horror
What's a horror trope you love?
I've seen people talking about tropes they hate but I want to know what you can't get enough of. Personally I still love monsters no matter how many times I see a creature terrorizing a bunch of humans
Discussion
I like when people close to the main character who thought they were crazy all along finally witness some shit then decide to band together with them.
Counter to this- I love when the main character’s friends and family who called them crazy the whole time or purposely pushed them into a situation, get killed off just as they realize they were wrong. I will cheer every single time, screaming “SHE TOLD YOU YOU IDIOTS” every time
which movie do you recommend that follows this? thank you!
Would It Follows count?
Love when it’s seemingly supernatural but it’s not. Barbarian, Housebound, Get Out
Good one! Another one to that list: “I see you”
the boy
Add Invisible Man to this list
Yeah I love this too! I won't give away the film but I recall begrudgingly going to the cinema to see "another haunted house" flick in the 2010s, only for the twist to be some sicko living in the walls/secret room etc. I was so happy haha (....unlike my ghost-loving friend 😃)
100%. I'm disappointed when it is actually supernatural, like oh, you took the easy way out.
This is how I felt about the video game Until Dawn lol.
Some of the nastiest episodes of Supernatural.
Casually recommending Exorcismus (2010). May or may not be relevant.
I LOVE the "group of friends go hiking/ camping in the woods and now we are stuck / isolated and something is killing us" trope!
Me too! What movie do you think does it best?
For me it makes me think of The Ritual (2017)!
Most of my horror top lists feature only one or two protagonists running around dodging the danger so I can't whip up one "lost group" title that belongs in a museum, but Dead Rock was actually a lot of fun recently. I know people review bombed it to smithereens for having a low budget and some dubious final scene makeup, but the banter between girlfriends on a road trip gone haywire was well worth the price of admission. I liked how screwed up the FF filming became, hiding details (for budget, probably) - it's weirdly safe tubi cannibal horror you can show your friends
Ooooh, good question. There are so many fun ones...Hmmm... My personal favorite might be the original Cabin Fever!
I agree that The Ritual is an excellent one as well.
Same. My favorite movies are in the woods
Hicksplotation! Anytime a hillbilly mutant inbred family or town causes havoc. 2000 Maniacs, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes ect.
Wrong Turn!!!
Love it!
When someone is losing their grip on reality and it's a question of whether they're right and losing it or they're being influenced by outside forces.
They Look Like People is one of my faves of this trope
Bug is perfect for this!!
There’s something about when there’s a precocious, foul mouthed little kid, usually a girl who is obviously outgunned but still keeps acting like a little bad ass 😂 like the kid in Psycho Goreman or in The Black Phone
The sister in The Black Phone was great. Loved her character and performance.
In The Woman Across the Street from the Girl in the Window*, there's a full on fight to the death with a child. Bashing heads into the floor, all of that. It was hilarious.
Have you seen Becky??
Normally, I agree, but I hated that little girl she was the one who was a fucking psychopath. No wonder she got along with psycho Goreman. Not to say I didn’t think that was a hilarious movie.
I loooved mimi in psycho goreman! So funny :D
This one is more common in the old horror stories but the Irish Person want to throw hands with the paranormal.
This is so specific that I’m making it my favorite too
I've watched Extra Ordinary some days ago. Solid flick, def had it's moments.
cults and mythological creatures
The ritual
Black mountain side
Apostle
The empty man
I loved black mountain side. Starts just chill then goes insane fast lol
This is what I love. Of these four, I haven’t seen Black Mountain Side, so I’ll check it out.
The endless is a good one for this
I love crazy twist endings. I also like “i was all in your head” trope if its done right, specially when you go back and catch all the hints.
Unreliable narrator might be my absolute favorite trope, actually. Not knowing until the very end whether what you’re seeing is real or imagined, I’m locked in the whole time.
I love it when the monster is not actually the monster/villian. Frankenstein is the obvious example with Frankensteins monster and Barbarian is a good recent example with Mother.
Mon Mon Monsters! has this as the entire premise.
There's nothing that scratches the itch like lovecraftian / cosmic horror for me. No one Will Save You, Color out of Space, Dark Skies, Vast of Night, In the Mouth of Madness - suggest me more and i will watch it.
Fire in the sky
Thx, on my list. Is that the one with the horrifying abduction scene?
yesss. great film.
No One Will Save You is one of the best underrated movies!!
