Many movies have offered some creative interpretation of death itself, personifying the most ominous force of nature that all beings eventually meet into a fascinating character all their own. The classic image of death as the grim reaper, wearing a robe, wielding a scythe, and sporting a skeletal visage has been a cultural staple for a long time. As an art form, cinema has picked up on this, with some of the most classic movies of all time sporting their own unique interpretations of death as a concept.
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Some films interpret death with a variation of the iconic cloaked imagery, putting their own spin on the classical description. Usually seen as male, death’s personality can be grim, alluring, or surprisingly chill depending on the energy of the genre he’s in, with horror movies, comedies, and dramas all taking the idea of what such an ancient being might act like in different places. Sometimes a simple human, other times a mind-bogglingly incomprehensible entity, death comes in many forms, but he does come for all.
10 Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
A fearsome bounty-hunter
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One of the coolest recent attempts at characterizing death on the big screen, the animated family-friendly film Puss in Boots: The Last Wish offers a surprisingly cool variation of death. Appearing as a cloaked humanoid wolf dual-wielding twin sickles, Death first appears to be nothing more than an ordinary bounty hunter, pursuing the legendary hero Puss in Boots after he ends up on the last of his nine lives. Death later clarifies that he is indeed no bounty hunter, coming for Puss in Boots’ last life early after he frivolously wasted the other eight.
With a chilling whistle, Death stalks and terrifies Puss, sending him into searing panic attacks with his mere presence as he scrambles away in fear. This version of death is a treat to watch on screen, with Wagner Moura’s sly, gravelly voice matching the effortlessly cool attacks of the canine killer. It’s hard to believe, but a spin-off of the Shrek movies has bar none the coldest version of death as an action movie villain.
9 The ABCs Of Death
A relentless pursuer
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The horror anthology film The ABCs of Death is a neat package of 26 short films that all culminate in death, with the cause always being a word starting with the relevant letter in order. Towards the end of the film, after bizarre entries like F is for Fart and H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion, S is for Speed enters the final stretch of the alphabet with a chilling depiction of death. At first, the “Speed” in question seems to be literal, as a tough biker lady with a hostage in tow speeds across a desloate desert in a muscle car, with a heavily modified truck in hot pursuit.
Eventually, the truck catches up to her, revealing himself to be a hooded man with snakeskin boots and a demonic face and voice, who admits he’s impressed, saying “you gave me a run for my money“. Admitting defeat and taking the enemy driver’s hand, the short reveals the entire chase to be one woman’s attempt to outrun death, ending in failure as they always do. Zooming out of the dream sequence, the real woman overdoses on drugs, clarifying the title stands for a different kind of “Speed”. Death’s terrifying appearance but kind personality here is a fascinating mix.
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8 The Seventh Seal
An iconic pop culture representation
By far the most instantly recognizable version of death on-screen, even culturally diffusing to the minds of those who’ve never seen the film, the imagery of Death in The Seventh Seal has had an incredible influence. Genius filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s movies are all fantastic at portraying themes of inner struggle and questioning faith, a task that suits itself well to the on-screen presence of death as a character. The period film centers on a medieval knight who struggles to do a single good deed before his life ends, as dictated by a tense chess match with Death himself.
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Swedish actor Bengt Ekerot gives a thoughtfully grim portrayal of Death in the film, calmly assuring the knight he can’t escape him despite ultimately losing the iconic chess game. The idea of Death playing chess is quite a great deal older than The Seventh Seal, but the film was the reason the concept has since become a staple of pop culture. Calm, collected, and unnervingly polite, Death is a lingering presence in The Seventh Seal who asserts himself despite a temporary loss.
7 Meet Joe Black
A curious romantic who learns about humanity
In Meet Joe Black, the idea of Death as a present character is literally fleshed out in more detail than ever done before or since in a quiet, meditative drama. Here, Death manifests in the body of an attractive young man, played by Brad Pitt, who takes an interest in a soon-to-die media magnate, Bill, after he wishes for his daughter to not marry a man she isn’t truly in love with. Dubbed by Bill as “Joe Black”, Death takes an interest in the human world, falling in love with Bill’s daughter, much to his own chagrin.
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No other movie puts Death at the center of a romance as effectively as Meet Joe Black, which develops his budding relationship nevertheless wreathed in tragedy. It’s fascinating to see how Joe Black balances his own callous desires with Bill’s pleading not to take his daughter away, all helped by Brad Pitt’s methodical performance. Interestingly enough, Meet Joe Black was actually based on a film from the 30s that explored a similar premise of Death falling in love, titled Death Takes a Holiday.
6 Final Destination
An unseen force of destruction
Although it technically doesn’t appear as a physical character, Death is certainly the main antagonist of the entire Final Destination franchise. The first film centers on a high school student named Alex who gains an eerie premonition of his death in a brutal plane crash, prompting himself and several others to miss the flight. Sure enough, the plane goes down in a violent disaster, and Death soon seeks to reclaim the lives robbed from it with a series of increasingly convoluted and gory accidents.
