History Main / PrettyLittleHeadshots

* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'': Played straight when [[spoiler:the Hitler youth commander shoots himself and when the old soldier gets headshot]] there is barely any blood.

* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', based on the [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine Unreal Engine]], was fairly realistic for the time as far as gameplay was concerned. For example, you could shoot someone in their gun arm to make them drop their weapon, and headshots greatly increased the inflicted damage - although some of the tougher enemies could actually survive a headshot if inflicted with a low enough skill level and with a weak gun (and certain important characters, like Alex Jacobson, were [[PlotArmor immortal]]). However, graphically, the game was the description of this trope. Point-blank hit to the forehead with an autoshotgun blast? Target falls on the ground in one piece, with the only indication that he's dead being (aside from the obvious stillness) a little pool of blood under his corpse. The game did feature gibbing, but as with most games that do, there was no middle ground between "slight bleeding" and "[[LudicrousGibs meat chunks all over the place]]".

* ''Manga/DeathNote'': In the live-action films, a character shoots herself in the head. No blood, no damage, just falls over.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': When [[spoiler: Tuco is shot in the head by Hank]], there's barely a noticeable wound, just some blood and a small hole.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', one of Princess Snake's servants [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCMXiTYdHc4 shoots herself in the head]] while playing a game of Russian Roulette.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games play this straight, with headshots resulting in a splat of blood behind the victim, although one level in the BloodierAndGorier ''World At War'' has a Marine taking a round to the head in a landing craft and having his head split open. Can also be found in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}: Blood Money'': A controversial ad features a beautiful woman in lingerie lying in bed. The only clues that she's dead are the slightly pale skin tone and a small bloodless bullet wound in the center of her forehead.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGear''
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has a rather strange occurrence when [[spoiler:Olga]] is killed by [[spoiler:Solidus]] via headshot - a huge display of blood and gore shoots out of [[spoiler:her]] head when the bullet goes through it, but the exit wound itself is as tiny as you'd expect from this trope. Especially odd in that, not thirty seconds later, the weapon in question is shown firing ''exploding bullets'' that really should have blown [[spoiler:Olga's]] head off entirely.

[[folder:WebComics]]
* In Chapter 4 of ''[[{{Webcomic/Morphe}} morphE]]'' [[http://morphe.thewebcomic.com/comics/2034197/chapter-4-page-36-thatcher-silenced/ Billy Thatcher receives one]], with a blood splatter on the wall behind him.

* Used in ''Comicbook/YTheLastMan'' but to beautiful effect with the death of [[spoiler: Agent 355.]] Seems fake though, as earlier headshots (such as Hero headshooting a teenage girl on the orders of cult leader Victoria) didn't stint on the gore.
* Curiously played straight in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', given its realistic treatment of superheroic violence. [[spoiler: Moloch has been shot in the head, but Rorschach believes he's alive and sitting quietly until he comes around and sees the bullet hole in front (and there ''was'' a small bullet hole in the back, meaning it had to have gone all the way through).]]
** This gets [[MythologyGag a nod]] via [[SubvertedTrope subversion]] in the DistantSequel ''ComicBook/Rorschach2020'', where the plot is kickstarted off the death of [[LegacyCharacter a Rorschach copycat]], who gets taken down right before he can assassinate a presidential candidate. A headshot blasts the entire upper half of his face off, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome making it harder for investigators to find the guy's identity.]]
* The WesternAnimation/BatmanGothamKnight story "Deadshot" opens with Comicbook/{{Deadshot}} killing a politician with a well-aimed sniper shot. The result is a tiny hole in his head and a little blood.

* Played straight twice in the first volume of ''ComicBook/{{Blacksad}}''. The death of Natalia Wilford could be justified as the pillows under her head absorbing most of the blood/brain matter, but when Blacksad shoots [[spoiler:Ivo Statoc]] in the head, while the target is standing up and facing him, there's almost nothing on the desk where the victim lands.

* Joe the Jockey in ''Film/RacketGirls'', it's so neat, it causes [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Crow]] to quip, "Oh! He's Hindu!"
* ''Film/LayerCake'':
** When the VillainProtagonist kills [[spoiler: his treacherous boss, Jimmy Price]]. Oddly, the original book is a real aversion, and has the protagonist catch blood lust and go out of his way to splatter his victim's head.
** Also, the Duke's girlfriend receives an audience-friendly small entrance wound to her headshot.
* The corpse in the freezer from ''Film/TheGoonies'' was apparently shot in the head, although the bullet hole is so tiny and clean that it looks more like the Fratellis whacked him by putting a cigarette out on his forehead. No exit wound, either. It is supposed to be a kids' movie, after all.
* In Baz Luhrmann's SettingUpdate of ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'' Juliet's suicide by handgun looks like this.

