10 Times Breaking Bad Was Basically A Horror Show

While Breaking Badwas known for its perfect mix of comedy and drama, the sheer terror that unfolded throughout its five seasons often had much more in common with a genuine horror series. As viewers watched Walter White transform into the sinister crime lord known as Heisenberg, there was a darkness to his actions that went into such depraved territory that it’s hard not to think of him as anything less than a genuine horror villain. From the terrifying way he disposed of bodies to the cruel actions of foes like Gus Fring, Breaking Bad had plenty of horrifying moments.

There were some astounding performances in Breaking Bad, whose incredible ensemble cast truly captured the horror at the heart of Walter’s journey into the world of meth distribution. While Hank had plenty of clues about who the real Heisenberg was, many of the other characters were also responsible for the show’s more horror-centric happenings. Breaking Bad didn’t sugarcoat the darkness of the drug trade, and it’s shocking just how many times the show delved into the depths of depravity.

10 Melting Bodies With Hydrofluoric Acid

Season 1, Episode 2: “Cat's in the Bag…”

Aaron Paul as Jesse dissolves his bathtub (and a body )Breaking Bad Season 1 — Aaron Paul as Jesse dissolves his bathtub and a body Breaking Bad Season 1

Breaking Bad viewers have long argued about at which point they stopped rooting for Walter White, with many pointing to Jane’s death or the poisoning of Brock with the Lily of the Valley as key moments. However, Walt’s depraved mind was on display right from the beginning, as by the second episode of season 1, he was already instructing Jesse to literally melt the bodies of their victims with hydrofluoric acid. This feels more like the thought process of an actual serial killer rather than a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who was in over his head in the meth business.

While Walt’s reasoning was presented as purely cautionary, to even come up with the idea of dissolving Emilio’s corpse, not to leave any evidence behind, was truly shocking. When Jesse rightfully lets Walt know he couldn’t find a polyethylene bin big enough for the job, Walt suggests they cut up his body. This all came to a head when Jesse used his bathtub instead, and the acid, along with Emilio’s disintegrating body, melted through his floorboards.

9 Spooge Getting His Head Crushed By An ATM

Season 2, Episode 6: "Peekaboo"

Despite being a show about cooking and distributing crystal methamphetamine, audiences don’t often enter the world of down-and-out addicts living on the fringes of society. One notable exception to this was Spooge and his strung-out lady, who robbed Skinny Pete at knifepoint and took off with a large quantity of meth. Eager not to be seen as so exploitable, Jesse was forced to confront the deranged couple as he entered their meth den and encountered not just a filthy drug addict's dungeon but also a helpless and neglected child.

This was yet another example of Jesse’s sweeter side as he felt a need to protect the young boy, although Spooge and his lady were more concerned with getting into a stolen ATM machine. As the two addicts bickered with each other, things took a horrifying turn when Spooge referred to his girl as a “skank,” and she crushed his head with the ATM before taking some more meth for herself. While this shocking moment achieved everything Jesse had hoped for, it felt more like something out of a horror movie than a crime drama.

8 Tortuga’s Decapitated Head

Season 2, Episode 7: “Negro y Azul”

Tortuga's head is found on a turtle in Breaking Bad

While DEA agent Hank Schrader saw his fair share of crime and violence working for the Albuquerque branch, it was only after being promoted to the Tri-State Border Interdiction Task Force in El Paso that he got a glimpse into the darkest aspects of the cartel. This, along with his involvement in the death of Tuco Salamanca, meant Hank started to suffer from panic attacks as the stresses of his job started to become too much to take. This all came to a head in El Paso when Hank witnessed a sight more gruesome than anything he had ever seen.

While working with the cartel drug runner and DEA informer Tortuga, Hank saw firsthand how the cartel dealt with snitches when he encountered Tortuga’s severed head on a tortoise, along with the words “Hola DEA” painted on his shell. While the El Paso agents thought nothing of this shocking development and joked and laughed together, this was a clear message that became even more terrifying when a bomb went off that killed and injured many of his colleagues.

7 Waiting With An Ax

Season 3, Episode 2: “Caballo sin Nombre”

While the second episode of Breaking Bad’s third season featured one of the show’s most memeable moments, as, in a fit of rage, Walter threw an entire pizza on the roof of the White’s house, this episode also featured one of its most unnerving scenes. Two Breaking Bad characters who feel almost supernatural in their intensity are Marco and Leonel Salamanca, also known as the Cousins. As cousins to Tuco, these two swore revenge on Walter for his involvement with their family member’s death and, in this episode, almost hacked Walt up with an ax.

This terrifying near-encounter came as the Cousins found Walter’s house and broke in while he was carelessly taking a shower. The two sat patiently on his bed while wielding an ax and, had they not been called off by Gus, likely would have reenacted a scene that felt closer to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre than anything ever seen in Breaking Bad. As the closest that this show ever got to turning into a full-blown slasher movie, the Cousins had plenty of moments that felt truly horrific.

6 Gus And The Box Cutter

Season 4, Episode 1: “Box Cutter”

Gus Fring killing Victor with a Box Cutter in Breaking Bad

Gus Fring was one of the most unnerving characters in the entire Breaking Bad universe, whose calm and calculated nature only served to make him all the more frightening. As a character who always seemed to work from behind the scenes throughout season 3, it was in the fourth season premiere that audiences were given a glimpse into just how ruthless he could be. This came when Gus slowly garbed himself in protective gear before coldly slicing the throat of his employee, Victor, before telling Walter and Jesse to “get back to work.”

