Why was the death of Pepper completely off screen?
It’s not like this movie was afraid of gore
shareI've read that the filmmakers felt like she was such a sweet character that the audience wouldn't want to see her have a graphic death.
Also, this keeps in line with a horror movie trope of old. More deaths are male, they're cannon fodder. So when a woman dies, they'll make her death notable in some way. An off-screen kill, an exceptionally long chase scene, an exceptionally creative way to die. Think about horror movies in general and I believe you'll find most include at least one of those examples.