Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years (or you’ve been glued to a cinema seat the entire time), you’ve probably heard of axe throwing. The deceptively simple rec activity, centered on – you guessed it – throwing axes at a wooden target, has become a runaway hit with rec-enthusiasts across the country.
The axe, in other words, is enjoying its day in the sun. That humblest of weapons, a mainstay of the fantasy and horror genres, has been embraced by all sorts of people, neither fantastical nor horrific. And to celebrate its popularity in the current zeitgeist, why not take a look back at how the iconic weapon has been handled on the silver screen.
These are, arguably, the five most famous uses of an axe in movie history. Revisit this glimmering blade on the silver screen, then, for a little real-world fun, try axe throwing for yourself at one of the growing number of axe throwing facilities across the country!
“Here’s Johnny!” – The Shining
Here is, perhaps, the most iconic shot of an axe in movie history. Jack Torrance, played with building menace by the inimitable Jack Nicholson, finally breaks – literally – as he smashes his axe through the door, a screaming Shelley Duvall on the other side.
The shot was famously labored over by director Stanley Kubrick, taking an exhausting three days to film, and required the prop department to install 60 doors. Was it worth it? Film-goers seem to think so, as the final cut is one of the most jarring, harrowing and downright frightening in film history.
“And My Axe” – The Lord of the Rings
When audiences first got a glimpse of Gimli, the gruff dwarf in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings, the reaction was pretty unanimous: laughter. The character, originally penned by JRR Tolkien, was never really meant to be comic relief, but you just can’t help but chuckle at veteran actor John Rhys-Davies’ portrayal.
Before long, the character became synonymous with one of his throwaway lines, “And my axe!” It became a meme, a riposte in answer to anyone who dared make a list of their possessions. Someone might say, “you can have my coat and my scarf”, and the cinema-savvy, meme-educated person in the room might respond naturally with: “and my axe”. Although the meme has fallen out of use nowadays, Gimli and his axe remains in people’s imaginations.
“By the People, for the People” – Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
What a concept! You take beloved early president Abraham Lincoln, arm him with an axe, and make him go around killing vampires. Based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s successful mash-up novel, the movie was near-universally panned by critics, but embraced by moviegoers as a cheesy, garish and fun B-movie.
Its cult status cemented, you can still find revelers each Halloween donning Honest Abe’s top hat and wielding an axe. It may not be anyone’s idea of “high cinema” but it remains one of the most beloved uses of an axe! If it helps, when you go axe throwing for a birthday party, try to picture the wooden target as a zombie – it worked for Lincoln!
“If I Only Had a Heart” – The Wizard of Oz
He wasn’t holding it when he sung the iconic song, “If I Only Had a Heart”, but the Tin Man does wield an axe throughout The Wizard of Oz. Why does the Tin Man have an axe? What would a man made of tin need with an axe? Well, in the original Frank L. Baum story, the Tin Man was originally a woodsman who’d lost his limbs chopping trees and who, seeing no other option, enlisted the local blacksmith to make him tin limbs.
That part of the story might’ve been shunted in the classic 1939 film, but the axe remained, and, along with the rest of the Tin Man costume, has become one of early Hollywood’s most enduring costumes.
“Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?” – American Psycho
The movie that launched Christian Bale’s career, years before he strapped on Batman’s utility belt, was American Psycho. Based on the Brett Easton Ellis novel of the same name, the movie follows big-shot investment banker Patrick Bateman as slashes and chops his way through New York City, expounding the virtues of Huey Lewis and the News while he’s at it.
In one of the movie’s most iconic sequences, Bateman takes an axe to an unsuspecting visitor while “Hip to Be Square” plays in the background. It’s an image deeply unsettling enough to be burned into the memories of moviegoers, cementing Bateman, and his bloodied axe, into the cultural imagination.
No one’s saying you should wield an axe like Patrick Bateman or Jack Torrance, or even Abraham Lincoln (in fact, you definitely shouldn’t), but next time you’re out axe throwing with your friends, think of these cinematic forerunners as you (safely) throw your axes.
