People in horror movies are pretty dumb.
They practically hand themselves over on a silver platter with their asinine decision-making
skills.
They should at least try to make the killer work for it.
It frustrates the audience to no end watching each character die needlessly.
Yet, somehow, time and time again, they do stupid things.
From forgetting how to run to hanging out in haunted houses, people in horror movies
seem to think they're invincible until the end ultimately comes.
When will they ever learn?
We're hoping sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, I'm Mike with List25 and here are 25 Dumbest Things People Do In Horror
Movies.
25.
They give crazy people the benefit of the doubt.
- Most of the time, it's hard to know a stranger's true intentions.
It's easy to give people the benefit of the doubt.
In horror movies, though, people ignore all kinds of red flags about obviously shady characters.
When you see a creepy innkeeper with a lot of dead birds hanging on the hotel office
walls, it's probably best to walk away and drive a little further to the nearest Motel
6.
24.
They decide the dark is the best option.
- Look, sometimes you just can't get away from the dark especially when a horror movie
is involved.
But, why do people in horror movies decide the best option is the darkest room imaginable?
This is especially true when the monster, like in Lights Out, clearly can't go into
the light.
A general rule of thumb, monsters rarely like hanging out in the sun to get a tan.
Get out of the dark, fast.
23.
They go into dark, scary basements.
- There's really no intelligent reason for any person in a horror movie to go down into
a dark, scary basement.
Nothing good ever goes on in a basement.
Yet, time and time again, they come up with something and head on down into the abyss
carrying a flashlight or a lighter...like that's going to wade off the evil that wants
to kill them.
22.
They go to the nearest haunted house.
- You know the scene.
It's dark and dreary outside, and the main character parks in front of a house molded
by Satan himself.
They look around for a second as if nothing is wrong and proceed to go to the front door
like they aren't about to be brutally murdered.
Characters that go inside old, rickety haunted houses are begging to be killed.
21.
They watch someone get murdered.
- If in danger, the average person would either fight it or run like the wind.
But, in horror movies, some people stand there, usually hiding, while their friends are getting
murdered a few feet away.
Who actually does this?
No one.
It's called the fight-or-flight response, not the fight, flight, or stand there like
an idiot while your friend gets murdered response.
20.
They go into the woods.
- How many people in horror movies have died because they thought going into the woods
would be a good idea?
The answer is too many.
From going on a vacation in a secluded cabin in the woods to running down a clear path
but deciding the woods is safer, horror movie characters should never go into the woods.
Period.
19.
They live in a haunted house.
- For many horror movie characters, it's hard to know if their house is haunted.
Sometimes the house looks normal until doors start slamming and footprints are visible
on the floorboards.
But, why in the world do they stay in the house even after they have literal proof of
it being haunted?
If you have video evidence of a ghost, get out of the house as soon as possible before
it kills you.
In the meantime, go cash in that video.
It's worth millions.
18.
They encourage the killer to kill them.
- With so much stress, anxiety, and emotion swirling around the characters in a horror
movie, to some degree, it makes sense they might not be thinking too clearly.
In this case, the hero usually is so angry and desperate they scream at the murderer
to kill them.
It's seriously stupid.
The ax-wielding maniac's one job is to kill.
You don't need to encourage them.
17.
They follow the trail of blood.
- When a person in a horror movie sees a trail of blood, they usually do one of two things.
They scream at the top of their lungs or, like a dummy, they decide to follow it.
This is a no-brainer.
There's no pot-of-gold at the end of that bloody rainbow.
It's only a masked murdered wielding a machete and your friend's severed head.
16.
They make contact.
- Demons are by nature evil.
They aren't empathetic or friendly or wanting to play Monopoly surrounded by candles.
No, they want to mess with your head, torture you, and kill you.
Yet, for some reason, people in horror movies think the obvious decision is to dust off
the old Ouija board and make contact with grandma.
Except, it turns out whatever is on the other end isn't grandma; it's a soul-sucking demon.
15.
They hear a sound and investigate.
- In horror movies, ominous sounds are the oldest trick in the book.
The subtle creak of a floorboard or the thump in the attic makes for great suspense and
mystery.
Most people, if they hear a sound somewhere, will usually just shrug it off and go about
their business.
People in horror movies don't do this.
They, like total idiots, play Scooby-Doo and investigate the noise, usually in the dark
with a flashlight.
Plus, nine times out of ten, they call out, "Hello?" giving away their location and allowing
the murderer easy access.
