The three greatest death scenes of all time, according to Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino has faced criticisms for his violent artistic sensibilities, starting from his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs. Since then, Tarantino has often been unapologetic about his violent vision and has managed to emerge as one of the most prominent practitioners of arthouse action in the landscape of contemporary cinema.
When Reservoir Dogs was made, some scenes were singled out by critics who claimed that it was the most violent film ever made. At the time, Tarantino obviously denounced such claims as absurd, and his own idol—Brian De Palma (who is also known for cinematic violence)—came to his defence, arguing that violence is often indispensable to the visual narrative.
“Cinema is, as we’ve said a thousand times, is a visual medium and we’re interested in terrific visual sequences and many of them happen to be violent,” De Palma commented. Tarantino has advocated for the same, going on to make unforgettable action classics such as Kill Bill, which have captured the imaginations of audiences around the world.
As a child, Tarantino was influenced by horror films, westerns, and exploitation flicks, which all had elements of violence in them. These films left a deep impact on his mind and inspired him to be a filmmaker in many ways. Tarantino often cites Sergio Leone and Mario Bava as the pioneers who changed his life.
Violence has always been a big part of what Tarantino considers a great story, largely because of the stylised excitement he can draw from it. And, it has often left interviewers asking him for his favourite blood-shedding moments. Naturally, his choices are that of someone with a refined palette for barbarity.
Quentin Tarantino’s favourite death scenes:
Tenebre (Dario Argento, 1982)
One of the finest examples of the Italian Giallo genre, Dario Argento‘s 1982 cult classic Tenebre tells the story of an American novelist who finds himself being targeted by a serial killer who was reportedly inspired by the books he wrote. The film explores metafiction and sexuality and is now considered one of Argento’s finest.
Tarantino has expressed his admiration for Dario Argento on multiple occasions but named a particular scene from Tenebre one of his favourite death scenes. It involves an iconic moment where the victim paints with her own blood on a wall after her arm is cut off. The dramatic nature of the scene works perfectly with Tarantino’s sensibilities and it is difficult to imagine the director not wishing he had thought of this first and introduced it into any of his movies.
Jason X (James Isaac, 2001)
There have been countless genres Tarantino has dipped his toe into, yet horror remains one area of cinema that he has yet to touch, despite being a huge fan. For a long time, many thought that Quentin Tarantino would direct a project from the Friday the 13th franchise as it seemed to be a perfect union of unholy vision. However, it seems like an unlikely prospect now as Tarantino is looking to end his career with a final project.
Despite the missed opportunity, one of Tarantino’s favourite violent sequences happened in this 2001 instalment. The ingenious scene showed a woman’s face being solidified in liquid nitrogen and then shattering like glass when smashed against a counter. It’s one of the more ridiculous deaths that reminds us as an audience that cinema truly is for the escapist in our hearts rather than the scientist in our brains.
The Prowler (Joseph Zito, 1981)
This obscure cult film might just contain Tarantino’s all-time favourite death scene, as the director cannot stop talking about it. It makes sense for the famed ‘Indiewood’ director to resonate so deeply with an almost B-movie picture. It revolves around college students who are hunted down and killed by a mysterious terroriser dressed up as a war veteran.
While commenting on the bizarre existence of the project, Tarantino said: “There’s a terrific slasher movie called The Prowler, it was out right after they’d come down hard on those movies, but they got X-rated violence in. I don’t know who got a blowjob to get it done, but someone must have.”
The scene is slasher-cinema gold: “There’s a girl in the shower, with her boyfriend lying on the bed, and the prowler comes up and sticks a bayonet through the top of his head so it comes down through his chin,” Tarantino described with noted cinematic glee. “It’s really slow. And he goes into the shower, where the chick is naked, and he stabs her with a pitchfork and as she’s screaming, he lifts her up the wall.”
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