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10 Horror Movie Tactics That Are Repeated Millions of Times
This is an update to a previous article we did a few years ago and one that needs to be examined again with a few additions. Patterns, formulas, cliches or whatever you want to call them, there are certain repeated events in horror films that we’ve all seen a million times. Some of these patterns are good, however there are other patterns in horror flicks that would have us think they happen all the time in real life when they don't...
Follow up:
Below are things that could only happen over and over again in the wonderful world of the horror movie. Things that may happen on screen but would probably not happen to us in real life. We like to think we're smarter because we've seen these tricks used time and time again. Who knows, we still may run up the stairs when we should run out the door. I guess until some unstoppable killing machine is chasing you you're never sure what you might do but 9 out of 10 times we think we would make the right choice, I mean you're with us right?
Victim running from killer ALWAYS trips and falls
PATTERN: Almost without exception, if a girl is running from an axe wielding psycho you can bet she trips over something and falls down. Often you'll notice she trips over thin air, amazing how the survivor girls are so uncoordinated yet still, you know, survive!
REALITY: I'm sorry but the few times in my life when I've been running from something or someone that scared me, I was moving faster than lightening (felt that way) and didn't trip. Have you tripped up while running away from someone? I'll give you this too, they didn't even need to be chasing you with a chainsaw . . . you just plain tripped.
The current love interest of the protagonist is a total douche
PATTERN: You've seen this one. The lead of the film loves a girl, but the girl has a boyfriend. Already you know there is a 99% chance that this boyfriend will end up being a complete jerk. He screams at her, demeans her, doesn’t respect her. You can’t see why she’s with him in the first place. However, whatever the reason it doesn’t matter because you know she’s going to end up with the main character in the end anyway when she finally sees the douche for what he is, and leaves him for the protagonist (or the deadbeat b/f gets sliced and diced so the hero gets sloppy seconds).
REALITY: The hot chick's boyfriend is 10 times better looking, funnier, smarter, richer and all round a better person than you. Cue Nelson's (The Simpson's) point and laugh here, "HA-HA".
The survivor can magically go toe to toe with the killer during the film's finale
PATTERN: The hero is quiet and reserved throughout the majority of the movie while being eclipsed by their much more outgoing friends. As their friends meet their maker one by one the survivor begins to change. We finally reach the showdown between the sheltered protagonist and brain eating ghoul. Before the film's climax, the killer had no prob dispatching countless victims with ease (most of which were more athletic and capable of defending themselves than the main character) but now the survivor's punches, kicks and pretty much everything else hurts and slows down the killer. The antagonist's time average per kill gets all screwed up in a horror movie climax.
REALITY: You run into the killer, YOU DIE!
Opening a door slowly means cheap scare soon to follow
PATTERN: The hero hears a noise coming from the closet. They slowly approach the door and then turn the handle ever so carefully. So close now, almost open and BAM! Or . . . Hero opens the door and nothing. Hero takes deep sigh of relief to turn around and BAM!
REALITY: You hear a noise and you get the crap out of the house, jump in the car and drive to Taco Bell (cause you worked up an appetite) all while calling 911. The same is applied for hearing noises upstairs.
Character is sitting in their car and BAM! Someone hits the car door window accompanied by a loud blast of music
PATTERN: There's a good chance you'll see one of these moments pop up in a horror movie made within the last decade. Funny, watch these scenes with the sound off and it's not scary at all. It has everything to do with the piercing sound of music that blasts for that split second just to get that cheap scare. Honestly, every time in a horror movie when I see a conversation being held in a parked car I immediate countdown for the old window trick (They haven't let me down yet).
REALITY: Who walks up to a car door window and slams on it to get somebody's attention? Or one step further, who just walks up and stares waiting to get the occupants attentions? Psychopaths who are already in prison for doing much worse things, that's who!
The killer walks yet still keeps up with the victim
PATTERN: This is an 80's trend. Girl is running a marathon yet for completely unexplained reasons the nutcase is taking a midnight stroll and he's still right on her heels. (I love "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon"'s explanation for this)
REALITY: Girl runs + Killer walks = Girl gets away, comes back with police and killer doesn't get out of jail free!
Once the film's cast has been introduced in the first act, you can pick out which ones are going to die immediately
PATTERN: Douche bag Jock, hmmmm Dead! Stoner, lets think, Dead! Best friend, oh they are really Dead. Other random character who has just enough screen time . . . just paint a bulls eye on their head.
REALITY: If a Psycho wants you dead they won't take the time to knock off everybody else you know first (or anybody you've made human contact with for that matter) . . . they just ring your door bell and BAM!
The black guy always dies first!
PATTERN: For some reason or another Hollywood thinks that any minority especially African Americans can only be cast in horror movies for easy early death scenes.
