25 Dumbest Things People Do In Horror Movies

Posted by , Updated on March 24, 2024

Characters in horror movies often exhibit poor judgment, seemingly serving themselves up to murderers due to their foolish choices. Instead of making it easy for the killer, they should make him earn his victory. It’s incessantly annoying for the audience to witness senseless character deaths. Nevertheless, these characters repeatedly make illogical decisions. They seem to forget basic survival skills like running or choose to stay in haunted houses, behaving as if they are invincible until their eventual doom. One would wonder when they would ever wise up. We are earnestly hoping it would be sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, here are the 25 Most Illogical Actions Taken by Characters in Horror Movies.

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25

They give crazy people the benefit of the doubt.

crazy man with makeup

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.

dark

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.

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.

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.

peeking

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.

scary-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.

haunted

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.

voorhees

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.

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.

ouija board

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.

flashlight in dark

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.

14

They pick the spot without cell service.

no 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."

scream

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.

12

They keep the creepy object.

creepy doll

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.

fast 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.

saw

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.

doggie-door-in-big-door

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.

car

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.

zombie

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

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.

sound

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.

slip on leaves

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.

3

They play with a dangerous creature.

snake

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.

killer

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.

fork in the road

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 cliché, 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.



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