Exclusive: Behind The Scenes Video Of ‘Scared To Death' Decapitation Scene
In the realm of indie horror, “Scared to Death” came as a welcome surprise when it released earlier this year. Directed by Paul Boyd, the film stars horror legends Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley, as well as hot young stars like Olivier Paris, Victoria Konefal, and B.J. Minor. Kurt Deimer also stars as “The Grog,” an in-universe actor and star of such films-within-the-film as “House of 1000 Grogs.”
The film, about a Hollywood seance gone wrong within a haunted house, blends old-school terror with a surprising amount of humor, courtesy of a tongue-in-cheek script and delightful performances from the cast. Low-budget horror comedies aren’t exactly rare these days, but “Scared to Death” manages to stand out as delightfully unhinged and downright jolly, in a spooky way. If you haven’t seen it yet, now’s your chance, since it just came out on Digital and PVOD.
More News:Lin Shaye, Horror Icon And ‘Scared To Death' Star, Interview
More News:Victoria Konefal On ‘Scared to Death,' ‘Days of Our Lives,' And More
One of the film’s show-stopping moments features a righteous decapitation. Every horror movie worth its salt has a decapitation, right? Well, the one in “Scared to Death” is particularly noteworthy because it leads to a wacky scene involving a disembodied rolling around and attacking people. The scene is shockingly effective, in large part because the bearded head, with the visage of Bill Moseley, is largely a practical effect that looks genuinely disturbing while rolling around.
The effects for the sequence were provided by Legacy Effects, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning FX house with credits that include “The Mandalorian,” the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, and “Alien: Romulus,” among plenty of others. Below, you can watch an exclusive featurette provided to Newsweek that goes into detail about how the team, led by J. Alan Scott, created the decapitated head prop for the movie, from making a computer scan of Bill Moseley’s face to crafting the complex, remote-controlled animatronics and testing out the uncannily creepy finished prop.
“Scared to Death” is available now on Digital and PVOD.
2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:04 AM.