REALITY: If we did a random test and had 10 white guys and 10 black guys and set a psychopathic hockey masked killer loose chances are we would still have 10 black guys left. Probably laughing at us white guys for urinating on ourselves before taking a machete to the throat.
Possibly one of the most overused cheap scares. The mirror trick
PATTERN: So your washing your hands, minding your own business (keep in mind your friends have been dying off because there's a killer on the loose) you shut the water off and (wait for it) slowly look up and WHAMO! Said killer is staring at your half naked ass in the mirror.
REALITY: Your friends are dying for Christ sakes! Do you really have time to stand there and talk to yourself in the mirror, then lean down and scrub your hands for 60 seconds only to slowly look up, not hearing a damn killer right behind you letting himself in the room. USE HAND SANITIZER FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY! It's 2010!
The killer, although can be hurt, can never seem to be put away for good
PATTERN: The Killer gets stabbed, shot, hacked, drowned, hung, almost decapitated but you ain't getting rid of them that easily, wait what? Why not? Because of the sequel of course!
REALITY: Shotgun blast to the head equals death! Sorry kids, that's just the way life is.
As always we hope you enjoy or list and the fun we have making them. What are some of the ones that you’re sick of seeing over and over?
32 comments
05/28/10 @ 07:21
very nice, accutally their was one time when my friends dad jumped out after us with a chainsaw in the middle of the woods. chainsaws terrify me, and i was faster thsn lightning. to bad i tripped on thin air, funniest part though was watching my best friend get close line by a tree!!!
05/28/10 @ 15:00
You're right in almost everything (I just don't agree that whites would die first as you said, not all blacks are tough, that's just a stereotype).
The thing is that a realistic movie would not be fun, exciting or scary to watch, that is true in all genres, not only horror/slasher.
Would it be scary if someone hears a noise and than run away and call the police? Don't think so. Or if the protagonist just dies easily? Or if the protagonist is just killed in the beginning and the movie ends- would not be a very fun movie to watch I guess.
And if the killer is dead for good, there would not be profitable sequels and fans would not see their favorite villains again in new movies (one exception is Pamela Voorhees, which really dies in the first movie and was much better than Jason for me). Besides that, many of them like Freddy and Chucky are supernatural and already dead in the beginning.
P.S. What is the explanation from "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon"'s? I did not watch this movie.
The thing is that a realistic movie would not be fun, exciting or scary to watch, that is true in all genres, not only horror/slasher.
Would it be scary if someone hears a noise and than run away and call the police? Don't think so. Or if the protagonist just dies easily? Or if the protagonist is just killed in the beginning and the movie ends- would not be a very fun movie to watch I guess.
And if the killer is dead for good, there would not be profitable sequels and fans would not see their favorite villains again in new movies (one exception is Pamela Voorhees, which really dies in the first movie and was much better than Jason for me). Besides that, many of them like Freddy and Chucky are supernatural and already dead in the beginning.
P.S. What is the explanation from "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon"'s? I did not watch this movie.
05/29/10 @ 12:59
Great list. One more I would have added is the tendancy for supporting characters to explain away the rising body count (think Urban Legend: "Damon isn't dead, he's just on a ski trip....Tosh wasn't murdered, she just killed herself). Reality: when more than two people turn up missing or dead, you hope for the best but assume the worst.
And Marco, there actually is a fairly realistic horror film. Hellraiser. There's no mirror trick or slowly opening of a door; there are no stock victims; when Kirsty runs away, the killers do not even try to chase after her; Kirsty never trips when she runs; the killers are sent away for good (when one returns in the sequel, it is only because a freakin GOD sends her back); and Kirsty does not really stand toe to toe with the killers at the end, rather she evades them long enough for them to start killing off each other (if you've seen the movie, I'm referring to Frank and Julia as the killers, not the Cenobites who really don't become straight up bad guys until the third installment in the franchise).
And Marco, there actually is a fairly realistic horror film. Hellraiser. There's no mirror trick or slowly opening of a door; there are no stock victims; when Kirsty runs away, the killers do not even try to chase after her; Kirsty never trips when she runs; the killers are sent away for good (when one returns in the sequel, it is only because a freakin GOD sends her back); and Kirsty does not really stand toe to toe with the killers at the end, rather she evades them long enough for them to start killing off each other (if you've seen the movie, I'm referring to Frank and Julia as the killers, not the Cenobites who really don't become straight up bad guys until the third installment in the franchise).
05/29/10 @ 14:00
Great list,killers must be very good at waiting long times in closets,what if they have to pee,haha.Luckily Michael Myers didnt have a full bladder when he was waiting for Bob
05/30/10 @ 03:08
In the older movies when someone tries to call for help on a home phone the line has been cut today like Chopsaw said if they try to use their cell there is no reception. House of the Devil was able to use the old dead-home-phone cliche because the film took place in the early 80`s.
