If you?re anything like us, you?re a sucker for a good spectacle! That?s why we?re gearing up for the 4th of July with our list of the top ten exploding body parts in films. Whether it is a shotgun to the head or a firework in the mouth, we?re on it!

By Giaco Furino

10. Terror Firmer

This Troma original offered up depravity in all the senses of the word. Nudity, gore, bathroom humor, and more nudity; the flick had it all. Not to mention good ol? Lloyd Kaufman, co-founder of Troma, playing the role of Larry Benjamin (thankfully NOT naked), the blind director on a Troma film crew. The most fantastic explosion in the film is the one that sends Benjamin (Kaufman) flying high. Kaufman blindly stumbles around as a time bomb is thrown in his path, and by accidentally stepping on a mini-trampoline, he lands on the bomb and is blown to bits (Don?t ask, it kind of makes sense in the film?kind of)!

9. Chopping Mall

Remember Chopping Mall? The fun little 1986 movie about a new mall that installs state of the art security? Neither do we, but that?s what Google search is for. Even though you may not remember much from the film if you?ve seen it, you must remember the explosion! Still nothing? We?ll refresh your failing memory? The film follows a group of rowdy teens (teen=25 years or older) as they run, jump and jiggle their way through a mall being guarded by three high tech (term used loosely here) killer robots. One poor girl runs from one of the robot guards as he shoots lasers at her, until finally she stops, screams, and takes a laser to the kisser courtesy of Johnny 5 (WALL-E for you youngins?)! Awesome!

8. Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland

Sure, Sleepaway Camp 3 might not have been as good as its two predecessors, but it did feature a fantastic little explosion midway through the flick! If you?ll remember, the Sleepaway franchise followed a similar format to the Friday the 13th films, in that a group of camping teenagers are stalked and maimed by a brutal psychopath. The difference being, of course, that this psychopath isn?t a giant lug wearing a hockey mask, but a transsexual named Angela. Go Figure! By the time Sleepaway Camp 3 rolls around, Angela is long since post-op, released from jail by reason of insanity, and has assumed the identity of a camper she?s already killed. The explosion, though not one of the biggest, does feature one of the fastest Rhinoplasties we?ve ever seen! Angela sneaks up on a sleeping camper, and sticks a firecracker right in his nose! Another camper watches on, frozen in terror, as the nose explodes. We?d like to make a ?blowing your nose? joke here, but we won?t submit you to that kind of torture.

7. Planet Terror

Robert Rodriguez?s entry in Grindhouse was considered by many (gore hounds) to be the better of the two. We?re popping it on our list for a number of different exploding bodies/parts. First, there?s the incredible helicopter-versus-infected scene, where they tip the helicopter generously allowing the blades to slice and dice right into the crowd. Not exactly an explosion, but arms legs and heads did shoot directly up into the air! Secondly, there?s the scene where Quentin Tarantino lets the virus take hold of him, and after he vomits up what must be his stomach and intestines, Rose McGowan sends him on a trip with a rocket launcher to the gut. Finally, the most painful explosion of all, where Naveen Andrew?s collection of, well, privates gets smashed and smooshed under foot! Ouch!

6. Total Recall

?Get ready for a surprise!? And surprised we were when we first saw the fantastic head explosion in Arnold Schwarzenegger?s Sci-Fi hit, Total Recall. The flick follows Arnie as a construction worker in the year 2084 who takes an ?ego-trip? where false memories are implanted into his brain. Mid-process muscles here starts freaking out and they realize that he?s already had his memory erased. The explosion at hand however, is so strange looking that we had to include it. Into the room walks an overweight middle aged woman, when asked if she?s brought any outside foods to the planet, she replies with ?two weeks? over and over again. A button is pushed on the woman?s ear, and her head opens up. Guess who?s waiting inside her head, Ah-nold! He takes the robot head of the woman and chucks it at the guards, where it explodes in a giant ball of flames. Make sense? No, it doesn?t really make sense to us either, but it looked awesome!

5. War of the Worlds

When Steven Spielberg released this flick into theaters in 2005, the world sat up and noticed. Sure, the ending was a sloppy mess, but hot damn that CGI looked nice! While the exploding bodies in War didn?t shoot up in celebratory geysers of blood, we do have to give credit for the sheer power behind these explosions. The aliens that attacked the earth were so stacked with weaponry that their lasers, if they hit you, wouldn?t turn you into tiny chunks. Oh no, these lasers were so powerful that they would turn you into ash! Now that?s an explosion!

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark

We knew we were in love with Indiana Jones from the second we saw him on the big screen and we were ready to accept the archaeologist-turned-adventurer as one of our own. We loved him for his old whip, his pistol, and his ?I don?t give a rat's a$$ attitude?. Everything seemed so clean, so clear cut, even the violence in Raiders was impressive for a PG Rated flick. The most impressive moment of PG terror came at the end of the flick when a bunch of Nazis? heads melt and explode! We didn?t see this one coming, so it deserves a nice juicy spot on our explosion list! Thanks Indiana Jones! Thanks deadly ark of the covenant!

3. Cloverfield

Say what you will about this polarizing flick about a giant monster attacking NYC, the movie?s got a kick! We were shocked and awed by the fate of poor Marlena. Attacked and bitten by a parasite (or baby Cloverfield monster), she begins feeling sick as they progress in their journey. By the time they reach the makeshift army base, Marlena?s bleeding from her orifices and when taken behind a tent she explodes! We knew the Cloverfield monster was dangerous, but until this moment we had no idea just how dangerous. Good job, C-Monster, you successfully combusted the prettiest member of the cast!

2. Scanners

This is one of the big daddies of the explosion set and runs a close second?Scanners! David Cronenberg?s masterwork of terror and combustion, Scanners follows the 237 people in the world who can use telekinetic powers to make you explode! And explode you will! You?ll feel your veins bulge, you?ll feel the blood erupt from your skin?and you?ll feel David Cronenberg?s creepy breath on your neck! And who wants that? We say better to explode and burst into flames. Happy 4th!

1. Dawn of the Dead

Here it is! Our number one bodily explosion! This is the explosion by which all others will be judged. In 1978 Romero made the long-awaited sequel to Night of the Living Dead, and within the first fifteen minutes set the stage for what would be a long, hard, bloody road for his audience. And how did he set that stage? With the most impressive exploding head you are likely to ever see! For ?78 it was revolutionary. No one had ever seen anything like that before and it raised the bar for future possibilities in gore and terror. Here?s to you, exploding head zombie from Dawn of the Dead. Thanks for making all of this and more possible!

Honorable Mention: Uncle Sam

We had to include this clunker on our list, if only to appease our more patriotic side! Uncle Sam, perhaps the most nationalist slasher movie this side of Dead, White and Blue (note: not a real movie), follows Sgt. Sam Harper, who dies during the gulf war. His patriotism, or rather his love of killing, brings him back from the dead, and he begins systematically killing anyone he deems not patriotic. We?ve even got an explosion in this one, as a lying politician is tied to a stand of fireworks right before the big show, and is blown to bits on the 4th of July! It?s times like this that we?re proud to be American!

That wraps up our list of the best bodily explosions. And if you liked this one, check out our ranking of the ten 'Friday the 13th' films and our breakdown of the worst, weirdest, and lamest famous faces in horror!