While it's true that Victor had become a loose end in the investigation into the death of Gale Boetticher, and it was within Gus’s interests to dispose of him, the careless way he killed a man who was still on his side sent a clear-cut message to Walt and Jesse. At this moment, audiences fully learned that Gus was far more than just a calculated businessman and that he would not hesitate to get his hands dirty if need be. From then on, Walter knew his days were numbered, and it was a situation of kill or be killed.

5 Walt In The Crawl Space

Season 4, Episode 11: “Crawl Space”

Walt laughs in the crawl space in Breaking Bad

One of the greatest things about Breaking Bad was that it got increasingly intense as it went on, and Walter’s hysterical breakdown in the crawl space represented the walls truly closing in on him. While Walt knew his days were numbered as long as Gus Fring was around, he always had an escape plan in the back burner as he could use Saul’s Disappearer and pay for himself and his family to be given new identities far away. While this was always a last resort, that moment came in the season 4 episode “Crawl Space.”

However, things were not so simple, as when a panicked Walt went to retrieve the money, it was nowhere to be found. As Walt pleaded with Skyler to tell him where the rest of their money was, an ominous, brooding, droning soundtrack played, and with tears in her eyes, she told him she gave it to Ted Beneke. At this moment, Walter realized he was doomed, and he truly believed he and his family would be murdered. With nothing to do but despair, Walter started to scream and laugh maniacally and gave himself over to the horror of his situation.

4 Gus Fring’s Face

Season 4, Episode 13: “Face Off”

Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo Fring dying in Breaking Bad season 4 episode 13 with half of his face blown off. — Gustavo Fring death Breaking Bad season 4 episode 13 Face Off

The season 4 finale of Breaking Bad was one of the most thrilling episodes in the entire show, as the long-running game of cat and mouse between Walter White and Gus Fring finally came to an end. With a clever and calculated plan that used Fring’s sadistic torturing of Hector Salamanca against him, Walt planted a bomb in the one place Gus visited unprotected, and Hector gave his life in a suicide mission that saw him detonate the device attached to his wheelchair.

However, for a brief moment, it seemed like Gus survived the attack as he left the room, fixed his tie, collapsed to the floor, and died. This sophisticated final act aligned well with Gus’s refined and polished nature, although it became truly horrific when the camera panned directly to Gus, and viewers saw half of his face had been entirely blown off. As the kind of gory moment that was rarely seen in Breaking Bad, Gus’s violent and ghastly death would have fit right into a gruesome horror story.

3 The Emptiness of Todd Alquist

Season 5, Episode 5: “Dead Freight”

Jesse Plemons as Todd aiming a gun outside and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad — Jesse Plemons as Todd and Aaron Paul as Jessie Pinkman in Breaking Bad

While Breaking Bad was filled with memorable villains who all possessed sociopathic and psychotic tendencies in one way or another, few felt as cold and empty as Todd Alquist. As the nephew of the Nazi gang leader Jack Welker, Todd clearly had an unconventional upbringing that likely contributed to his off-putting and unnerving demeanor. Watching as Todd strangely interacts with other characters, it was hard not to think of ruthless cinematic villains like Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, whose silent violence made his intentions all the more frightening.

A prime example of Todd’s horrific emptiness came at the end of the train heist in the season 5 episode “Dead Freight,” when he killed the young boy Drew Sharp after he witnessed Todd, Walt, and Jesse steal a large quantity of methylamine. Without hesitation or discussion, Todd took matters into his own hands and shot the boy. Truly unfazed by his action, Todd showed no signs of remorse for killing a child and revealed himself to be as soulless and uncaring as any horror movie villain.

2 Walt And Skyler’s Fight

Season 5, Episode 14: "Ozymandias"

One consistent justification that Walter White had for his dark actions throughout Breaking Bad was that he was doing it all for the good of his family. Despite every indication that Walt took a real sense of pride in his heinous acts, this was the way he explained his evil side to himself and tried his best to get his wife Skyler on his side. Walt’s reasoning truly fell apart in the season 5 episode “Ozymandias,” where instead of doing things for the good of his family, his actions led to the death of his DEA brother-in-law, Hank Schrader.

With everything falling apart, Walt tried to convince Skyler and Walt Jr. to join him as he packed his bags to live as a fugitive under a false identity, although she was so terrified of her husband that she brandished a knife and attacked him. As the pair wrestled to the floor and fought one another, Walt Jr. intervened and called the police for help. At that moment, Walt looked at his terrified family and saw that they no longer recognized him as a loving father but as a genuine monster they felt could even kill them.

1 Supposed Snipers On Gretchen And Elliot

Season 5, Episode 16: “Felina”

Gretchen And Elliott Threatened By Walter White In Season 5

The finale of Breaking Badwas a masterclass in how to wrap up an iconic series as it addressed all the loose ends and brought things back to the core of Walter White’s bruised ego. With the reappearance of Gretchen and Elliott in a Charlie Rose television interview about Walt’s association with Gray Matter, Walt came up with the perfect way to get his money to his family before going out in a blaze of glory. As an almost ghost-like presence, Walt quietly entered the Schwartz’s house to enact his plan.

While audiences learned that Walt paid Badger and Skinny Pete to simply scare them with laser pointers, from Gretchen and Elliott’s point of view, Walt appeared like an all-knowing mastermind who had laid the groundwork for them to be killed even after his own death if they did not do his bidding. For the Schwartz couple, Walt’s transformation into Heisenberg felt rapid and shocking, and to have him standing in their home at that moment must have been like the equivalent of Hannibal Lecter, Leatherface, or Michael Myers showing up at their doorstep.