* In ''Film/{{Casino}}'' Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) bloodlessly executes a problematic investor by holding a .22 pistol to her head. Truth in television: The real-life victim on which this scene was based was shot in the head five times with a .22 pistol loaded with dumdums. Only one of the five shots exited, and that was through the victim’s ear.
* In the live-action ''Manga/DeathNote'' films, a character shoots herself in the head. No blood, no damage, just falls over.
* Mostly played straight in ''Film/InBruges''. The first death we see, [[spoiler:a small boy accidentally shot by Ray]], gets the standard pretty dime-sized headshot.
* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'', with one of Sao Feng's girls. With a lead ball, no less, from a smooth-bore weapon.
* ''Film/TangoAndCash'' ends with the lead villain being shot by ''two'' bullets, fired simultaneously by Tango and Cash at the same time. Leading to two dime-sized holes in the forehead, when realistically half his entire head should've been blown off.
* In ''Film/{{Watchmen}}''
** The assassination of [[spoiler:Moloch]] was clean enough that Rorschach could talk to him at length before realizing his audience was dead.
** Lee Iacocca shot during the [[spoiler:faked]] assassination attempt on Ozymandias.
* In ''Baader Meinhof Complex'', one of the female protagonists is shot right under her eye, causing only [[FauxSymbolism a small trickle of blood]]. The next shot shows that the back of her head is not even bloody.
* Obvious in the film version of ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'', where at one point the viewer can see a head-shot policeman lying on the ground with a neat hole in his forehead.

* In ''Film/SevenPsychopaths'', Charlie shoots Myra in the back of the head. When Hans finds her body, one wall of her hospital room is covered with blood, but she has only a little exit wound in her forehead.
* In ''Film/{{RoboCop|1987}}'', Alex Murphy is finally killed by one. However, this is subverted in the [[ReCut Director's Cut]]. In this version, for a brief moment, you can see a piece of his head flying out. Basically, destroying the only part of his body [[MegaCorp OCP]] needs.

* Played with in ''Film/TheATeam''. [[spoiler: When Lynch shoots "General Morrison" in the head, there's a lot of splatter on the wall behind him. Then it turns out to be ketchup as Murdock was wearing a bulletproof mask. One suspects that if there was no blood, Lynch would have smelt a rat, although he should probably have noticed the lack of bone and fabric bits.]]
* ''Film/HouseOfFury'' has a justified example; the protagonist, Teddy Yue, gets shot in the temple from point-blank, resulting in a tiny squib going off, despite how in reality from the close range half of his head would've been blown away. But that was only part of his daughter having a nightmare.
* Happens in ''Film/{{Inception}}'', when Cobb shoots Arthur in the head so the latter can escape from the dream. The result is a neat round wound with little blood. Justified in that they are in a dream world.
* In the 1960's Japanese film ''Film/BrandedToKill'', the antihero realizes that the #1 assassin always kills his targets with these. During their final battle, he wears his late girlfriend's narrow hairband over the exact middle of his forehead, [[PocketProtector which deflects the bullet]].

* In ''Film/TwentyTwoBullets'' this is [[Creator/JeanReno Charly Matteï's]] "signature", followed by a shot to the body.

