Watching animals get hurt in movies is more gut-wrenching than watching back to back Nicholas Sparks movies. When an animal is harmed in a movie, there's an unspoken rule that you have to watch the credits to make sure you see that American Humane Association stamp of "no animals were harmed." However, that hasn't always been the case - from the cult classics to some of the most high-profile blockbusters of recent memory, some films have actually had animal casualties on-set.
Sometimes the deaths were unintentional, an accidental by-product of filming. Sometimes, however, these animals deaths on-set were very, very intentional. It's pretty intentional when an actor eats a live animal in front of the camera (and yes, an actor actually did that). So, sick and twisted or completely unintentional, this list catalogs a bunch of films where animals died on the filmmaker's watch.
With some of these stories, it really makes us wonder what was going through the director's head. Occasionally, it seems needless and primarily used for shock value. It almost always gets a strong reaction (we'd be worried if it didn't) - audiences don't particularly care for animal cruelty on the screen. With other stories, the result was simply tragic, where filmmakers did their best to secure the safety of animals but it just wasn't enough. This list runs the whole gauntlet, and is ordered in most-to-least deaths.
http://www.ranker.com/list/movie-sets-that-have-killed-animals/loganrapp, film, animals, films,
Ben-Hur
"Breezy" Eason was known for shooting fast - but to do so, he was also ignoring many safety protocols. The chariot race sequences in the 1925 version of the film was far more dangerous than its later update. A number of horses perished, as well as a stuntman.
Kill Count: "At least" 5
Cannibal Holocaust
With the found footage filmmaking style that's oh-so-popular these days, this film killed multiple animals - most notably, a sea turtle that was dismembered brutally, bringing cast members to tears. The film got the director arrested for obscenity.
Kill Count: 7
Cockfighter
In adapting Charles Willeford's novel to the screen, the director staged actual, to-the-death cockfights. The result made a film that was to be banned forever in the UK, even as recent as 2006.
Kill Count: Unknown, but numerous
Heaven's Gate
It somehow seems worse when animals die on a movie that flopped. It was more than enough to get the AHA picketing the movie. While accurate numbers on the abuse are hard to come by, we know that cows were disemboweled, at least four horses were killed, actual literal cockfighting went on, and many other abuses.
Kill Count: 4+
Oldboy
You knew this was coming. After leaving a room he was imprisoned in for years, the lead character wanted to kill something living. So the actor ended up eating a live octopus on camera. He did it four times. The remake opted not to kill actual animals.
Kill Count: 4
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
Counterculture auteur Sam Peckinpah had characters, for some reason, blowing the heads off of live chickens that were buried up to their neck in the dirt. He was prepared to go further - killing a live horse on set. The rider objected, and the stuntman convinced Peckinpah not to do it, lying and saying he'd seen it before and it didn't look great.
Kill Count: Unknown, but multiple.
Stagecoach
The "Running W," a trip-wire device was used to yank horses' legs out from under them to spectacular effect. It was also brutal to the horses, crippling many at the very least.
Kill Count: Unknown, but reports say "many horses" died on set.
The Rules of the Game
In an ironic attempt to educate the masses about sport-shooting brutality, animals were, well... shot for sport. One particular brutal image was that of an actual rabbit in its death throes.
Kill Count: Exact unknown, but reported to be "in the hundreds."
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
In a recent Hollywood Reporter expose, throughout filming of The Hobbit, it's been said that over two dozen animals died, with the American Humane Association failing to report it, having become too cozy with Hollywood.
Kill Count: 27, allegedly
Weekend
Jean-Luc Godard wanted to wake audiences up by killing a pig and a goose on screen. No one seemed to particularly like that. We're pretty sure the pig and the goose would've preferred a different method.
Kill Count: 2