Towards the end of April, Dread Central did a post on the
Top Ten Tearjerker moments in horror and that same day, Johnny Squires of Freddy in Space
compiled a list of his own. I'm quite the fan of lists and I'll be the first to admit that I'm a total girl when it comes to watching horror movies. A lot of people think that because I've watched so many horror movies that I'm completely desensitized but it really isn't the case. I get scared out of my mind and yes, cry. I've been thinking long and hard about it and have made as many attempts as humanly possible not to copy other moments featured on the lists.
THIS LIST CONTAINS A HOARD OF SPOILERS. You have been warned. Proceed with caution.
THE WALKING DEAD
Johnny featured a later episode of this series but my vote had to go to the pilot episode of AMC's The Walking Dead, which held absolutely nothing back and delivered one of the most gut wrenching moments of horror television history. Poor Morgan and his son have been holding up refuge in their house as the zombie apocalypse surrounds them. Unfortunately, their wife was not as lucky. There are moments before that are pretty depressing as their son looks out the door and sees his zombified mother attempting to return home, but knowing she'll just try to eat him he is forced to let her alone. In the show's final moments, we see Morgan telling his son to stay in his room as he tries to line up a shot to finally end his wife's zombified life once and for all. That moment, that single last frame is what got me hooked to the rest of the series.
PET SEMATARY
I've stated many, many times that I am a total sucker when it comes to children being offed in horror films. I don't care how demented or demonic they are...my heart will absolutely sink. Sometimes horror movies really don't hold anything back and they kill off children who were absolutely innocent. I freaking DIE everytime Gage gets killed by the truck in Pet Sematary. I don't even know why. That shot of the child's shoe bouncing across the road and the sound of the screeching brakes...I can't even handle it. My eyes start burning every single time without fail.
FLATLINERS
I'm going for a stretch in calling this a horror movie, but it contains enough supernatural forces to walk the line between thriller and horror. In general, this a pretty damn depressing film. It deals with people voluntarily dying for one minute before being revived in order to see if there truly is life after death. The red flags should be shooting up by now. Some of the people end up passing, and some of them experience crazy after effects. However, there is nothing more gut wrenching than watching Julia Robert's character, Rachel, reunite with her deceased father who had been haunting her after she "flatlined". Holy Waterworks, Batman.
CANDYMAN
It
was always you, Helen. While this movie is famous for playing the urban legend "man in the mirror, say the name five times" game, it has by far one of the most depressing endings I've ever seen. The poor woman has spent the entire movie trying to prove her innocence and prove that a supernatural being is the one murdering people, and how is she repayed? DYING IN A FIRE WHILE RESCUING A BABY. Set that alongside Phillip Glass' score and you're almost destined to feel sad.
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
AWIL is a comedy, yes, but the ending of this film is filled with just as much "oh, come on!" as the ending of Night of the Living Dead. After everything he's been through, we just want to see him prance away in his wolfy wonderment...and it doesn't happen. So, freaking, sad.
THE MIST
Okay, so everyone is including this on their list. I might as well do the same. The ending of this movie was honestly the first time that I literally stared at a screen in disbelief. Stephen King himself has even said that he can't believe he didn't think of it. I've attempted to try and wrap my head around the emotional turmoil he must feel at the end of this film, and absolutely nothing comes even remotely close to accidentally resembling what he must have felt. I'm not spoiling it, just watch it and get back to me.
Oh, and this entire freaking movie. Tragically beautiful. Simple and Perfect.