* Both played straight and averted in ''Film/TheAssassinationOfJesseJamesByTheCowardRobertFord''. When Wood Hite is shot in the head, there is no blood spatter (likely due to continuity) but there is a massive bloody exit wound. During Jesse's death, there is no exit wound but a large bullet hole is present.
* Subverted in ''Film/TheDeparted''. After Billy is shot in the head, there is a very large amount of blood spatter on the wall behind him. While we don't see the blood in other instances, a large amount can be seen upon impact
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}''. When Tommy is shot in the head, there is a massive amount of blood. Henry notes that they shot him there so that his mother couldn't give him an open casket funeral.
* Taken to the extreme in ''Film/Ronin1998'' when Gregor is shot in the head at close range by the Russian mobster with a HollywoodSilencer. The bullet not only punches a perfect, bloodless hole in the center of his forehead, it also appears to have ''stopped'' there, the base only millimeters below the skin. Presumably this was meant to imply a very low-powered round intended to be discreet although the bullet could not have penetrated the skull. Nonetheless, Gregor collapses and is shortly found dead on the floor, having bled a small pool from his wound.
* Played straight in ''Film/PrizzisHonor''. Irene Walker shoots a woman in the center of the forehead, leaving a neat round hole but no blood.
* In the B-movie ''Guns'', a character played by Allegra Curtis is shot in the forehead. No blood is visible as she topples over backward, but her body is seen a couple of minutes later with blood liberally streaking her face.
* In ''Film/{{Shooter}}'', Creator/MarkWahlberg's character is framed for attempting to kill the US President and for killing the Ethiopian Archbishop. The shot is taken from a long distance requiring a relatively large bullet, and the movie in fact shows more than just a neat hole, however, in the DVD extras, several comments are made regarding the shot by a weapons coordinator: that at that distance the target wouldn't have even been in the scope's line of sight due to bullet drop and that the actual shot would have been a lot gorier. As in the Archbishop's head being split in half gorier (due to the fact that because of bullet drop the shot wouldn't have been anything resembling a straight line, it would have been more like lobbying a bullet down into his skull).
* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'': Played straight when [[spoiler:the Hitler youth commander shoots himself and when the old soldier gets headshot]] there is barely any blood.
* ''Film/NurseBetty'': When [[spoiler: Chris Rock's assassin character]] is shot in the forehead, it's a Pretty Little Headshot. A deleted scene shows that it was originally much more graphic.
* Used in ''Film/PansLabyrinth''. When [[spoiler:Captain Vidal]] is killed by a shot to the head from a revolver at point-blank range. The only effects are a tiny bullet hole in his lower face and the blood slowly draining from an eye. His head does not even move as the bullet slams into his face, he just stands there and dies calmly.
* Subverted in ''Film/{{Super}}''. When Frank and Bolty are being shot at, they both fall to the ground. When Frank looks over at Bolty all he can see initially is that she's limply lying there. [[spoiler: Until he crawls over and sees a good chunk of her head is missing.]]
* In ''Film/TheHeat'' one is seen on a corpse and later [[spoiler:the albino guy]] is killed with one.
* A variation happens in Film/DantesPeak, where Dr. Dalton's fiance gets nailed in the head by a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_bomb Lava Bomb]]. The issue here is that the rock in question was able to punch a hole in the roof of the truck she was in that was about the size of Harry's fist. A rock that size, coming down that fast, and with that much force would've effectively turned the poor woman's head inside out, but since this is a PG-13 film, she only has a little blood to show she'd been hit.
* In ''[[Literature/{{Divergent}} The Divergent Series: Allegiant]]'' more or less opens with the enforcers captured during a revolution being executed via bullet to the head. Despite the crowd standing mere feet away, not one speck of blood is seen. And considering the size of slug we later see these handguns shoot, the lack of over-penetration becomes jarring in hindsight.
* In ''Film/PokerNight'', there is a small wound and a spray of blood when [[spoiler:Calabrese is shot in the back of the head]], but it's oddly delayed.
* ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'': A .22 subsonic round fired from a silenced rifle is used to kill a man with the prettiest little tear of blood running down from the bullet hole just below his completely intact eye.
* In ''Film/LifeBlood'', the Sheriff is shot through the head and left with a single bullet wound in the centre of his forehead, and no exit wound. As he was shot with a 9MM, this should have realistically blown out a large chunk of the back of his skull.
* In ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast'', Trask's headshot entry wound on his forehead is tiny with almost no blood showing.
* At the end of ''Film/AsianSchoolGirls'', Jack shoots his [[DirtyCop corrupt superior officer]] through the head. This leaves a neat little entry wound in the exact middle of his forehead, and a large amount of blood on the wall behind him.
* Film/TheKingsMan:
** At the end of the fight with [[spoiler:Rasputin]], he's shot with a small calibre pistol leaving only a small hole in his forehead.
** Later on when [[spoiler:Conrad]] is killed, he's shot with a service rifle. There's a small entry hole, and a bit of blood is seen spraying from the back of his head. A .303 round at close range like that would've had a similar effect on his head to a sledgehammer on a watermelon.

* Episode 405 of ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' ("Death Certificates"), detailed a head-tap assassination with a silenced pistol that had the power to penetrate the skull once but not twice, ricocheting around the inside to scramble the brains of a [[AwfulWeddedLife very unhappily married couple.]]
* When Anna Espinosa (who has turned into a copy of Sydney Bristow) is shot in the back of the head in ''Series/{{Alias}}'' by Sydney Bristow (yes, you read that right), there is just a little hole at the front.
* The death of Ryan Chapelle in ''Series/TwentyFour'', again shot in the back of the head.

* In ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Omnivore", a woman gets shot in the forehead with a .44 Magnum and only has a tiny bullet hole with a little blood trickling from it. Pretty much the norm, even in the episode with the sniper.
* ''Series/BreakingBad'': When [[spoiler: Tuco is shot in the head by Hank]], there's barely a noticeable wound, just some blood and a small hole.
* In one episode of ''Series/QuantumLeap'', Sam leaps into a coroner who has to investigate the death of a girl who, at first glance, seems to have been shot in the head. One of the things that make Sam disbelieve this cause of death is the lack of blood and the lack of damage to the other side of the victim's head. Turns out she was ''stabbed'' through the temple with the heel of a high-heel shoe, making a wound that visibly resembled the classic version.
* This is how Paul Ballard is [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath killed]] during the series finale of ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''. This contrasts rather sharply with Bennett Halverson's [[BoomHeadshot messy death]], especially given that Paul was a main character on the show while Bennett only appeared briefly.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is bad for this.
** It's actually played with and {{lampshade|Hanging}}d with [[spoiler: Kate's death]]. Tony explains to [=McGee=] that while the hole in the forehead can be easily covered up, the back of the head would be a nasty gaping wound. The actual shot did show a decent-sized splash from the back of the head, although only the entry wound is shown to viewers. Tony, who is standing next to [[spoiler:her]], gets blood splattered over his face. A number of seasons later, [[spoiler:Gibbs's ex-wife Diane is deliberately shot in the same manner as Kate, although it looks far less messy]].
* The death of [[spoiler:Reed]] on ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' is a perfect example. The effect is much heightened because the viewer had no idea until that moment that the killer even ''had'' a gun; the shooting effectively starts a temporary GenreShift for the entire two-parter.
* In the pilot of ''Series/TheShield'', after Vic shoots Terry Crowley in the face, there is only a small wound with little blood
* In ''Series/TheWire'', [[spoiler:Jelly]] is shot, point-blank, in the side of the head facing away from the camera and nothing is visible but a small blood spurt from the other side.

