The Bloodiest Horror Movie Ever Made Isn't What You Think
Blood and guts obviously go hand-in-hand with horror movies, but being overly gory doesn't automatically make a film scary. If anything, too much blood can actually ruin the experience for the audience. Many of the later films in the Saw franchise were criticized for the over the top traps and equally excessive blood. Even in sub-genres where audiences expect buckets of gore to be thrown at them, like zombie movies, certain filmmakers lean into the intense psychological scares that go with losing yourself to a flesh-eating virus.
And the horror aficionados might already be screaming about Peter Jackson's 1992 Braindead (also titled Dead Alive in the U.S.) which originally held the world record for the most fake blood used in a movie. A young man's mother turns into a zombie after being bitten by a Sumatran Rat Monkey on Skull Island, unleashing a wave of so-called "splatstick" horror on the New Zealand capital. The filmmaker used around 1,000 gallons of fake blood throughout the movie — and with infamous moments like the lawnmower scene (screenshot above), it's easy to see why it held the top spot for over two decades.
However, a remake managed to topple Peter Jackson's gory zombie movie back in 2013 with an outrageously brutal ending.
Fede Álvarez's Evil Dead
Although the misadventures of Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) in Sam Raimi's original Evil Dead trilogy quickly earned a cult following among horror fans for its bizarre take on zombies, ghouls, and spirits, it wasn't immune from the remake trend. And although it could've flopped, 2013's Evil Dead from director Fede Álvarez was an intense experience. The film follows Mia Allen (Jane Levy), a drug addict who falls foul of the Necronomicon and begins slaughtering her friends.
There's varying reports about the total amount of blood used in the film, with a Reddit post suggesting it adds up to 70,000 gallons. It wouldn't be surprising, since the film is soaked in gore and entrails. One memorable moment sees Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) saw off her own arm after being bitten by Deadite Mia, while Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) caves in his Deadite girlfriend's skull with a broken cistern.
In the film's finale, a newly exorcised Mia has to fight "the Taker of Souls" who rises from the depths of hell, bringing with it a torrential downpour of blood. According to Bloody Disgusting, that scene alone used 50,000 gallons of fake blood to drench the entire set. It only got worse as Mia's fight with the Abomination escalated. Not only does she rip her own hand off (after being trapped under an upturned car) but she shoves a chainsaw through the Abomination's head and torso to kill it. We'd say that's overkill, but after Mia's violently traumatic ordeal, it was necessary.
Since Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are working on another film about those pesky Deadites, titled Evil Dead Rise, it'll be interesting to see if the new chapter throws in a tidal wave of blood at both its victims and the audience.