The 20 Most Annoying Cliches from Horror Movies
High-quality horror movies will help create the perfect mood for Halloween (and on any other day when you want to scream in horror). However, there are so many films of this genre being shot that, by definition, they cannot all be masterpieces. Unfortunately, often after viewing, the viewer has only a feeling of bewilderment caused by the general absurdity of the plot and its absolute predictability.
The hero of the film runs along the road, and a car catches up with him
If you are being chased by a car, isn't it more correct to turn off a well-paved road to where the car can't pass? Yes, but only if you're not a horror movie character. There you are absolutely obliged to run along the highway, where you can be seen in the palm of your hand.
At the most crucial moment, the car does not start
The hero of the film, trying to escape from the clutches of death, finds himself in a car and tries to start the engine ... but it was not there. It never works, never. Even if the car is brand new and was functioning perfectly ten minutes ago.
If a woman runs away from a killer, she will definitely fall
Screenwriters of bad horror films for some reason believe that all women are very clumsy and run badly. Literally, they can't run a kilometer, hiding from the killer, so as not to crash to the ground, where he will overtake them.
The heroes of the film in mortal danger run away to the corners - instead of uniting
Imagine that you are in a whole company of people in a situation where a homicidal maniac is wandering around somewhere. To increase your chances of survival, you need to stick together, right? And what do horror movie characters do instead? They separate. Of course, if they are in some kind of maze, so they have more opportunities to find a way out of it, but usually everything ends with the fact that the maniac finishes them off one by one.
Adults are useless
If the characters of the film are teenagers or very young children, they can never get at least some help from adults — primarily parents. They do not believe them, do not listen to them and generally dismiss them in every possible way.
By the final fight, the main villain suddenly becomes more clumsy
The main villain is so skilled at killing that he swats all the minor characters like flies. Until he meets the main character. That's when the killer suddenly becomes weaker and clumsier than he was before, and the hero of the film has an advantage in the fight.
The killer even hobbles faster than the others run
The killer can be lame or one-legged — he will still get to the victim in time. Even if he hobbles with difficulty, and the victim runs with sprinting speed, driven by fear.
The victim always gives out some kind of sound
No matter how well the victim hides, some kind of sound (for example, a phone ringing unexpectedly) will definitely give her away, and then the killer will find a hiding place.
Frightening reflection in the mirror
Sometimes it seems that the creators of horror films simply cannot resist the temptation to apply this cliche. As soon as a mirror appears in the frame, we already know what will happen next — the hero of the film will look in the mirror and see the monster standing behind him.
The advice of the elders is necessarily ignored
Another frequently used cliche is when the young heroes of the film are warned by one of the older ones about possible danger and advised, let's say, to leave the house they just bought as soon as possible, but the young ones do not listen to advice. But elderly people usually don't walk around warning about danger unless they have a good reason to.
Some monster suddenly jumps out of nowhere
In cheap horror movies, this technique, when a monster suddenly jumps out of the darkness onto the screen, is used very often. You can literally feel the growing tension when this moment comes and for no reason you will be shown some kind of monster, clanking teeth.
You definitely need a dark and gloomy basement
If the hero of the film buys a house, there will definitely be a mysterious and frightening basement in which someone was killed or will be killed. Not to mention the fact that new home owners often feel the need to check what kind of strange noise is coming from the basement, and always go there alone. And that dim light bulb hanging from the ceiling? It will definitely go out at the most inopportune moment!
All the characters are rare idiots
It is quite clear that when a psychopathic killer is breathing down your back, only basic survival skills can save you. But if you are the hero of a horror movie, then there is a high probability that you are an idiot and a dumbass who makes one absurd and life-threatening decision after another until he is beaten to death.
By all means, cellular communication begins to fail
It's about like with a stalled engine. Just now the phone was working and everything was fine, but in an emergency situation, when you need to call for help, the network suddenly disappears. And you can't even find fault: the phone is not broken, and problems with the network really happen, everyone knows that.
The killer is practically invincible and almost immortal
Even anthropomorphic villains in horror movies behave as if they are immortal. The invincible monster crushes everyone in its path and easily recovers from any blow received. And when, finally, the main character puts him on both shoulders, the villain wakes up after ten minutes — and is ready to go hunting for unsuspecting townsfolk again.
Everyone turns into experienced shooters, even if they have never held a weapon in their hands
If a weapon appeared in the frame, there is no doubt that the firing from all barrels will begin now, and all the heroes of the film will immediately become experts in shooting. Even if you've never even fired a slingshot before.
The last survivor is a girl
This is a very common cliche for slashers with a standard plot, when a group of people find themselves in some place where a maniac with an axe starts running after them. In the finale, the last survivor remains one-on-one with the killer, and this is most often the girl - the most modest and quiet at the beginning of the film, by the end she turns out to be the smartest and most resilient of her companions in misfortune.
The black guy always dies
Do you know who has almost no chance of survival in a typical horror movie stuffed with cliches? A black guy. Although now this cliche is starting to die off, because the filmmakers know that the main character doesn't have to be white these days.
Creepy kids
Small children usually have an innocent look and can't scare anyone. But only if we are not talking about a horror movie. They can scare the hell out of there!
Murder in the bathroom
If you've watched a lot of horror movies, you know how often murderers lie in wait for their victim in the bathroom and kill him at the moment when she takes a shower. Why do directors like this cliche so much? They probably really like the movie "Psycho" by Alfred Hitchcock.