* Happens in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' when one of the characters gets shot in the head, though this may have to do with it being point blank with a silencer.
* Several times in ''Series/TheXFiles'', most notably with [[spoiler:Krycek]]'s death; he's shot in the forehead point-blank, and has only a neat little hole in his forehead when he drops.
* Played straight in ''Series/BurnNotice'' when Michael shoots [[spoiler:Tom Card]].
* ''Series/TrueBlood'''s deceased vampires aside, the show plays the trope straight in the deaths of [[spoiler:Benedict "Eggs" Talley]], [[spoiler:Sam's shapeshifter friends]] and [[spoiler:Marnie Stonebrook]].
* Arthur Petrelli on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' meets his end this way. Sylar stops the bullet from Peter's gun and then flicks it into Arthur's head, leaving behind a hole with a trail of blood.
* ''Series/TheScarletPimpernel'': When [[spoiler:Lord Tony Dewhurst]] is shot in the head, it results in nothing more than a smear of blood on the wall. The scene was gorier on the DVD, though.
* Lampshaded in an episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' where the victim of the week is shot in the head, and it's pointed out that the caliber of the bullet should have left more splatter. Goren and Eames later deduce that the bullet had been carefully altered for a cleaner kill.
* One episode of ''Series/{{JAG}}'' had a female terrorist killed by a headshot and falling (in slow motion) into a flower vendor's stall, with a neat little hole in her forehead. From a ''rifle shot'' at a range of only a few dozen meters.
* In ''Series/EmeraldCity'' the Wicked Witch of the East is tricked into landing a pretty little headshot on herself. Later, [[spoiler:Queen Languinere]] receives one. Arguably this adds to the mystique of this terribly new "magic" to the denizens of Oz.
* ''Series/TheLittleDrummerGirl'': [[spoiler:Khalil]] and most of his associates are killed by headshots that leave relatively little blood behind, and no brain matter.
* ''Series/{{Chuck}}'': "[[Recap/ChuckS4E02ChuckVsTheSuitcase Chuck Vs The Suitcase]]" starts with the VillainOfTheWeek being [[DramaticChaseOpening chased by an agent]], until she turns around and shoots the agent that with a SmartGun, killing him with a bloodless headshot, to show how efficient and dangerous the gun is.
* ''Series/BigSky'': [[spoiler:Legarski]] gets killed by a headshot, which leaves a tiny hole and mere trickle of blood. [[spoiler:Justified, since it doesn't kill him.]]
* ''Series/UtopiaUS'': When [[spoiler:Samantha]] is shot in the head, it leaves only a small hole in her forehead. Later, when her friends move to cover her body, they leave her face uncovered because she's still "too pretty."

* In the ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune'' games, the results of a headshot are actually handled comparatively realistically -- even your 9mm pistol leaves very large and ugly entry and exit wounds, and if you use your shotgun, .44 Magnum or sniper rifle, you blast their head clean off, leaving only a ragged bit of lower skull.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': Smaller caliber guns (like the Gorgon Pistol) and automatic weapons (like the Lancer) deal more damage from headshots but don't noticeably damage the body. Powerful weapons (like the [[HandCannon Boltok Pistol]] and Longshot sniper rifle) will cause the target's head to burst like a melon.
* The near-ending cinematic in ''VideoGame/PsiOpsTheMindgateConspiracy'' has a straight example, when Sarah shoots [[spoiler: her twin sister]] from behind. Similarly, scoring headshots on enemies will not leave a visible wound unless you're using a shotgun, in which case the head will be blown apart.
* In ''VideoGame/UrbanChaosRiotResponse'', normally when you score a headshot nothing happens but if you score a headshot with a shotgun, magnum, or some other powerful weapon [[YourHeadASplode their head will be obliterated.]]