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Weaponizing fears of common experiences and even household items, Final Destination presents Death as the ultimate horror movie villain. An unseen force constantly acting outside the realm of probability to ensure the demise of those who somehow circumvented their fate, Death’s manifestation in the film betrays its presence without ever materializing as a proper hooded figure. The scariest part of Final Destination‘s Death is the fact that in the end, no one escapes it, as revealed by Final Destination 2.
5 Bill And Ted’s Bogus Journey
A sore loser who falls for easy tricks
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In a refreshing change of pace, the Bill & Ted series opted to have fun with Death as a goofier version of Ingmar Berman’s take. Bill and Ted first meet Death after being killed by their evil selves, initially outwitting him by tricking him into believing his shoes are untied before giving him a wedgie and running off. From there, the duo engage with Death in a variety of common family-friendly games like Twister and Clue, rather than chess, all of which they are successful in, much to Death’s own frustration.
Appearing as simply a pale, hairless man with a robe and scythe, this version of death is a humorous take on the typical dour personality of an all-seeing cosmic entity. Though he starts out as a stuck-up jerk who refuses to admit defeat against Bill and Ted, the two are eventually able to bring out his boyish side, leading to him pranking the main antagonist in the same way Bill and Ted did to him and even starting a racing career in the Indy 500. Even better, Death joins them in the Wyld Stallyns as a bass player.
4 Hellboy II: The Golden Army
A personal angel of the crossroads
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Often considered to be the best of the Hellboy movies, Hellboy II: The Golden Army ups the stakes of the series with one of the most creative representations of Death ever conceived to add to the cast of re-imagined mythical creatures. Specifically, the Angel of Death seen in the film represents the avatar of Hellboy’s personal death, claiming to always be present at the crossroads of potential demises for the demon investigator. When Hellboy is stabbed in the heart by Prince Nuada’s spear, the Angel of Death appears to give Liz Sherman a choice to save him.
Another of Guillermo del Toro’s brilliant creature designs, the Angel of Death is almost alien in nature, bearing an eyeless faceplate that serves as an organic crown, a desiccated humanoid body, and molted black wings covered in eyes. Beyond its amazingly creepy appearance, Hellboy’s personal Death is terrifying in its indifference to his plight, as well as its assurance that Liz will suffer the most by allowing him to live and fulfill his destiny as Anung Un Rama. With a brief appearance, this version of Death makes an eerie impression.
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3 The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
A menacing shadow outsmarted by the hero
While many films and stories that personify death emphasize the impossibility of escaping him, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen presents him as a pulpy villain to be foiled and outsmarted at every turn. The Terry Gilliam epic, famous for its dreadful production cycle and abysmal box office return, describes the adventures of the titular folk hero, escaping impossible situations with cartoonish physics-defying acts and absurd luck. At several points, the Angel of Death appears to menace Baron Munchausen’s life.
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The scariest interpretation of the classic “Grim Reaper” appearance, Baron Munchausen’s Angel of Death is a skeleton clad in tattered, flowing robes, flanked by massive black wings and holding a scythe in one hand and an hourglass in the other. Though the good Baron narrowly escapes his clutches several times, the final triumphant appearance of Death bursting out of a statue of himself after Munchausen is shot by a sniper is epic in the true sense of the world. Of course, even here the affable Baron somehow lives on, Death remaining his end in story only.
2 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1
A clever deal-maker with nefarious intentions
In many pieces of fiction, the idea of a powerful being that makes shrewd deals in exchange for souls usually points to the Devil. However, in the Harry Potter series, this charge is instead given to Death himself, who is brilliantly represented in the animated segment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. As Hermione tells the story of the Deathly Hallows’ creation, her narration is complimented by a clever shadow puppet art style that depicts the three brothers who fell prey to Death’s machinations.
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The animation portrays Death as a hideously gaunt, hunched figure, whose flowing robes and skull-like face are quite indicative of classical iconography. But rather than a straightforward pursuer, this Death is a relentless schemer, fashioning the powerful Deathly Hallows magical items to allow each soul he was cheated of to eventually return to him by their own accord. Manipulative, terrifying, and shifty in nature, this Death incarnation appears briefly, but leaves a grand impression on both the narrative and the audience.
1 The Night House
Nothingness personified
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Of all the ideas of an afterlife, the nihilistic concept of total oblivion or nothingness is often the scariest to many people. This idea is turned into a genuine horror movie monster in The Night House, whose protagonist is the survivor of a near-death experience. After her husband dies, the grief-stricken Beth uncovers evidence of some frightening hidden activities her late lover had gotten up to without her knowledge, culminating in the appearance of a uniquely terrifying concept of Death as the utter lack of anything at all, referred to simply as Nothing.
Nothing appears in the film as a vague impression of a man, whose silhouette is constantly formed by shifting edges of objects, furniture, and shadow, stalking the soul he briefly touched during Beth’s near-death experience. The entity even has a spine-chilling voice, assuring Beth with horrifying certainty that it had been with her all along. By far the most genius visual representation of death as a terrifying being in a movie, The Night House‘s Nothing is worthy of spooky acclaim.
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