Hello? Hello?
14.
They pick the spot without cell service.
- It's the usual setup.
Teenagers want to get away from their parents on a vacation with their friends, but unlike
most teenagers who would rather die than not have 4G LTE at the cabin in the woods, the
teenagers in a horror movie pick the spot with no cell service at all.
13.
They say the words, "I'll be right back."
- Made famous in the movie Scream as one of the "rules" to survive a horror movie, saying
the classic phrase, "I'll be right back" will end up getting you killed.
If a character in a horror movie warns other characters about things not to do in a horror
movie, and those characters do it anyway, then yeah they're pretty stupid.
I'll be right back
12.
They keep the creepy object.
- Most people in horror movies don't believe in the supernatural.
So, when they find a creepy doll or an ancient box or a tome covered in cobwebs, they don't
think twice about keeping it.
They just keep it, and that's the dumbest decision they ever make.
Don't keep creepy things.
They only lead to trouble.
11.
They drive a bad car.
- Main characters in horror movies always end up buying the worst car imaginable.
So, when they take that big road trip, the car unsurprisingly breaks down in the middle
of nowhere.
They don't think to take the car to the mechanic beforehand to get a tune-up or, you know,
trade it in for a better car.
10.
They don't use all the tools at their disposal.
- Too often, people in horror movies are empty-handed, facing off against an evil being, while there
are a slew of tools surround them.
Tools they could use to buy time, defend themselves, or in the case of the movie Saw, use the hacksaw
to reach the keys in the middle of the room rather than cutting off a hand.
9.
They get trapped in the dumbest place.
- Even when a person has the masked murder on the ropes and could easily either get away
or stop them entirely, they decide instead to run to the dumbest place imaginable and
end up getting stuck.
In the meantime, the villain kills them without hesitation.
The doggie door death in Scream is a prime example.
8.
They don't check the backseat.
- If a bad guy is ever going to hide out someplace in a car, it's always going to be in the darkest
part of the back seat.
Always.
Yet, like a moth to a flame, characters in horror movies hop into the driver's seat of
a car without thinking twice about checking the backseat.
7.
They hide the zombie bite.
- In every zombie movie, at some point, a member of the group gets bit by one of the
undead.
Of course, they have a couple of choices, but of those choices, not telling the group
should never be one of them.
Instead of letting everyone else know about it like a self-respecting human being, they
hide it like an idiot, effectively becoming a ticking time bomb.
It only becomes a matter of time before someone else gets hurt.
6.
They hide in an obvious location.
- Hiding in bathrooms, closets, or under beds are all terribly obvious places to hide from
a crazed killer.
Still, somehow people in horror movies figure those places are the best spots to hide.
Do they think the killers are stupid?
If they're going to hide somewhere, make it a spot the killer doesn't know about.
5.
They make a sound a few feet away from the killer.
- So, the main character finds a great hiding spot in a crawl space in the closet with a
secret door the killer would never suspect.
They're almost home free.
The psycho killer is a few feet away, and right before the killer leaves, they make
a sound.
Maybe its a cough, whimper, or they move their foot wrong.
Whatever it is, they're stupid.
4.
They trip over everything.
- Chances are, in any other circumstance, if a character in a horror movie needed to
run a marathon, they could do it without a single problem.
But, once they have to run away from the chainsaw-wielding masked man behind them, they're tripping over
every twig and stone on the lawn.
Maybe they just all went to the Prometheus school of running away from things.
3.
They play with a dangerous creature.
- This happens a little too often in science fiction horror movies like Alien or Prometheus.
A curious scientist finds a mysterious creature and rather than taking a step back and getting
out of there, they move in closer.
In Prometheus especially, a character plays with a cobra-like alien like it's a harmless
worm until he meets his ultimate demise.
2.
They actually believe the killer is dead.
- A killer rarely ever dies the first time the characters kill him.
Still, that never stops them from believing they're dead anyway.
Just because you shot him and he's laying on the ground, doesn't mean he won't get up
and come for you.
Usually, it's a moment of relief for the characters as they hug.
That is until the killer rises like a vampire in the background.
1.
They split up.
- Of all the dumb things people do in horror movies, splitting up is hands down the dumbest.
At this point in horror movie history, it's a tired clichÃ©, and characters rarely do
it anymore.
Still, splitting up a group to go off alone makes no sense any way you shake it.
You're always stronger together rather than apart.
So what's your favorite horror movie?
Let us know in the comments below, or tweet it to us @List25.