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'', Dante is shot in the head repeatedly throughout the series, but it only ever results in either a small trickle of blood down his face or a small hole which quickly heals later [[JustifiedTrope due to]] his HealingFactor. Considering the cutscene of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'' where he pulls the bullet out of the entry wound after Lady shot him in the forehead, it's possible that the bullets don't pierce deep enough.
* In ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'', characters on multiplayer could have their heads blown apart in quarters, either losing 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, or the whole thing, as long as they were Squirrels, Undead or Tediz (Tediz and Undead could have this happen during "It's War" and "Spooky" single-player as well, respectively). Multiplayer characters with smaller heads (weasels or uggas) would always lose their entire head. Squirrels/Undead, in particular, were rather nasty, as the grey matter could be seen from any remnant of the head. All characters would stumble for a few seconds before falling when victims of the headshot. Played straight in ''Live & Reloaded'', however, as part of the game's extensive {{Bowdleri|se}}zation.
* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark''. A good headshot close to a wall will leave a huge splash of blood, though engine limitations only show redness on the skull. Oddly, one can let the blood fly even on corpses already, say, sprawled in a chair.
* Games made by Creator/RockstarGames zig-zag this trope.
** The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series is, for the most part, a perfect embodiment of this trope - headshots cause a blood splatter and the enemy falls down, disconcertingly intact. In the 3D era, sniper rifles would avert this trope by causing the victim's head to burst like a watermelon, but this was removed in ''IV''. ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' goes for the middle ground. While headshots do leave wounds on the victim, they're rather small and hard to notice, even if you use the [[{{BFG}} Heavy Sniper]].
** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'', on the other hand, subverts this trope by making any headshot actually create an in-game "model" of an exit and entry wound that appears on the head with very grotesque results. This applies to all [=NPCs=], [[CrossesTheLineTwice even women.]]
** ''VideoGame/LANoire'' goes back to playing it straight, with headshots leaving no mark on the heads of enemies. Rather jarring, considering that the game doesn't shy away from showing graphically wounded bodies in the Murder Investigations.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' headshots will leave the target's head bloody but otherwise intact. However, in the "Meet the Spy" promotional video, when the BLU Spy is killed, his head explodes in a particularly over-the-top manner.
** Though that's fairly justified. It wasn't a sniper rifle from 30 feet away that hit the spy, it was a shotgun 2 feet away. [[CutscenePowerToTheMax Even though recreating such a shot ingame still leaves the head intact.]]
** Played straight when the RED spy headshots the BLU engineer earlier.
* [[spoiler: Magnifi Gramarye]] in ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney''.
* Played straight and subverted in ''VideoGame/TheConduit.'' In the single-player campaign, getting a headshot on a human with one of the sniper weapons results in a brief, Teen-friendly red spurt and a collapsing body. Do the same with one of the alien Drudge, however, and their heads ''pop off'' with a [[PinkMist fountain of]] [[AlienBlood yellow fluid.]]
* A [[http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/7459/hitmanpcgamersmall.jpg controversial ad]] for ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}: Blood Money'' features a beautiful woman in lingerie lying in bed. The only clues that she's dead are the slightly pale skin tone and a small bloodless bullet wound in the center of her forehead.
* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon'' shows a nice little hole in Roger's head on the HaveANiceDeath screen if he gets shot by the KillerRobot guarding the grabber.
* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games play it straight most of the time: headshots with any weapon might get blood, but because enemy corpses remain intact, their heads appear mostly undamaged. ''Videogame/{{Halo 3}}'' and subsequent games, however, include a "Skull" (part easter egg, part optional game modifier) called "Grunt Birthday Party" that makes the heads of the weakest enemies, Grunts, explode on headshots... into confetti, accompanied by the sound of cheering children (examining the corpse reveals that the head remains unharmed, except for their mouthpieces).
** Skulls were actually added in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'', but functioned a bit differently. One had to be playing on [[HarderThanHard Legendary]] for them to even spawn and once picked up, the effects were active for as long as the profile of the player that picked them up was being used. The Birthday Party skull itself was in fact present in ''2'', but rather than a burst of confetti, a plasma grenade detonation would accompany headshots for any enemy. When ''Halo 2'' was remastered and re-released as part of the Master Chief Collection, all of ''Halo 2''’s skulls could be activated via a menu, and the Birthday Party skull retains its original plasma grenade effect. The head is still intact after detonation, however.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games play this straight, with headshots resulting in a splat of blood behind the victim, although one level in the BloodierAndGorier ''World At War'' has a Marine taking a round to the head in a landing craft and having his head split open. Can also be found in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps''.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGear''
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' has a rather strange occurrence when [[spoiler:Olga]] is killed by [[spoiler:Solidus]] via headshot - a huge display of blood and gore shoots out of [[spoiler:her]] head when the bullet goes through it, but the exit wound itself is as tiny as you'd expect from this trope. Especially odd in that, not thirty seconds later, the weapon in question is shown firing ''exploding bullets'' that really should have blown [[spoiler:Olga's]] head off entirely.
* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'':
** In ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' (which had a T rating), the uncut version of the Joker's headshot Fatality had the opponent getting shot and falling with his head intact, with only a spatter of blood coming from it.
** ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'' has Cassie Cage ([[SpinOffspring The daughter of Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade]])) do this in her fatality after knee-capping the victim. In true Mortal Kombat tradition, [[HighPressureBlood it causes a small blood geyser.]] In a BlackComedy twist, she puts her chewed-up gum on the hole after that, making it look like a boil about to pop, which it does.
* Extreme in ''VideoGame/{{Section 8}}: Prejudice''. When [[spoiler: Thorne]] is shot in the head, there's no visible damage. To make things worse, this is from a SniperRifle used to fight PoweredArmor that laughs off suborbital insertion.
* In ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'', Lance can die from a shot to the forehead, followed by multiple bullet holes that [[CriticalExistenceFailure reduce his entire body to eyeballs]], if you're not quick enough [[spoiler:during the final confrontation]].
* ''Videogame/SpecOpsTheLine'' - Even the smallest pistol, the Beretta, causes a huge spray of blood on headshots. The strongest weapons, such as sniper rifles or the .44 revolver, cause half their head to explode in a shower of blood. When [[spoiler: Lugo shoots the Radioman repeatedly in the head with his Beretta, the player's camera is covered in blood.]]
* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' plays it almost completely straight, with only one exception: Headshotting a Taser with the Platypus 70 sniper rifle turns his face into a gaping hole. Everything else, even a .50 cal sniper rifle, leaves nothing but some blood splatter.

