Common Horror Movie Tropes That Are Overused
Horror movies often rely on well-worn tropes to create suspense and fear. While these can work in the right hands, the repetition of overused horror movie cliches can take the edge off the fright factor. In this article, we will explore some of the most common and wearisome horror tropes that filmmakers tend to gravitate towards, and examine why they are tired of them.
Immediate Scare Tactics
The famous trope of someone sneaking up on a character, usually with no warning, only to touch them from behind or scare them without any verbal communication is perhaps one of the most cliché. For example, in The Descent, a character is impaled by a fellow survivor after assuming she was one of the creatures, showing a disregard for the need for communication in a survival situation.
Similarly, characters being unclear in their logic or sense never fail to frustrate audiences. Examples range from tripping (often for the sake of a cheap scare) to delivering a grimdark or grimderp plotline simply by overshooting in the darkness.
Characterization and Aesops
Introducing the “Draco in Leather Pants” and “Ron the Death Eater” tropes, where antagonists are glorified and protagonists are demonized, is a tired way of adding depth to the horror. Likewise, the “slut/jock dies first” and “couple dies first” tropes have exhausted their novelty. The repetition of the Aesop that “humans are inherently evil” is another overused theme in horror films.
Unoriginal Plots and Scenes
The And Then There Were None plotline, while a staple of the horror genre, has run its course, with audiences wanting fresh and interesting takes on the concept.
The failure of main characters to exhibit good sense, such as attempting dangerous actions without proper caution, adds to the frustration without enhancing the fear factor. For example, the scene in Unforgiven where Clint Eastwood walks into a room filled with unspeakably dangerous characters without aiming his gun is a classic but now repetitive trope.
Ineffective Gun Usage and Underwhelming Violence
Often, characters in horror movies fire their pistols without taking aim, leading to comical situations where no one is hit. Alternatively, characters using weapons with limited ammo (typically 8 rounds) and firing twice as much is a hilarious, if not horrifying, cliché. Kids watching these scenes might internalize a false sense of security regarding violent confrontations.
Moreover, the portrayal of fights where seemingly fatal injuries are disregarded, leading to unexpected and over-the-top outcomes, does little to enhance the horror and more to undermine the realism. For instance, a character getting beaten to the ground but somehow still standing and winning against the supposed victor is a tiresome and unrealistic cliché.
Horror movies should strive to break free from these repetitive and overused tropes. Filmmakers who can innovate and find fresh ways to scare and engage their audiences will undoubtedly stand out in a genre already brimming with cliches.