Death Becomes Her

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Death Becomes Her

PG-13

1992

1h 45m

Fantasy

Comedy

Horror

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

58%

Tomatometer

60 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

When a novelist loses her man to a movie star and former friend, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Years later, she returns home to confront the now-married couple, looking radiant. Her ex-husband's new wife wants to know her secret, and discovers that she has been taking a mysterious drug which grants eternal life to the person who drinks it. The actress follows suit, but discovers that immortality has a price.

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Critics Consensus

Hawn and Streep are as fabulous as Death Becomes Her's innovative special effects; Zemeckis' satire, on the other hand, is as hollow as the world it mocks.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

May 11, 2021

The target of the movie's jokes is female vanity, but since Zemeckis exhibits not a trace of affection for the actresses (or for any of the men, either), one feels humiliated merely watching his crude-spirited wit.

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Jay Boyar

Orlando Sentinel

Jan 3, 2019

This new horror-comedy has to be one of the most heartless mainstream pictures ever made.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Jan 3, 2019

If there were something resembling genuine satire of human behavior beyond the simple pretexts for fancy special effects and relentless sadism, I might have found some of this funny.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Apr 21, 2026

2.5/4

... the central idea is tantalizing and the cast is having so much fun...

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Jan 1, 2026

2.5/4

The script by Martin Donovan and David Koepp never lacks for cleverness, but it's ultimately more frantic than funny.

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Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

Feb 11, 2025

It’s funny, horrifying, and tightly plotted. It goes down a little too smooth, but it may have been all that was possible at the time.

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Chris G

Jun 10, 2026

Absolutely wonderful movie. The youngins have a lot to learn from this. Everybody's trying to look younger, but it comes at a cost. Everything comes at a cost. You'd be wise to learn a few things from this.

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Olga

Apr 19, 2026

An absolute classic - I'm in awe with everything in this movie same as I was some 30+ years ago upon its release.

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Claire F

@RT85905237 Nov 7, 2026

ICONIC.

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Teddy B

@RT90521672 Oct 31, 2026

Zemeckis stretches this premise thin, and I feel if it was a different director with this script, missing his innovative effects-work and good control over his actors, it would be an insincere, mean-spirited, ugly, repetitive, pointless drag. However, Zemeckis is at the helm, in his peak, and it definitely counts for something in the final product...

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Stephen C

@dogfood23111 Oct 30, 2026

Funny in 01 hour, 45 minutes, and 00 seconds.

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MariofanAlex445 T

@RT47678067 Oct 17, 2026

Something about Robert Zemeckis’s films just make me super happy. They’re funny, can be enjoyed by anyone, and are cleverly written with a splash of old Hollywood. All his movies are these big grand stories starring incredibly talented actors and actresses and this is no exception. I think all three of them were perfectly cast, even Bruce Willis who I didn’t think had the chops for comedy. He plays the overwhelmed, extremely depressed husband who loses his mind over these two immortal femme fatales perfectly. The special effects were incredibly well done for 1992. When she was walking around with her head on backwards I was laughing and in absolute awe of how they pulled something like this off. What a fun time from start to finish. 4/5 stars.

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Robert Zemeckis

Director

Meryl Streep

Madeline Ashton

Bruce Willis

Ernest Menville

Goldie Hawn

Helen Sharp

Isabella Rossellini

Lisle Von Rhuman

Ian Ogilvy

Chagall

Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Helen Pays Ernest a Visit

1:30

Now Playing

Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Plotting Madeline's Death

2:00

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Eternal Youth

2:59

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Medical Mystery

2:59

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Madeline Takes a Fall

2:35

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Shovel Showdown

2:48

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Ernest's Escape

2:35

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Madeline's Revenge

2:58

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - Friends Forever

1:18

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Death Becomes Her: Official Clip - At Home With Helen

1:54

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Synopsis

When a novelist loses her man to a movie star and former friend, she winds up in a psychiatric hospital. Years later, she returns home to confront the now-married couple, looking radiant. Her ex-husband's new wife wants to know her secret, and discovers that she has been taking a mysterious drug which grants eternal life to the person who drinks it. The actress follows suit, but discovers that immortality has a price.

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Producer: Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: Martin Donovan, David Koepp
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Horror
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 1992, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 17, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $58.4M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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