05/30/10 @ 08:43
that list was great and funny as hell. Heres a couple more that are classic 1)The dropping of keys when opening door to house or car as killer is approching them. sheesh people drop the keys an just run dammit.2)People who walk into a creepy empty house that has the door conviently unlocked cue the creepy music. creepy empty house with door unlocked? yeah ill keep my ass outside in the freezing cold thank you.3)kids drinking and partying like crazy even though theres a killer loose that has already killed some of there friends. nice i get an ax to my face and my friends are partying like theres no tommorow instead of mourning me thanks buddies.
05/30/10 @ 14:11
Actually, the mirror trick cliche is actually quite opposite now. Because of all of the movies, now the mirror trick makes you want to think there is somebody standing behind you when you sit up, but instead, the scary shriek plays for a whopping NOTHING.
It's amazing how trying to miss out on the cliche, has in fact, turned into a cliche itself.
:D
It's amazing how trying to miss out on the cliche, has in fact, turned into a cliche itself.
:D
06/01/10 @ 19:19
I love this list, it is totally true, I think whilst watching the reboot of Halloween once a while back, the killer is "killed" like four times, and still gets back up and running. That was so cheesy I remember it to this day... I agree with all of the "reality" bits too.. Nice entertaining article :D
06/02/10 @ 00:06
ok, ok, lol. I'm guilty of some of these. Great article though.
06/03/10 @ 22:53
Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy of Mystery Science Theater 3000 commented on many of these cliches during thier Rifftrax commentary of the orginal Halloween. The third time Micheal Myers is supposedly "killed" and falls lifeless to the floor Kevin comments "Wow, he's hard to kill but he goes down like Jenga game!"
06/24/10 @ 16:30
@Ebonics, I know this is late, but I'm just finding this article. You may already know, but the pic under "10 Horror Movie Tactics.." is from An American Werewolf In London, the other pic with the girl in the towel I believe is from Freddy Vs Jason when she and her friends run out of the house screaming after she finds her boyfriend dead in bed. The Michael Myers image, could be just a random image, but from the mask, it looks like Halloween H2O.
06/24/10 @ 19:49
YOU FORGOT THAT THE CAR NEVER START"S
06/24/10 @ 23:00
Yeah u forgot the ol cat jumping out of the closet and the good old car want start or they dont get the keys out in time or they do but dont get the keys in the ignition before the killer gets to the car and starts stabing thorugh the roof of the car.or when ppl think its a good time to take a shower or have sex or go to sleep when they know there stuck some were secluded with a nut running around killing ppl..and lets not forget the one shot knock dwn where the protagonist hits the killer with something and knocks them out and runs away(instead of finishing the job)or trys to sneak by while his/she or knocked(or prtending to be)out and they jump up and grab there ankle..and last they protagonist or one of there friends actuly manages to get a police officer to come out but he doseint beleve whats going on trys to cailm them down & let them know everything alright then BOOM! he gets killed from behind or afar..
06/29/10 @ 04:57
Good article, I want to keep remarks because it allows writers for being more engaged and for the opportunity to study from each other.
08/28/10 @ 02:29
I only lately began leaving comments! Makes me consider a tiny even more about what I enjoyed and learned in regards to the write-up! Wonderful suggestions, thanks!
09/25/10 @ 10:42
There have a chance that we can have an furthur exchanges and cooperation.I will always pay attention to your blog.
10/04/10 @ 23:49
When I travelled to here and to there, I was tired. When I tired, I like to reading, so I come to your blog. So nice post. Thanks.
10/21/10 @ 10:35
Hey just wanted to mention there is a 404 on this page.
10/30/10 @ 13:05
Nice list, U forgot 1 thing,tough.
Closing door:
Victim hears something from upstairs.
Victim walks up to see.
The door behind locks itself.
Victim gives a damn, And start exploring the house like its a stranger or something.
then BAM! the fukking cat or something scares the shit out of the Victim.
Victim sighs and says something like: ''Skippy,Don't scear mommy like that''
Victim snuggles, And behind stands the murder, Wierd enough he's waiting until the victim has snuggled enough with the cat.
Reality:
Omg, If u even GOES up, The door who locks it self will get you paniced, And the fukkin' murder don't goes around and let you look for him.
Closing door:
Victim hears something from upstairs.
Victim walks up to see.
The door behind locks itself.
Victim gives a damn, And start exploring the house like its a stranger or something.
then BAM! the fukking cat or something scares the shit out of the Victim.
Victim sighs and says something like: ''Skippy,Don't scear mommy like that''
Victim snuggles, And behind stands the murder, Wierd enough he's waiting until the victim has snuggled enough with the cat.
Reality:
Omg, If u even GOES up, The door who locks it self will get you paniced, And the fukkin' murder don't goes around and let you look for him.
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