As temperatures drop and the scenery changes around the northern hemisphere, it’s only natural for folks to take a moment to contemplate the chilly beauty and cozy comforts brought on by Old Man Winter. A slasher villain, on the other hand, might look at this winter wonderland and see icy deathtraps perfect for murdering wayward […]
As temperatures drop and the scenery changes around the northern hemisphere, it’s only natural for folks to take a moment to contemplate the chilly beauty and cozy comforts brought on by Old Man Winter. A slasher villain, on the other hand, might look at this winter wonderland and see icy deathtraps perfect for murdering wayward youths and chilling moviegoers to the bone.
In order to better prepare horror fans for winter scares, we’ve come up with a list highlighting six icy slasher kills that still haunt our seasonal nightmares! After all, nothing makes you appreciate the warm comforts of home more than knowing that Jason Voorhees is freezing his butt off outside!
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be considering any frigid death scenes involving snow, ice, and associated technology, regardless of whether or not the rest of the movie takes place during winter. That being said, don’t forget to share your favorite icy deaths with us in the comments below if you think we missed a particularly chilling one.
The series may not be the most consistent slasher franchise out there, but even the less beloved sequels can provide viewers with a nasty collection of gory kills. When it comes to frosty slaying, the winter-set contains some of the most unique deaths in the series.
While it’s unfortunate that the majority of the prequel’s runtime is spent inside of a dilapidated sanitarium instead of the snowy outdoors, one of the best kills in the movie occurs when Bridget (Kaitlyn Wong) is attacked by the maniacal One-Eye. The cannibalistic mutant ends up using high-velocity snowmobile tracks to rend the poor girl into a powdery mist like a snow-machine from hell. It might not have been the cold itself that killed her, but the locals are definitely having a Red Christmas after this incident, and that’s why it makes it onto the list.
5. Icy Impalement – Black Christmas (2006)
The first (but definitely not the last) instance of icicles being used as a murder weapon on this list, this scene from 2006’s Black Christmas remake stands out because Ms. Mac’s (Andrea Martin) tragic death has more to do with rotten luck than any master plan orchestrated by this film’s jaundiced version of Billy.
However, the fact that this Sorority Sister’s demise was a mere accident doesn’t make her death any less brutal, as the icicle that does her in pierces straight through her skull like a massive spear in one of the film’s gnarliest and most mean-spirited moments.
Since Ms. Mac only stumbled towards her grisly fate after becoming startled by Heather’s murder, I guess you can technically still blame this death on Billy!
4. Snow-Blown – Shredder (2003)
Before nostalgia finally set in, it used to be said that the 2000s were a difficult time for slasher fans. Of course, this was only true if you didn’t watch movies outside of mainstream releases, as video stores were chock-full of indie horror flicks featuring all sorts of creative killers and over-the-top death sequences.
While Greg Huson’s Shredder isn’t remembered as one of the best slashers from this time period, this rare example of ski-themed horror boasts plenty of fun, snowy kills. Appropriately enough, the most memorable of these happens to be the villain’s climactic demise as our hero shoots the unmasked ski-killer into an industrial snow-blower – with the result being a chilly red mist that could easily be repackaged into cherry-flavored snow-cones.
It’s just too bad that the film’s title unintentionally suggests that it’s secretly a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles spinoff.
3. Icicle Headshot – Jack Frost (1997)
While I’ve always found the gruesome cover art of 1997’s Jack Frost to be scarier than the movie itself, this cheesy little Slasher is still much more entertaining than most folks give it credit for. After all, a killer snowman makes for a unique horror villain, and there are a myriad of creative ways that a creature made out of ice particles could go about murdering unsuspecting victims.
Case in point, Tommy’s death by icicle after being baited into opening the door for the titular Jack Frost. Wielding his newfound ice powers like an ultraviolent Frozone, our serial-killing villain proceeds to impale Tommy with a duo of icy weapons spawned from his chunky hands – making this death gruesome and humorous in equal measure.
That being said, it’s still not quite as ridiculous as the killer baby snowballs from the film’s sequel.
2. Cryotherapy Gone Wrong – Freaky (2020)
It’s always fun to see a bully get their comeuppance, but some karmic fates are worse than others. In the case of director Christopher Landon’s body-swap horror-comedy Freaky, I actually felt kind of bad for Melissa Collazo’s Ryler, as this bully genuinely tries to connect with her habitual victim after discovering that she was attacked by a serial killer.
Unfortunately for Ryler, the Blissfield Butcher would later take advantage of his newfound teenage body to lock Ryler inside a ridiculously overpowered cryotherapy chamber. Not only does the poor girl freeze to death before being able to call for help, but her body is accidentally shattered into icy pieces by our unwitting protagonist when she shows up to investigate.
1. Liquid Nitrogen Bath – Jason X (2001)
I’ve been a defender of Jason X and its cheesy charms for decades now, as most criticism of this deeply absurd film has to do with its very intentional (not to mention highly entertaining) choice to not take itself seriously.
A great example of this is one of the movie’s most memorable kills, where a pre-upgrade Jason proceeds to drown the unfortunate intern Adrienne in liquid nitrogen before smashing her frozen head on the table and making one hell of a frosty mess in the process. It’s just a shame that none of the victims here thought to use nitrogen against Jason himself, as the cold might have been able to counter his healing factor.