* Averted in ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', as much as is possible for a manga aimed at this age group. When the "Reaper" recalls making a kill by [[ImprobableAimingSkills firing between two Shinkansen lines going in opposite directions]], we see his victim from the exit wound side of his head, with a very large spray of blood.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', C.C. takes a shot right through the center of her forehead when she takes the bullet for Lelouch in the first episode. Quite an impressively perfect shot, in fact, considering she wasn't being aimed at and that it hit dead center of the tattoo on her forehead. Buuuut anyway, no gore on Lelouch behind her and a quick pool of blood after. Though there is a partial gory discretion shot about a minute later where this trope is averted.

* The ''Literature/BattleRoyale'' manga ''strongly'' averts this.
* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' has [[spoiler:Dallas Geonoard]]'s immortality first (chronologically, on-screen) being demonstrated when he's shot through the head, leaving a clean bullet hole just in the middle of his forehead. Averted in all other examples. Everyone else who dies in this manner does so bloodily.

* Averted in ''Comicbook/KickAss'' when [[spoiler: Big Daddy is executed by Johnny G's men. His face is drawn being blown out by the gunshot to the back of his head. An eyeball can be spotted, no longer part of his head.]]
* Averted in ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'':
** Due to the absence of content restrictions, allows the artists to show exactly what happens when someone is shot in the head. [[http://i.imgur.com/G90IE.png It's not pretty.]]
** The deaths of Frank's family, which are by necessity often alluded to, featured a huge exit wound on his son's head, as the bullet went through his open mouth.
* Averted in ''ComicBook/{{Zero}}''. Similar to ''The Punisher MAX'', artists show a lot of gore whenever someone's shot in the head.

* Averted in ''Film/SeventyOne'' when [[spoiler: Thommo is shot by Paul.]]

* Averted, at least partially, when Private Pyle shoots himself in the bathroom in ''Film/FullMetalJacket''. While we don't see an exit wound (which could have been on the other side of his head from the camera), there is a lot of blood and some dark solid chunks on the wall behind and above him.

* Mostly played straight in ''Film/InBruges''. The first death we see, [[spoiler:a small boy accidentally shot by Ray]], gets the standard pretty dime-sized headshot. Two other deaths [[YourHeadASplode avert this and then some]] but only because of the use of dum-dum bullets.

* Averted in ''Film/TheSixthSense'', when a ghost says that he knows where his dad keeps his gun. Then he turns around, and the back of his head is in pieces.

* ''Film/{{Downfall}}'':
** Averted and played straight when [[spoiler:the Hitler youth commander shoots himself and when the old soldier gets headshot]] there is barely any blood, but a Mook's suicide later in the film yields a large gory explosion on the wall behind him.
** {{Discussed|Trope}} by Hitler, Eva, and the secretaries, when they discuss how to commit suicide. Hitler explains - correctly -- that putting the barrel of a pistol in your mouth then pulling the trigger will entirely destroy your brain and head. Eva responds by going "eeeeek" and deciding she is going to take poison, so as to leave a pretty-looking corpse.
* Initially averted, then played straight in ''Film/NurseBetty''. When [[spoiler: Chris Rock's assassin character]] is shot in the forehead, it's a Pretty Little Headshot. However, a deleted scene entitled "The Flap" shows that it really ''was'' graphic at first. This was probably changed on the account of it being ''really'' gross and not fitting the mood of the scene.

* Averted in ''Film/Drive2011'': When [[spoiler:Blanche]] is shot in the back of the head with a shotgun, we're treated to a slow-motion shot of her head disintegrating in a shower of blood.

