1. Monster Squad (1987) Frankenstein Gets Sucked Into Vortex
Watching Phoebe's feeble attempt to hold on to Frankenstein as he is being sucked into a vortex was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my childhood.
2. Godzilla aka Gojira (1954) Daisuke Serizawa Sacrifices Himself to Save Mankind
This is actually the movie that gave me the idea for this list. Serizawa's sacrifice at the end of the original Godzilla film is not only sad but it is mostly forgotten by horror fans, which is even sadder.
3. Splice (2009) Dren Realizes She Doesn't Look Like Other Girls
If the Barbie doll scene in Splice doesn't make you cry then you're even less human than Dren.
4. The Prowler (1981) Final Girl Almost Saved by Mentally Handicapped Red Herring
It may be hard to remember this scene, but there is a brief beautiful moment between Pam and Otto right before the final kill of the movie.
5. Alien Resurrection (1997) Alien-human Hybrid Says "Mommy" Before Being Sucked into Space
This scene is like the ghost in Three Men and a Baby, it makes the movie better if you just choose to believe it is real.
6. Return of the Living Dead (1985) Frank Takes Off His Wedding Ring Before He Incinerates Himself.
When you think "tear jerking" Return of the Living Dead doesn't come to mind, but the movie does take a break from all the silly zombie shenanigans to give Frank a tearful goodbye before the poop really hits the fan.
7. Prom Night (1980) Jamie Lee Curtis Realizes the Killer is Her Brother
I always like to think Joss Whedon got the idea for the Buffy episode "New Man" from this scene.
8. Let the Right One In (2008) The Entire Movie.
We all remember our first crush, but did they really want to be your friend or were they just grooming you to be their next Familiar? We may never know.
9. Congo (1995) Amy Realizes She's Not Like the Other Apes
I guess I have a thing about feeling left out. Amy, the talking gorilla, has a Dren moment when another gorilla totally throws some shade because she's not like him.
10. American Gothic (1988) Cynthia Joins the Family
I wanted to end the list with a story of acceptance since it is filled with so much rejection. It always warms my heart to know that Fanny found a new sister at the end of American Gothic, even though it doesn't quite work out for her.
Thanks Cousin Wil! Great list! I may have to try doing one like this myself. I kept thinking of when Nancy dies in Elm street 3: Dream Warriors and Kristen says “I’ll dream you into a beautiful dream forever and ever!†Sorry I could not find a picture of Dren with the barbie doll. I’ll really need to add SPLICE to my DVD collection. Love that movie but yep, really heartbreaking.
I am 150% behind Wil on Prom Night. There's just something about that reveal that lifts the film and makes it an all out tragedy. So effective.
Off the top of my head, I thought of two scenes that get me all verklempt, and they are from The Host (the Korean monster movie) and a scene in 28 Days Later… but I don't want to be spoiler-y, so I'll just leave it at that.
Also, 95% of Pin is heartbreaking. And oh-so-good!
I complete agree with Cousin Wil and Amanda on the Prom Night scene! It is quite touching.
Amanda, I think I know which scene you are referring to in 28 Days Later. I can tear up just thinking about it!
Frankenstein's scene in Monster Squad is sad and sweet at the same time.
Oh! I have one, but I also do not want to give spoilers. I will just say the ending of The Orphanage just about destroyed me. I cried quite a bit about it.
I always thought Amy said "raindrop drink," which never made sense to me. Green drop make much more sense. I've seen that movie at least 50 times. Ha!
I'll second that motion for The Orphanage. I literally could not say anything to my roommate after the credits rolled, then actually went upstairs and lied down for an hour. It wrecked me so hard.
And even though I predicted the twist in The Others, I was so devastated by the overwhelming sadness in the final moments I was in a funk for the remainder of the weekend.
I agree with RATSAWGOD on The Others.
I thought Halloween II (The Zombie version) was one of the saddest movies I'd seen in ages. When "Love Hurts" kicked in I cried like a 9 year old.
This is probably a predictable choice but I wept like a little b!tch at the end of THE MIST