHED!"
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2008)
A geyser-esque eruption of violence at the end of a drama drier than the desert, this off-kilter ending to Paul Thomas Anderson's oil-based epic inspired as much parody as it did awe. Few could argue the effectiveness of the change in tone, though, as an utterly mental Daniel Day-Lewis bonks Paul Dano's preacher on the head with a bowling pin like a cartoon character, then beats him to death.
27. GOOSE SPLAT
TOP GUN (1986)
Poor Goose. After contributing the '80s' second most awesome moustache to the '80s' second most awesome film about aeroplanes (Selleck and Airplane! are obviously that slight bit awesomer), he has his noggin bashed in to ensure that the 'emotional heart of the movie' box is ticked. He even had the decency to keep his shirt on during the homosexual volleyball scene. The only good thing about his untimely demise was that he never had to see his missus turn into a weird-lookin' troll doll. We'll never lose that lovin' feeling for you, Goose.
26. "JUST ONE SHOT..."
THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
If there's anyone you'd put money on to beat the odds, it'd be fleet-footed septuagenarian Christopher Walken - the man could dance his way out of Hell. Alas, his groove deserted him at the gripping finale of Michael Cimino's Vietnam epic, meeting an emotional end during a game of Russian Roulette. Honestly, it's so dangerous, you'd think it'd be illegal.
25. PASS THE PARACETAMOL
SCANNERS (1980)
Even better than Total Recall's detonating bonce, David Cronenberg goes all out with the kind of physical special effect that you just don't see these days. Michael Ironside (who looks bizarrely like Heath Ledger's Joker) seems to be finding the build-up very exciting, and may be hosting a party in his pants to which we're all invited. Before starting the mind scan, there had been a warning that the process could be painful, and may lead to nose bleeds. He should be so lucky.
24. LOOK WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
HANNIBAL (2001)
This certainly isn't one to watch over a dinner of fava beans and a nice Chianti. As Julianne Moore's Agent Starling 2.0 looks on, gagging, Lecter removes the top of Ray Liotta's skull, cuts out a section of his brain and then feeds it back to him. It's disturbing viewing, and shows Hannibal to be the worst physician since Dr. Fox.
23. EXTINGUISHING SONNY
THE GODFATHER (1972)
The only man in history who has ever been filled with more lead was a Mr. Jeff Brown of Slough, who had a terrible accident in an HB pencil factory. And even that was a close run thing, as Sonny, realising that the jig is up, gets shot about 50 times while he's still in his car. But Sonny's no quitter and he struggles out of the machine, where he's shot another 50 times. Then, as he lays prostrate on the ground, he takes another strafing with a tommy gun. Finally, he gets his head kicked in, which the autopsy showed is what finally killed him.
22. COEN, COEN, GONE
RAISING ARIZONA (1987)
An infertile Holly Hunter, an abducted baby, and a two by four to the face lead to a mismatched fistfight, in which the only offence that Nic Cage can muster is to spit his recently dislodged tooth into Tex Cobb's face. Facing certain doom, Hi manages to claw at the Big Bad's grenade collection for an unlikely win via splodin'. The moment of connection between the two combatants as they discover a shared tattoo, and Nic's whispered "I'm sorry" elevate the scene into the truly memorable category. And of course a guy frickin' explodes.
21. KISS MY AXE
THE SHINING (1980)
Scatman Crothers walks slowly down a hallway, only for a hyped-up, manic Jack Nicholson to suddenly bury an axe in his chest, inter-cut with footage of son Danny yelling Culkin-like into camera. This should by rights be ridiculous, but it is in fact one of the most shocking deaths in cinema history - just one of many in Kubrick's horror masterclass.
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