* Possibly justified in ''Film/TinkerTailorSoldierSpy'' when a .22 subsonic round fired from a silenced rifle is used to kill a man with the prettiest little tear of blood running down from the bullet hole just below his completely intact eye. Averted when the next shot shows the body laying face down on the ground, and you can see who knows what through the huge gaping hole on the back of the skull.

* Averted in ''Film/GoneWithTheWind''. While the back of the head of the Union deserter Scarlett shoots is not shown, we do see the mess it's made of his face.
* Averted, with a vengeance, in ''Film/{{Dredd}}''. The film takes full advantage of its R rating to show exactly what happens when a bullet meets human tissue. At one point, Anderson shoves an automatic weapon under someone's chin and pulls the trigger; what happens to the head might be best termed ''disassembly''.

* Averted in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. In Megamorphs 3: Elfangor's Secret, the team travel back in time to chase after Visser Four. They eventually end up in the American Revolutionary War, where [[spoiler:Jake is shot in the head and killed.]] It isn't pretty.
--> ''I saw the hole. It was centered in [[spoiler:Jake's]] forehead. The back of his head was gone. There was no possible question. He was dead.''

* Famously averted in Hemingway's [[http://www.greatwar.nl/frames/default-hemingway.html description of a man who had been shot in the head]]: "... a hole in front you couldn't put your little finger in and a hole in back you could put your fist in, [[DeadpanSnarker if it were a small fist and you wanted to put it there]]."

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''
** It was slightly odd considering their usual aversion of the GoryDiscretionShot but there was the time when Dean gets shot in Sam's vision; his eyes are open, the blood spray is on the wall but the creepiness is let down somewhat by the tiny hole in his forehead. Creator Eric Kripke was amazed that they even got away with that. The full scene, which can be found on the [=DVDs=], actually shows Dean getting shot, instead of just the gun firing then cutting to Dean, dead on the floor.
** A fifth season episode manages to avert this trope, as a noticeable chunk of the back of the head can be seen flying off the victim. Probably helps that the victim was a reanimated corpse to begin with...

* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', this is both prevalent and averted in two separate instances. In "Grilled", when [[spoiler: Tuco is shot in the head by Hank]], there's barely a noticeable wound, just some blood and a small hole. Reversely, in "One Minute", [[spoiler: when Hank shoots Marco in the head (who, interestingly enough, was trying to exact revenge on Hank for doing the same to Tuco)]], the potency of a hollow point bullet is shown, blasting the back of his skull "clean" out.
** Averted again in "Half Measures": the fatal headshot [[spoiler:the drug dealers that killed Tomas]] received makes a large exit wound with quite visible splatter.

* Averted throughout ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire''.The fact that it is on HBO undoubtedly helps.
* Somewhat averted in ''Series/{{Carnivale}}''. After Samson shoots a man in the face,the wound is relatively small but we do see some blood spatter on the fall
* Averted in ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' in which the title character works in Blood Spatter analysis. A Gunshot Suicide is shown to blow out the head and skull and cause massive bleeding.

* Averted in ''Series/{{Bones}}'' with the assassination of the Gravedigger, [[YourHeadAsplode whose head is OBLITERATED]], splattering gore all over Sweets, giving him a mild HeroicBSOD

* Averted in one particular episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', where a businesswoman tells everybody off in a press conference, and then bloodily offs herself, a la Bud Dwyer. Suffice it to say that it wasn't a neat little hole that bullet left.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' averts this with one of their victims-of-the-week, who was shot in the face. Said face was obliterated (not shown on screen, thankfully).
* ''Series/StrikeBack'' has an affinity for averting this. The most obvious instances include Porter's death and a sniper mook who gets the left side of his skull blown away THROUGH A BRICK WALL! Besides that, point-blank executions tend to be performed from one side, thus guaranteeing that the bullet passes through both lobes (reducing the chances of survival), and distance shots often hit in places other than the usual "center of forehead" (for example, the terrorist leader from episode two, who got shot [[EyeScream through the eye]].)

* ''Series/TrueBlood'''s deceased vampires aside, the show plays the trope straight in the deaths of [[spoiler:Benedict "Eggs" Talley]], [[spoiler:Sam's shapeshifter friends]] and [[spoiler:Marnie Stonebrook]] but averts it painfully in the death of [[spoiler:Debbie Pelt, who is shot with a shotgun]] ([[spoiler:Sookie is seen picking up bits of Debbie's head, including her jaw]]).

* Majorly averted on ''Series/{{Banished}}''. A convict is shot in the head by a soldier for refusing to turn back to face a hanging... and spends ''minutes'' twitching on the ground with a big hole in his head. before the soldier is ordered to put him out of his misery.

* Averted in ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' combined with GoryDiscretionShot. We don't get to see [[spoiler: Moriarty or Magnussen]] in close-up after the former [[spoiler: eats his gun]] and the latter is dispatched [[spoiler: by Sherlock via BoomHeadshot]] but particularly in the latter case, the pool of blood suggests the exit wounds weren't clean or pretty.