I agree, and it has Kaitlyn Dever in it so that's a big Bonus. + the entire movie works with no mono- or dialogue but only suspense and action. You could easily throw in Phrasen like "what's happening" "shit shit shit" "omg" and stuff like that but she keeps quiet all the time and it works with pure acting skills. Love it
I'm a huge fan of those weird old men who run those run down gas stations in the middle of nowhwere and are unsuccesfully trying to convince the main characters to turn back lol.
Yeeeesssss to this.
I think the opening of Urban Legend, with Brad Dourif as the gas station attendant with a stutter, trying to save the first victim, did this very well.
I love dinner party movies. Coherence, Silent Night (the one with Keira Knightley), The Menu
Gonna throw The Invitation in there too I loved that one
I was surprised by that one! I liked it a lot as well!
When someone closes the medicine cabinet in the bathroom and there’s someone standing behind them, seen in the reflection.
Or when someone closes the fridge door and there’s someone behind it.
The medicine cabinet scene in American Werewolf in London gets me EVERY TIME. I know it’s coming but I still jump
I saw a movie — I see so many of these things; possibly one of the Screams? — where a character wanders around the house opening and closing doors, opening the fridge and cupboards, looking at himself in mirrors, and generally setting up anticipation until, as I recall, the killer arrives via the front door.
Yes I love when it’s a fakeout too! Builds such good tension
The jock dying in the dumbest way possible after doing something dumb. So satisfying.
revs up dirtbike
He was trying to be noble 🙂↔️
Cabin in the woods’ meta-ness. Would love to see more like it.
I enjoy a straight up good haunted house movie.
Gratuitous evil, that has no reason behind it. It always so chilling when there is no "why" behind it so you can negotiate with it.
Conversely, my least favorite trope are villains with a tragic story that explain and excuse their behavior ad nauseum.
Also I like unsuspected protagonists. When the story unfolds and you think someone is the main character, then the stroy shifts focus to the real protagonist. But that's not exclusive to horror movies.
For the "evil that can't be reasoned with" thing, if you like to read, I recommend Revival by Stephen King. So good, so horrifying.
I don't know if this is more an anti-trope, but when people realize things are bad. When everyone goes "yeah, we should uhhh get the fuck out of here."
Like that cameraman in The Taking of Deborah Logan.
I love it when a director can hide the monster in the background of a scene as the character stares at it in complete terror. It's only until the last second do you notice what they're looking at. It...always...gets...me.
A good example of this is the titular monster in The Babadook. The scene where she's washing the dishes, and peers over into her neighbor's living room. The old lady is watching the TV. Half of the room is lit from the TV, and the other half shrouded in darkness. The actress's face slowly changes from bemusement to terror. You notice the monster standing in the background at the last second. Shivers.
I hate the trope of when something happening and the spouse denies / calls their partner crazy 90% of the movie. Alternatively, love it when instantly they agree and “Ok we got a huge problem here” attitude.
Like Poltergeist. Mum discovers something spooky is going on, quickly tests it by letting it slide her kid across the floor, then demonstrates it to her husband who gets on board with the haunted house. Boom! Let's crack on with the poltergeist action!
People waking up in a postapo world (28 days later beginning)
I will watch anything and everything with any similarities to the Most Dangerous Game where the hunted becomes the hunter setting traps. The Hunt, The Furies, Ready or Not, Revenge...
Final girls. Love it
creature features make me giddy, but a good "eff around and find out" supernatural thriller is my happy place.
Me too!
Idk anytime there’s an isolated incident in a space where characters have to defend themselves from any outside forces have me sat.
The ghosts drive you crazy
The best way to do ghost stories Amityville and murder house are perfect examples
Haunting of Hill House (book) is an amazing example this
That’s my favorite book! It takes you along for such a ride that it’s not until the end you realize how far gone she is! The original movie was a really good adaptation!
Supernatural entities; The Ring, The Grudge, Smile, It Follows, The Empty Man
Also supernatural hauntings; The Haunting of Hill House, Poltergeist, The Shining
I like vampires / werewolves least (though have liked a few titles a lot). I liked the new Dracula mini series, and the Midnight Mass series. Also the Keanu Reeves Dracula. Most others I have not.
I love it when the main characters have something happen and go into research/detective mode. Heck that’s half the reason I love supernatural.
Anything with isolated locations in the wild. Like the witch, the thing, the ritual and stuff like that
Cursed objects are great, but Annabelle is definitely the exception.
People discovering they’re part of some sort of experiment.
Rich people in weird cults.
Folk horror.
