5 Best Timeless Tropes In Horror Movies (& 5 That Need To Die)

Even though horror movies are unique and each have their own plot and characters, there are a lot of tropes that many horror movies share. These tropes are so common among so many horror movies because, over the past several decades, they’ve been what has been proven to scare us. These tropes are mixed together in horror movies to create the most terrifying and suspenseful experience that filmmakers can create… Usually.

While most tropes are really scary and cool and can be used in unique ways, there are some that we’re just tired of. For every really awesome, well-used trope in a horror movie, there are at least a few that need to die faster than someone who goes to investigate a strange noise. They may have been scary the first few times we saw them, but it’s getting old.

10 Timeless: Found Footage Style

The found footage style of horror movies is truly terrifying. Although it became super famous with the release of The Blair Witch Project back in the late 1990s, it’s become a staple in the world of horror movies since then. It presents itself as amateur footage that one of the characters filmed.

Although this style of movie has been used in countless movies over the years, it’s one style of movie that we’re definitely not tired of yet. Movies like the Paranormal Activity franchise and Unfriended prove that filmmakers still know how to use this style of movie to terrify audiences.

9 Die: Running Up The Stairs

It’s time to kill off the “running up the stairs from the killer” scene from modern horror movies. Yes, it’s creepy. Yes, it gives the filmmakers a good reason to have the main character trip and fall and let the killer come closer to them without it seeming too contrived.

But at this point, we’ve seen enough characters stupidly run upstairs to try to escape the killer after them that it just doesn’t build the same kind of suspense anymore. Creepy stairways into a dark basement are still terrifying, but there’s nothing lamer than watching our main character screaming as they run up the stairs to try to hide.

8 Timeless: Constant, Lurking Evil

There are a lot of different things that make horror movies scary. Having the killer pop out from behind a door out of nowhere when the main character thought they were safe is creepy, sure. But, there’s a trope that builds even better suspense than having the character think they had finally gotten away.

Movies like It Follows, The Ring, and The Babadook build suspense throughout the movie by never giving the illusion that the characters are safe. This feeling that there’s constantly some kind of evil force, lurking behind every door and around every corner makes it hard to relax while watching the movie and causes us to grow more and more nervous with every scene.

7 Die: The Boyfriend Is The Killer

It was cool and surprising when Billy Loomis turned out to be Ghostface, but few movies have successfully pulled off this plot twist since Scream. Having the entire movie build Billy up as Sidney’s caring boyfriend, only to have him reveal that he and Stu were behind Ghostface all along was a terrifying turn of events.

Since then, there have been a lot of movies and TV shows that have tried to have similar reveals. Aside from Scream 4 twisting this trope with Jill’s attempt to frame her boyfriend and become the next Sidney Prescott, none of them have been particularly successful. Having a movie show off this cute, caring relationship between two characters only to have the boyfriend turn out to be evil is getting tired.

6 Timeless: Mirror Jumpscares

Although having mirror-based jump scares may be totally played out to some, we think this trope is one that is here to stay. Mirrors have been the source of a lot of superstition for a long time. From the idea that breaking a mirror brings bad luck, rituals like Bloody Mary, to the Victorian era tradition of using a mirror to see your future husband, mirrors have a long history of being used in creepy ways.

So, when movies like Oculus come out and the villain of the movie is a haunted mirror, we’re on board. Whether the movie is entirely based around a mysterious, possessed mirror or it’s simply a scene where someone appears in the mirror after the character shuts the medicine cabinet, this is one trope we’re into.

5 Die: Ancient, Elaborate Mythology (That’s Easy To Research)

Every horror movie has to have something scary about it. For some movies, it’s a serial killer on the loose that seems to be after the main character. For other movies, it’s a mysterious, ancient curse that wakes up at the beginning of the movie and the main character has to find out what it is and how to stop it before it’s too late.

Although these ancient, creepy curses that get placed on the main character can be creepy, we can’t deny that this trope is a little played out. It’s so un-creative and unrealistic to see the main character use a search engine, type in exactly what’s happening to them, and find a website that details every single detail about this obscure, elaborate mythology.

4 Timeless: Creepy Kids

A lot of horror movie villains are adults and monsters, but there are also a ton of horror movies that focus on creepy kids. From The Shining to Pet Sematary and The Sixth Sense, kids in horror movies definitely know how to be scary.

Kids in horror movies can either be the spooky villain that’s after the main character or characters, or they can simply be one of the innocent characters that seems to know way too much about what’s going on. Either way, the creepy children that appear in horror movies are definitely a trope we hope sticks around.

3 Die: No Cell Service

In every horror movie, it seems like the main character’s cell phone service is out right when they need to call someone. We’ll be screaming at the TV for them to call the police and when they finally listen and pull out their phone… No service.

We get that this builds suspense and the fact that it makes the main character somewhat helpless against the evil that’s after them is terrifying, it’s just not believable anymore. Modern cell phones are pretty reliable, unless the movie takes place in the middle of nowhere, the idea that they’ll just coincidentally lose service when they need it is tough to believe.

2 Timeless: The Final Girl

The “Final Girl” is a horror movie trope that has existed since about the 1970s. It’s the main character in many horror movies that survives to the end of the film after all her friends, classmates, and family members have been taken out by the villain of the film.

RELATED: The 10 Worst Horror Movies Of The Decade (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Notable examples of Final Girls in horror movies include Mari from The Last House on the Left, Sidney from Scream, and Tree from Happy Death Day. We love this trope because it’s always fun to see the main character come out on top and save herself from the killer… Even if they mysteriously get up and disappear, opening the film up for a sequel.

1 Die: Using Other Cultures For Creeps

This last trope that we’re tired of is one that can be pretty complicated. It can be used in a really successful way, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s one we want to see more of. Movies like Truth or Dare and The Grudge are undeniably eerie, this trope is still tired.

Using myths and legends from other cultures simply to scare the main characters is something that’s getting pretty old. Although we can’t deny that they’re definitely creepy and worth having a movie about them, why not set the movie in that country and cast people from there instead of simply using their stories for scares?

About The Author

Lacey Womack
(115 Articles Published)

Horror movie lover, number one believer that Stefan should’ve ended up with Elena, and aspiring future Sophia Petrillo. Still hasn’t forgotten about the time Russell Hantz set everyone’s socks on fire.

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