Poll: Annoying Horror Movie Clichés

Results of 1,609 votes:

1. 1.
   

   Stefanianna Christopherson, Nicole Jaffe, Casey Kasem, Don Messick, and Frank Welker in Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (1969)

    

   Let's Split Up! It's always better to split up and cover more ground, but by doing so dwindles the numbers to make it easier for the killer.
2. 2.
   

   Friday the 13th (1980)

    

   The Killer Never Dies The movie is coming to an end, the killer is dead and everything is going back to normal....But Wait!! The screen pans to the wreckage where the killer is ALIIVVEEE!!!
3. 3.
   

   Michael Hall D'Addario in Sinister (2012)

    

   The Excessive Amount of Jump-scares, or Fake Jump-scares When there are just too many in one movie and the result is underwhelming horror. When something like a Jack in the Box jumps out at the prot…
4. 4.
   

   "Halloween" Tony Moran as Michael Myers

    

   They Don't Finish the Job The victim strikes a big blow to the killer that renders the killer unconscious, but the victim doesn't finish the job. This leaves the killer to rise again and prolongs the…
5. 5.
   

   Heather O'Rourke in Poltergeist (1982)

    

   The Kids Can See Spirits The adults believe that their child just has an imaginary friend, and realize too late that it was not the case.
6. 6.
   

   Kristen Connolly in The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

    

   The Victim's Inability to Stand Back Up When the victim falls over and can't get back up at once on the ground.
7. 7.
   

   Shannyn Sossamon, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Ray Wise in One Missed Call (2008)

    

   The Phone Never Works When the killer is on their tail the phone is always disconnected, dead, out of range, etc.
8. 8.
   

   Ryan Gosling in Drive (2011)

    

   The Car Never Starts There never is a quick getaway in tense situations.
9. 9.
   

   Odette Annable and Ethan Cutkosky in The Unborn (2009)

    

   The Mirror Scare At first there appears to be no one in the mirror, but once the character looks away and back again the monster reveals itself.
10. 10.
    

    Anna Hutchison in The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

     

    Nudity and Sex Will Get you Killed
11. 11.
    

    Maggie Grace in Taken (2008)

     

    Hiding Upstairs Instead of looking for the front door, the protagonist will run upstairs and hide in either the closet or under the bed.
12. 12.
    

    Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)

     

    Tension Rises But Turns Out Being Nothing The tempo increases and the protagonists thinks the killer is closing in, but ends up being the neighbor's cat or something else that is silly.
13. 13.
    

    Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Chris Hemsworth, and Kristen Connolly in The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

     

    The Stereotyped Characters Such as the Jock being the courageous one who wants to kill the monster alone, or the Blonde who is portrayed as dumb and sleeps around with the rest of the group.
14. 14.
    

    Scream 4 (2011)

     

    The Inconsistent Killer The main killer is the perfect assassin, very strong and can kill people with great technique, unless he is trying to attack the main protagonist and then he becomes unbelievab…
15. 15.
    

    Damon Wayans Jr. and Jake Johnson in Let's Be Cops (2014)

     

    The Police Always Arrive too Late Where are they when the victim needs them??
16. 16.
    

    George P. Wilbur in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

     

    The Speed Walking Killer No matter how fast the victim runs and how slow the killer follows, the victim can never get away.
17. 17.
    

    Drew Barrymore in Scream (1996)

     

    In Teen Horrors the Adults are Never Helpful
18. 18.
    

    Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)

     

    I'll be Back The dreaded last words of anyone who speaks them in a horror movie.
19. 19.
    

    Johnathon Schaech and Dana Davis in Prom Night (2008)

     

    Minority Characters Die Sooner Rather Than Later The old cliche was that the minority character was the first to die in a horror movie. Now typically they are not the first to go but the chances of ma…
20. 20.
    

    Ethan Hawke in Sinister (2012)

     

    Investigating in the Dark Typically someone in the group will go out in the dark with a flashlight, and see what was all the commotion. Of course there is not a single useful weapon accompanying him o…
21. 21.
    

    Gunnar Hansen in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

     

    Refusal to Get the Easy Kill Rarely do we see the killer use an actual gun to hunt down the victims. Instead we see them use bladed weapons that prolong the movie.
22. 22.
    

    #15

     

    Screaming for Help in a Secluded Area Whether it is while the victim is running (which would be hard on the lungs) or trapped where it is obvious no one will be able to hear them.
23. 23.
    

    Brittany Snow in Prom Night (2008)

     

    There is Always One Sound Even if the victim has picked the perfect hiding spot, there is a phone that goes off, or a creaky floor board that will give the killer the location of the victim.
24. 24.
    

    Richard Dean Anderson in MacGyver (1985)

     

    Being a Real MacGyver By the end of the movie the protagonist will have stopped being useless and has somehow built an elaborate trap to catch the killer.
25. 25.
    

    Keir Dullea and Olivia Hussey in Black Christmas (1974)

     

    Creepy Ominous Music You know when you hear the creepy tune something is about to go down, which usually ruins the tension.
26. 26.
    

    Jodelle Ferland and Radha Mitchell in Silent Hill (2006)

     

    Warnings in your Dream/Daydream of Future Events When the protagonist has a dream about their own demise or the death of someone close to them. They believe it as a warning and will try and convince e…
27. 27.
    

    Fred Gwynne in Pet Sematary (1989)

     

    Refusing the Elder's Warning The old strange man/woman that suddenly appears and tell the main character to be careful, usually with some scary old story about a place/person, of course, the hero thi…