Top 10 Exploding Humans in Cinema

Brian De Palma’s stylish, pulpy telekinesis/espionage thriller ends with a bang. Literally. When Amy Irving has had enough of bad guy John Cassavetes’ crap, she uses her power to blow him up. It’s the final shot of the film and that was simply incredible.

Tom Savini’s FX work in Romero’s Dawn of the Dead kick-started the splatter fashion and this series is one of a few of exploding noggin gags he’s popular for. The head is actually a dummy of actress Gaylen Ross, filled with fake blood, corn flakes, and other refuse and blown apart by Savini’s shotgun.

Luigi Cozzi’s riotous Alien-inspired exploitation film sees a plague of acid-filled alien eggs erupting on humans and, after burning them, cause them to spontaneously explode into torrents of blood and flesh and bone. Viva Italian horror!

Savini returns to supply the splatter in Bill Lustig’s depressing psychodrama. Here Savini casts himself – in the role and casts his head – while Joe Spinell aims a shotgun at him and blows apart Savini’s own dummy head. Rendered by Lustig in tasty slow-mo, naturally.

Steven Spielberg’s Raiders got away with this in 1981, considering it was a PG flick. The much-touted FX were clearly inspired by the wave of splatter gags in horror films and the ending sees Nazi’ s melting and one villain crying in agony before his head explodes!