* One of the weirder aversions is ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'', where headshots with the appropriate weapon cause the enemy's head to ''shrink'' (watch it in slow-mo!). It'd make some sort of sense if you were using a weird tech gun, but no, bullets cause head shrinkage. This is a visual artifact of the rather hacked method used to animate decapitations; since the head is part of the player model, it can't be deleted from the rest of the model on the fly, so it's animated to shrink away to nothing in a single frame as the game spawns the actual head gib (which suddenly has blood all over it) in the same space, but if a modern machine is rendering fast enough, it's visible.

* Another Unreal-powered franchise, ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'', plays this trope straight and messily averts it, depending on the weapon. Smaller caliber guns (like the Gorgon Pistol) and automatic weapons (like the Lancer) deal more damage from headshots but don't noticeably damage the body. Powerful weapons (like the [[HandCannon Boltok Pistol]] and Longshot sniper rifle) will cause the target's head to burst like a melon.

** The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series is, for the most part, a perfect embodiment of this trope - headshots cause a blood splatter and the enemy falls down, disconcertingly intact. In the 3D era, sniper rifles would avert this trope by causing the victim's head to burst like a watermelon, but this was removed in ''IV''. One rather classy exception is during a cutscene in ''IV'', when Niko shoots [[spoiler: Vlad]] in the face. Not only does the wound spew an impressive fountain of blood, but Niko knows it is coming and shields his face before firing. ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' goes for the middle ground. While headshots do leave wounds on the victim, they're rather small and hard to notice, even if you use the [[{{BFG}} Heavy Sniper]]. Averted with shotguns, which leave multiple small holes that add up to nasty-looking wounds. Also averted with [[spoiler:Sanchez]] when [[spoiler:Haines]] shoots him in the face. The resulting exit wound is large and very gruesomely detailed, with exposed brain tissue and a virtual fountain of blood spraying from the hole.

** ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'' averts it by showing grisly entry and exit wounds if enemies are shot in the head. The only wrinkle is that the wounds are identical for all weapons, so a headshot from a 9MM pistol will leave the same-sized hole as that from a .50 BMG sniper rifle.
** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', like its predecessor, averts it. Not only do headshots leave very gruesome wounds, using a shotgun or explosive ammunition will literally cause the target's head to explode in a shower of blood.

** Averted with the Hitman's Heatmaker sniper rifle, which decapitates upon headshots.

** ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear|SolidVGroundZeroes}} [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain Solid V]]'' averts this trope like hell. Unless you're using tranquilizer darts or rubber bullets, getting a headshot will result in a nasty "SPLAT" and a gruesome wound.
* ''VideoGame/SniperElite'' pretty much averts this - rifle headshots often leave a big hole, with obvious bits coming out when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRBS50sq-Xc seen in slow motion]].
* The same Fatality in ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games both plays this straight and averts this. Explaining: in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' (which had a T rating), the uncut version of the Joker's headshot Fatality had the opponent getting shot and falling with his head intact, with only a spatter of blood coming from it. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' (with the more familiar M rating), when Shang Tsung appropriated this Fatality for himself ([[LawyerFriendlyCameo though turning into a different]] MonsterClown), the opponent's head gets blown to bits when it's shot.

* Strongly averted in ''[[VideoGame/Warhammer40000Spacemarine Space Marine]]''. Shooting Orks [[spoiler: or Chaos soldiers]] in the head results in serious carnage.

* ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' goes to great lengths to avert this trope to hell and back. It doesn't matter what gun you use, there will always be blood and brains all over the floor or wall. The bigger the caliber, the greater the damage until all you have is a bloody stump when firing with a shotgun or rifle. ''[[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII Part II]]'' averts this even ''further''; entry and exit wounds are highly detailed, blood pours from said wounds are consistent with the environment around them (e.g., diffusing with any body of water that's nearby), and you're even capable of blowing off an enemy's jaw with a well timed shot.

* Usually averted in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'', which tries to be as realistic as possible, there are only two cases where this is played straight, in the case of Andrew Klock and Alan Shinwrath in v1. When they were shot in the face at relatively close ranges (more or less point-blank, for Alan), this happened. There was a neat hole in their forehead/between their eyes, some blood, and they fell over. After this though, it was extremely uncommon, since most people on the board learned about the reality of this trope.

* Whenever someone is shot in the head on ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', the trope is averted. Thankfully, they tend to use [[GoryDiscretionShot discretion shots]], but there's still a lot of blood and PinkMist visible.

Contrary to popular belief, a gunshot wound to the head is not actually always fatal in and of itself, nor is it an InstantDeathBullet. Probably the most famous example of this was the head wound of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage Phineas Gage,]] who managed to survive a three-foot-long steel rod through his brain (not without ill effects though). For more details, see the [[Analysis/PrettyLittleHeadshots Analysis page]].