Top 20 Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
#20: Going After the Dog
Top 10 Dumbest Decisions in Horror Movies
“Dawn of the Dead” (2004) As an act of goodwill, a group of survivors sent over a dog with supplies to a man stranded in a nearby building. However, when the plan fell through and the dog appeared to be in trouble, one member of the group, Nicole, the dog’s owner, decided to go after the canine. This reckless act not only resulted in the group losing the safety of their compound against the zombies but also resulted in several members of the group dying. Now we get that dogs are man’s best friend, but even the biggest dog person has to admit that it isn’t sensible or ethical to let the concerns of one dog endanger one or more human beings. Plus, the zombies don’t even seem to be into the dogs anyway, making the whole sacrifice pointless as well as dumb!
#19: Upsetting the Spirit
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“Paranormal Activity” (2007) When his girlfriend Katie became possessed by a demon, Micah decided to just make things worse any way he could. He flippantly documented everything with a camera, and wouldn’t stop even when Katie asked him to do so. Among major sacrileges Micah committed were consulting an ouija board, which for anyone who’s seen “The Exorcist,” is a major no-no when it comes to dealing with evil spirits, and throwing a cross into a fire. His confrontational attitude and unwillingness to be helpful and supportive eventually led to Micah’s death, which at first viewing may have seemed shocking, but looking back probably shouldn’t have been.
#18: Being a Jerk
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“Midsommar” (2019) Mark tagged along with his friends to a Swedish festival that takes place every 90 years. Rather than treat the locals with respect, he acted inconsiderately and urinated on a tree that was sacred to the people celebrating the festival. This turned out to be a huge mistake as the locals were part of a death cult, and they exacted revenge on Mark for his insolence. Unfortunately for Mark, he was too thick-headed to put all the pieces together, which led to his doom. The moral of the story is to always be nice to strangers because you never know if they’re actually nutjobs who would skin you alive.
#17: Running in a Straight Line
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“Prometheus” (2012) In this sci-fi horror film, a spacecraft that had been crashed into was sent rolling after two people who decided to keep running in the same direction the ship was spinning. At any point, they could have turned a different direction and avoided the ship, like literally any other direction. But no, they decided to keep going in front of the ship and risk getting crushed in the giant vehicle’s path. One of the two caught on and did the obvious, while the other just whimpered and was crushed rather than apply common sense.
#16: Throwing the Map in the River
“The Blair Witch Project” (1999) Mike admitted to committing this horrible act to his fellow film crew after spending days going in circles in the woods. Now it’s heavily implied in the movie that the Blair Witch has cursed the woods and that was why the three couldn’t escape, but Mike didn’t know that for sure. He just assumed the map couldn’t lead them out of the woods and chucked it without consulting the others, which was incredibly selfish and self-destructive. If Heather or Josh had cut ties with Mike right then and there, would anyone have blamed them?
#15: Playing a Practical Joke During a Zombie Apocalypse
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“Zombieland” (2009) During a zombie apocalypse, Bill Murray disguises himself as the undead to blend in. While that’s a clever move, Murray probably should’ve thought twice about approaching other survivors in zombie makeup. We mean, the group was armed and could easily attack him in self-defense without checking to see whether he was a zombie. Even after Wichita hits him with a golf club, Murray unwisely decides to give Columbus a scare and gets shot in the process. We suppose a comedian like Bill Murray would probably think that life isn't worth living if you can't pull dangerous pranks during an apocalypse. Still, “Garfield” should only be his second biggest regret.
#14: Driving Under the Influence
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“Hereditary” (2018) Let’s start off by saying that it probably isn’t a bright idea to take your kid sister to a house party. This is especially true if she has food allergies and you plan on ditching her to do drugs with your friends. However, Peter decided to go through with this because he lied to his mom about going to a school-related activity, and she made him take his sister along. Because of his irresponsibility, Peter’s sister had an allergic reaction to food at the party, and Peter decided to drive her to the hospital even though he was high. He didn’t even have the decency to call for an ambulance. But we guess it’s nothing to lose your head over.
#13: Drugs or Demons?
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“Evil Dead” (2013) Naturom Demonto. The Book of the Dead. Such words may not seem appropriate for someone battling a heroin addiction in the woods. But in Fede Alvarez’s supposedly “fresh” installment of the classic series, Eric makes the conscious decision to study a flesh-bound book, which also happens to be written in blood. Spoiler Alert: Mia soon has more to worry about than drugs though, all thanks to Eric and his dim-witted curiosity. Here’s hoping you never find yourself in a situation where you have to choose between “Naturom Demonto” and illicit substances...
#12: Hoarding What You Shouldn’t
“The Return of the Living Dead” (1985) In this film, canisters of toxic gas that could turn cadavers into zombies were stored in the basement of a medical warehouse. To show off, Frank took his new employee down to see the toxic gas, which supposedly served as the inspiration for “Night of the Living Dead.” Despite not knowing how stable the canisters were, Frank decided to pat one of them. This released toxic gas that started a zombie outbreak. If your workplace is full of gas that can cause corpses to turn into zombies, maybe you shouldn’t disturb them.
#11: Going into the Pipe
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“Jeepers Creepers” (2001) In the middle of a road trip, a brother and sister came across an aggressive hothead who had a bad case of road rage. After following the mysterious man, the two witness him drop a body into a pipe. Rather than do the sensible thing and call the police, the brother, Darry, decided it was a good idea to take matters into his own hands and explore what was in the pipe. How bad was this decision? Darry’s sister breaks the fourth wall to explicitly warn him that this was like something out of a horror movie. This failure to recognize obvious red flags ended up sealing Darry’s fate.
#10: All That Work...
