Need ideas for a gruesome fate for a character

cdc792000

Member
Hi!

Not sure if this is the proper place to post. If not, Sorry. Please move to the appropiate section.

I am a female filmmaker who is having some trouble with a story of mine. I thought this would be the PERFECT place to seek out some advice.

My story is a 40's style detective story/film noir. I am trying to find a shocking end to the film's crime boss/villian. The damsel is the one who who kills him. His death is an act of revenge. I don't want to go into too much detail.

Now, I have a make up artists who will do this scene for me for free as long as I pay for any supplies so I would like to take advantage. I don't want this guy's death to be too gross. Keep in mind it will be shot in black and white and the less blood the better. Here are just some thoughts I had.

A pipe or pole going through the back of his head coming out of his mouth.
His body in a dark alley with his two eyes removed and shoved in his open mouth.

Those are the only two ideas I have so far but they just are not working for me. Since this is a black and white noir style story I think a shocking ending like this character's death would be a twist. I want it to be 95% old school film noir and 5% a scene from Hostel! Eli Roth meets Billy Wilder (LOL!)

Any suggestions or advice on a special effect would be helpful!
 
Those are pretty graphic endings for a 95% noir film. A twist is not necessarily something graphically shocking, but an unexpected turn or an ironic outcome. If you could somehow have the damsel turn the tables on the villain, that would be appropriate. Can you use a story element to create an ironic ending?
 
Well, yes. But I want the audience to be a little taken aback by the outcome. I think of the scene in PUBLIC ENEMY with James Cagney. Even though it wasn't graphic, the scene when they open the door and he just falls still haunts me. It was a shock for me. Thats sort of what I am going for. Yes, I have this make up artist who I am trying to take advantage of with his tallents and the fact that he is at my disposal but I still think I can achieve this without turning it into a slasher film. We're talk about a 10 second MAX scene.

I'll have to talk with my writer. He has sort of backed himself into a deadend. Thanks for the input Barry.
 
If it's set in the 40's, how about being irradiated? He could be trying to escape the heroine, and get too close to Yucca Flats as the Bomb is being tested?
 
if you're doing black and white, you can get away with plenty of blood.

The main point is that the death shouldn't be merely shocking, it's a revenge killing and so should relate somehow to the victim and why he 'deserved' to die. Just as an example: if he was a wine buff and tortured the damsel with cigars, then a suitable death would be him being found with a wine bottle forced down his throat and lit cigars still smouldering in his nostrils.
 
Have him hung instead of a rope he is hung with his own tongue. You could have the shot of him hanging silhouetted and then slowly pull in/cut in to reveal he has been "necktied" and not just hung
 
I like the scene in "The Untouchables" where Eliott Ness throws the guy off the building at the end.
 
I think that however he is terrorizing her or whatever he is using should be the way he dies. "Hoisted on his own petard" so to speak. Just coming up with something without knowing how he is, or what his character is doing is kind of spittin in the wind.
 
Thnaks! I can really use some of these ideas. The is the Mob Boss and the woman (the damsel) is the one who kills him. This is not a typical film noir of the 40's. The woman is not what she appears throughout the film. She is just as sick and ruthless as the mob boss, she can just conceal it better than the mob boss. This is a revenge killing and the mob boss gets killed because he underestimates the dame.I have to think of something like the wine and cigars. I am looking for somehting along those lines. Thanks again for the advice!
 
Before she kills him you gotta have her seduce him (as he has unlit cigar)... push up against him, reach into his trouser pocket, take out the cigar-but-cutter-device-thing takes his hand as she motions to chop cigar but chops his finger off. He curses her out as he withers in pain, she gives a little dialoge, then moves off as he advances on her, she moves quicker down the street as he tales and into an alley, he gets to the alley... nothing.

So now we're in the alley where she has something special planned. As it's a revenge thing it might be best if she breakes him down - a lead up to the kill. As she's ruthless and want to be the new kingpin, it would be cinematic and valid if she takes a polaroid (lighting up a dark alley with each flash) at each stage of the kill so she has the photos to show her soon to be employees and enemies for respect.
 
I really like the

I really like the

Hanging the guy with his own tongue idea. Its different and I am not sure I have ever seen that in a film before. Question: How is that possible? I am guessing that his tongue would have to be caught in something and, well, just hang there.Yes? I also like the wine bottle/cigar scenes. Good ideas!
 
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Pull really hard? the tongue is a long muscle. I dunno I just made it up its probably not possible in reality, I just thought of the most unusual shocking thing I could think of. I should work for Friday the 13th part whatever.
 
You could go with an humiliation ending like in FOUR BROTHERS. Check the scene where Walberg beats up the bad guy at the end in the snow.
 
Arson, I am intriqued by your idea. Is is possible to have this character be hanging with his mouth open and his tongue stuck to something? His entire body weight would need to be supported by his tongue alone. Of course, he'll have to be dead so a limp corpse hanging over something with his tongue either glued or nailed to a overhead pipe. SOunds sick and neat.
 
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