When the person the protagonists trusts/relies on was a member of the cult/secret society all along
When a character is going about their business and doesn't see the weird thing in the background.
Kick ass girl protagonist. Like where she wins against the serial killer.
Yeah I like the final girl trope too!
Character steps on branch or accidentally moves something that makes a noise, and the zombie/monster/killer/thingy heard it, goes bananas, and chases them.
People trying to mess with spirits or the super natural and the spirits doing the usual stuff you would expect
Fucking creepy old dolls. Every time I see it, I think, “oh hell no.”
Unnatural salesmen, also things that week incredibly normal but are actually mess up
World-Ending Virus/Bacteria/Infection
Cabin Fever, Dawn of the Dead, Contagion, The Hot Zone, Flu
Asylum movies have ALWAYS hit the spot Session 9, Grave encounters, the ward, stonehearst all get me in a way none other can!
House on haunted hill??
When the monster is hiding in plain sight in a given scene or melds into the background. Saw Sinners recently and there is one brief scene that uses this.
Maybe it moves suddenly, maybe it doesn't. I wish the Ritual did it more throughout the movie but it was only in one brief scene.
Also eldritch or just weird horrors, like the Void or the Thing.
Puppets and dolls, splatter, cheesy b-movie style horror
Zombie!! Give me any zombie movie. I'll be happy!! Even tho most of my fav "zombie" movies are infected people, it's marketed as zombie, so I go with it!
I’m a sucker for whodunnit slashers! Especially if the reveal is ‘i was your friend for x years just to do this!’
I love when a seemingly innocuous sound is revealed to be absolutely terrifying, or disgusting. Example: The Dark and the Wicked when the woman is slowly chopping carrots.... and some other things...
That was quite the scene!
Teeth horror. It makes me cringe every time and I love it
I want to downvote this so badly...
Folk horror, period horror (as historical, not menstrual), demon possession, southern gothic themes
According to my ex, periods can be a messy body horror series.
Oh, for sure. And you see it in Carrie and Ginger Snaps, at least.
And boy, can they.
A local horror festival decided to go too crazy wifh the decoration by adding bloody handprints all over the bathrooms and several people were grossed out as at first glance, they looked like someone had smeared their tampon all over the place.
- Sinister doppelgangers
- Subtle hints that “something is not quite right”.
- Someone being trapped in a place or situation with only one other person to interact with.
- Nightmare logic done right
- The “friend” was manipulating the protagonist all along
I love when the monster(/ghost/whatever) is a personification or representation of a more nebulous issue, like racism in Get Out or controlling abuse in The Invisible Man, and then people can punch it in the face. I find it immensely satisfying to see people get to punch abstract concepts in the face.
Things hiding in plain view
The creepy guy who everyone thinks is the killer but ends up saving the protagonist
Trauma manifested as a demon/ghost/hallucination/etc
I agree. It makes me invested
monster/murderer/ghost etc. slowly walking down a long hallway dragging their claws/knife/finger etc. along the wall carving a huge gash or rot or whatever as they go 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻
Nunsploitation
Ghost girls
Apocalyptic/Survival
I don’t know if this is quite a trope, but it’s the first thing that came to mind: when the characters make (mostly) good decisions, and still get (largely) obliterated.
Alien, The Thing, and Green Room fit here.
Possession movies
I loooove eldritch horror but haven’t found so many movies of this style
When our protagonist realizes her confidante (Who is in the room with her right now!) is not a safe person, or is the monster/entity,
And she tries to fake her way through
(or he)
Investigating historic backstory through documents at the library or through old photos or letters
Oh I love the library trope.
Someone walking backwards into the road and then getting hit by a car/bus
Little kid turns out to be evil
There’s always a bigger fish. I love it when the monster is afraid of something even worse/the reason why they’re a monster in the first place.
Lore. It’s one thing to have a supernatural/mythological entity. It’s another thing entirely to explain the history and culture behind it. It makes the story more powerful. Pointing out that multiple cultures have a similar creature in their folklore is one of my personal favourites.
Sexual tension between the final girl and the killer is a guilty pleasure of mine.
When earlier scenes are revisited, even full-on replayed in their entirety, with new clarity or context. Ohh I love that so much.
Since tropes were mentioned by name: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OnceMoreWithClarity
Mine would be the "bad guy(s) fucks with the wrong person/entity"
Smart characters who nope the fuck out at the first sign of fuckery. Doesn't always work out for the character, but it's fun to see.