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“The Cabin in the Woods” (2011) Despite the brilliance of the narrative itself, this cinematic collaboration from Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard has one major flaw that can’t be ignored. As the orchestrators of a plan to appease the Gods watch a contrived narrative unfold, Marty and Dana manage to survive the ritualistic mayhem and find themselves in a secret elevator. While it may seem like a tough predicament, they manage to pick the lock, so to speak – thus unleashing the monsters all over the surprised staff. Hmmm... all that work, but still a flawed security system. Of course, you also have Curt’s questionable motorcycle jump. But in a way, that one makes a bit more sense.
#9: Not Hanging Up & Calling the Police
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“Scream” (1996) By now, we can look back at this scene and laugh, considering we know the franchise as a whole. Still, it’s a perfect example of how poor decision-making can make any mild-mannered viewer foam from the mouth, whether inside the movie theatre or at home. As Wes Craven’s iconic film starts, Casey Becker gets a naughty phone call. But no matter what the person on the other side says, she can’t manage to hang up the damn phone and call the cops. You gotta hand it to Drew Barrymore for such an honest performance, even if her character is a few apples short of a bushel.
#8: Totally Not an Unexplored Cave
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“The Descent” (2005) Considering what happens to Sarah’s family in the opening events of “The Descent”, you’d think that Juno might’ve learned a lesson when it comes to future outdoor excursions: safety first. But these are the movies, and if you’re going to take your loved ones spelunking, you go big or go home. Of course, Juno didn’t exactly tell anybody the truth regarding the unexplored cave system. So naturally, they were all kinds of screwed and left to battle some deeply annoying creatures known as “The Crawlers.” And you know what happens next.
#7: Run, Helen, Run
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“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997) When you’re being chased by a dark figure with a massive hook – and they appear to be quite efficient in their ways – the best course of action is always to keep moving. You know, running AWAY from certain death. However, in “I Know What You Did Last Summer”, the beautiful Helen Shivers finds herself distracted by a marching band and obvious safety. However, she inexplicably stops, and not to check her phone. And that’s how she gets herself killed. Now, that’s why people scream at inanimate objects in public.
#6: Hands in a Box
“Saw II” (2005) For round 2 of Jigsaw’s devious game of murder, he threatens slow and nasty deaths. But like a true gentleman, he informs the victims that antidotes can be found around the pad. Well, once Addison reaches a glass box, she’s not quite as composed as she’d like to be. If she would’ve just processed the situation properly – rather than sticking not one, but BOTH hands in the box – she might’ve noticed the key lying just a few inches away. Not a sharp move, Addy – kind of like Lawrence cutting off his damn foot in the original “Saw” rather than using his shirt to get the phone.
#5: Have Crime Be Legal for One Night
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“The Purge” franchise (2013-) While the idea behind The Purge sounds like an interesting thought experiment, it's a bad idea that should be scrapped immediately after consideration. Once you start to think about the logistics of carrying out such a concept, the more it starts to fall apart. Even if it boosted economic productivity and brought down unemployment, the human cost would outweigh any economic benefit from The Purge. Each movie shows different problems that come from The Purge, not only on the poor and marginalized communities, but also everyone else.
#4: Watch a Videotape You Know Is Haunted
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“The Ring” (2002) If “Scream” made people laugh and cry, this American remake of a classic Japanese horror film made viewers melt down in public and dribble a little bit of pee down their leg. At the heart of “The Ring” is “the tape,” a disturbing recording that characters have been warned NOT to watch because it will KILL them. And just like how nobody can turn away from a trainwreck, the characters of the film naturally just have to know what the F is going on with the tape – as if they actually knew that a creepy girl would crawl out of the TV and drag them to hell. But alas, that’s what happened. The moral of this story: maybe don’t push play and just go to the gym or something.
#3: Rage Against the Machine
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“28 Days Later” (2002) Kind of like climate change, some people just refuse to believe scientists. Despite warnings from one in the opening minutes of the zombie flick “28 Days Later”, a group of activists make a supremely idiotic decision! The chimps essentially rage against the machine, and they rage hard, giving the film its title and making viewers hate those animal activists – as if PETA wasn't already having a hard enough time as it is. They really ruined it for everybody and even managed to infect us with anger.
#2: Did I Do That?
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“The Mist” (2007) In perhaps one of the most agonizing moments in modern cinema, a man comes to the proverbial crossroads after “The Mist” wreaks havoc, yet this path of escapism involves death for his entire crew. Being the upstanding citizen that he is, David Drayton executes a mass act of what he considers as mercy, sparing himself only because he ran out of bullets. But surprise! The war is over, as the U.S. Army rolls up and inadvertently delivers the knockout punch to ol’ Davey’s very soul. Now that’s what you call some bad timing and certainly a blow to the senses. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Running up the Stairs, Various Even Sidney Prescott Fell for This Cliché Splitting Up, Various This Strategy Makes It Easy to Divide & Conquer Going into the Warrens’ Room of Cursed Artifacts Alone, “Annabelle Comes Home” (2019) This Is the Last Room Anyone Should Go In Trusting the Scary Clown, “It” (2017) The Fact the Clown Was in a Sewer Should;ve Been Your 1st Clue Something Was Wrong
#1: Municipal Mismanagement
“Jaws” (1975) When the remains of a dead body are found on shore, Mayor Larry Vaughn doesn’t balk under pressure from local authorities. Rather, he stands tall in the name of the almighty dollar, even if people later describe ginormous teeth in the wrecked hulls of boats. And so the smug politician DOESN’T close the beach – after all, they caught the culprit in question, right? Well, no, they didn’t. Some people in horror movies screw only themselves with dumbass decisions, but in “Jaws,” one prideful man just couldn’t pay attention to the obvious facts and made everybody feel the wrath of a great white shark.