Aka. Taking of Deborah Logan / Event Horizon
My fav is the group of friends in trouble, a’la Cabin in the Woods, but the friends themselves are tropey. There’s always a smart one, a party girl (or boy) one that’s shy, one that’s perpetually annoyed with every one else, etc. 😆
Creepy dolls, cant get enough of em
Seance!
I love found footage. I’m addicted.
A seemingly impersonal supernatural force that reveals its either deeply personal or unwittingly created/summoned by the protagonist himself.
(I love the character-driven horror of it, and that moment of recognition/realization)
I will always, always have a special place in my heart for "Ninja Bus." That's when a character either walks/runs/moseys into a street while not paying attention and a vehicle, usually a bus, appears out of nowhere without make a sound beforehand and hits them. See "Final Destination" for a classic example of this. It doesn't matter how out in the open they are, it doesn't matter the camera had a wide shot of emptiness a second later, the "Ninja Bus" always manages to hit its target. The best part? The bus doesn't start blowing their horn until AFTER they hit their target. Every. Single. Time.
The "Ninja Bus" can most commonly be found in horror movies. But it has been known to appear across other genres. It's just too good of a trope to be limited to one genre.
Curses.
Existential horror never gets old to me. Like some part of us remembers what it was like not to exist, and that memory hums beneath everything like a forgotten frequency.
Favorite is probably the unlikely hero trope.
Weak, physically frail, and "soft" individual gets hardened by trauma and proceeds to whip carnal amounts of ass. (Ash in Evil Dead. Doug in Hills Have Eyes. Grace in Ready or Not, etc)
I'm also fond of evil cult shenanigans and science-run-amok tropes.
Anything with lovecraftian themes, too.
I love the "documenting urban legend" types of horror or people going where they were told not to go
When something spooky is going on during a thunderstorm
I like it in horror movies when there’s a character who’s annoying or who seems like a jerk or a loser but turns out to have some great qualities — e.g. bravery, toughness, loyalty, leadership, good under pressure.
Cruel Twist Ending
Twist endings that exist just to make the protagonists' lives worse - I LOVE that shit
This is a more recent trope but: the monster is a metaphor for mental illness/grief
When the main woman ends up being a badass like in you're next or ready or not
When science gets out of hand and flips the script on humans.
Nasty rapey man gets brutally taken out by the official "scary thing", shortly after doing or saying a particularly nasty/rapey thing. As if to say, "hey, I'm a monster and even I'm not down with that!" Delicious. Love to see it.
Uncanny valley, something is off but it's not obvious until it's too late, human but also visibly inhuman
I also love if something supernatural has no earthly explanation and can't be researched. Like what are the odds some expert in your particular demon works at the nearby college?? Or that someone knows exactly how to get rid of your ghost and they wanna help for free? I love when an antagonist is truly unpredictable and the characters are having to learn as they go or can't know for sure what is happening
Chanting.
When we thought who the main character was going to be until they were killed during the first act or early second act. It's a very rare treat.
I love the anticipation scenes when the audience sees clues shits about to happen, but to the characters it's just news they flick off or a weird stranger they just walk by.
When an apparent serial killer is on the lose, killing your friend group, and you decide to stay at your house by yourself, often times taking a shower. Gets me every time.
I’m a sucker for found footage.
And I love a well-executed jump scare. Good ones are scary surprises that make me tense up and then laugh.
Home Invasion for some reason. I will watch just about anything that focuses on that. Maybe it’s my subconscious mind that feeds off of it because it seems more likely to actually happen in real life vs a werewolf coming to lick my neck
Monkeys Paw type be careful what you wish for movies. Love em
Gothic haunted mansions.
When the ppl gathered at a party begin to suspect something fucked up is happening
I love a very detailed, and suspenseful opening cold open scene that doesn’t skimp on budget and basically introduces the antagonist while ending the life of a character you assumed was the protagonist.,
Creature features but not too much science. Like jaws, lake placid, etc. also love like Bigfoot related.
I like when objects summon a monster or demon like Hellraiser and Wishmaster.
Also REEEEALLY enjoy monsters that take over the world/universe be incorporating others into it as like a hive mind thing. If anyone knows of some, please lmk! Think of things like the first episode of the Creepshow series and Slither.
Black and white, a woman in a flowy gown, with a candle on a haunted mansion
Are bleak endings a trope? I like when things end with everyone dying lol or only one person left with no hope of survival
Deal w the devil. Yessssssssssss
I have 4, #1 is adrenaline, #2 gore, #3 the story, #4 hot sexy women, all of that is tied for the same thing
Monsters are my jam too! I can never get enough. I wish someone would produce prequels to Cabin in the Woods with some of the other monsters that were on that list. Or make a TV series out them. We so got cheated with that.
I am also a huge fan of thriller/horror movies with sharks. My mom let me watch Jaws when I was little and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Holiday themed horror movies!
I love a gear up for battle moment. That moment when the victim sorts out their injuries, gathers the tools they need and readies themself to take on the big bad - then struts off to kick ass!
Recent example that comes to mind is Revenge.
damsel in distress
I really love some good final girls/girl gets revenge movies! They just ascend out of shit and beat the evil.
POV of the monster/antagonist
The way whenever a pack of morons go to some secluded place to drink and party, the jock-cheerleader pair always sneak off to have sex right away and are the first to go
I'm always like "ya, die trash."
I'm such a sucker for found footage, haunted houses, and demonic possession/exorcism movies
I love when they do research on local history and find out that the person they saw is a ghost and what their story is!
A town, house or cabin far away from everything with a unique feel. Like The Shining, Evil Dead, etc.
Group of mismatched strangers trapped together, facing certain death—Tremors, Maximum Overdrive, Splinter, Night of the Living Dead, The Thing, and of course Alien
Found footage I can't help it lol it sucks me I think because the unsteady camera already make me a bit unsettled
Paranormal possessions. Ghosts or Demons taking over a person.
Home invasion horrors like Black Christmas or When a Stranger Calls.
I like the whole “regardless of the supernatural aspect, we are totally fucked.” The Descent, As Above So Below, The Ritual (2017)
Anything with cult rituals does it for me
The whole thing with horror and mainstream religion and the folklore behind it. Biblical apocalypse stuff, too.
Exorcist; Late Night with the Devil; The Rite; The Nun. To a certain degree, Rosemary's Baby and The Omen kinda scratch that itch but they just hit differently.
And another trope I think is great is the "yeah, I'm aware things go bump in the night and I'm going to hunt that shit" - especially when mixed with the "no there MUST be some logical explanation" character or the "if I can hunt big wild game, I can kill anything" character who inevitably dies horribly.
When you don't get to see the evil too much, it terrorizes you throughout but you see it only towards the end.
The elderly kicking ass. Bubba Ho-Tep, The Rule of Jenny Pen, X (so to speak)
When the characters do research/ go talk to someone to learn lore about the entity they're up against to see how they can beat it.
Either straight slashers like Halloween or guess the killer like Scream. Not too big on excessive gore (blood is fine, but dont need to see organs pulled out). 😅
Scientists, explorers and other types fucking around with things they have no right to fuck around with and reaping terrifying, possibly Eldritch consequences.
Think Weyland Yutani or Umbrella Corp.
Definitely! The supernatural version of this is so much more satisfying to me. Talk To Me is a great example. Kept thinking "NO DAMMIT YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER DID NO ONE TELL Y'ALL ABOUT GHOSTS"
Similar to The Empty Man.
I have seen that advertised! I need better access to horror on streaming haha
Mine's the flip side of this, I love when there's a scientific investigation of something supernatural. If they get fucked up in the end that's fine too but I really like the "investigation" aspect. Like the point in a haunted house movie when people show up with thermal cameras and motion sensors and such. Bonus if they're scientists and not just "ghost hunters". Autopsy of Jane Doe and the beginning parts of Oculus scratch the itch, too.
I think that's why the original "The Exorcist" works - because they tried to rule out all reasonable diagnosable reasons for the disturbance before moving on to the supernatural. Whereas most newer exorcism movies immediately jump to "yep, that's the devil alright."
Oh yeah, love The Exorcist. It's also a brilliant way to amp up the tension without having to show too much of the "monster" of the movie. Every failed medical test brings us closer to the horrible truth and the final confrontation.
Its so effective. That desperation of a situation that is so fucked up that you'll just grab at anything that may help is scary enough, and then when its a legit possession it just elevates it that much more. I thought late night with the devil did a great job with that element too, with the James Randi character showing how easy it can be to manipulate a crowd to challenge the assertion that the girl is possessed.
John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness is a good one for this too.
First thing that popped up in my mind when I read this
Try The Atticus Institute. ESP researchers get more than they bargained for. Pretty decent low budget affair.
Edit: also Noroi: the Curse. A documentary filmmaker investigates creepy happenings.
THE FLY. Also adding Jurassic Park bc Jeff Goldblum lol
This is one of my favorites for sure
Relic (2020). I prefer the book.
As above so below