Top 30 Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for choices that were frighteningly bad. Since some of these decisions have an effect on the plot, there is a spoiler alert. What kind of dumb mistake would you make if you were in a horror movie? Let us know in the comments.
#30: Running Up the Stairs
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Various
When a character is chased by a killer in their own home, one common move is to run up the stairs. However, there are several problems with going up the stairs. For instance, once you go up, you have nowhere to go but down. While such activity may be good for cardio, it will leave you winded, and if you’re being chased by someone like Jason or Michael, you can’t afford to slow down or be out of breath. This trope was famously called out by Sidney Prescott before she had to resort to it.
#29: Robbing a Veteran
“Don’t Breathe” (2016)
A group of thieves decide to rob a blind veteran who got $300,000 as part of a settlement after losing his daughter in an accident. Karma aside, what’s really stupid about robbing a veteran is that there is a chance that he has a particular set of skills he learned during his service. When the idiots eventually break into the blind man’s house, they get a front-row seat to that set of skills. Once the blind man ends up killing Money, whose idea it was to rob this house, it’s hard to feel sorry for the home invader.
#28: Leaving the Rifle Next to the Killer
“Wolf Creek” (2005)
After freeing herself, Liz is able to shoot serial killer Mick Taylor in the neck, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. However, she squanders her luck by failing to take advantage of the situation by leaving the rifle near Mick’s unconscious body when she flees. Granted, the rifle was out of ammunition. So, Liz was unable to deliver a fatal headshot, but she didn’t have to make Mick’s job easier when he regained consciousness. She could have at least dropped the weapon somewhere else or used it more forcefully to bash Mick’s head in.
#27: Electronics
“It Follows” (2014)
What’s dumber than a teenager in a horror movie? A group of teenagers in a horror movie working out a plan. In “It Follows,” Jay is haunted by a supernatural entity that can stalk her at any time and kill her. To help her get rid of this entity, she and her friends come up with a plan where they try to lure the entity to a pool that Jay is in the middle of, which is surrounded at the edges by electronic appliances. The entity catches on quickly to the trap and tries to use the electronic appliances against Jay. In hindsight, this could’ve been better mapped out.
#26: Saying Candyman’s Name
Top 10 Dumbest Decisions in Horror Movies
“Candyman” (1992)
In the “Candyman” universe, saying Candyman’s name five times in front of the mirror summons the hooked figure, resulting in you being violently killed by the vengeful spirit. Some characters dismiss this urban legend as fiction and try the ritual out of curiosity or because they succumb to peer pressure. If it’s true, you die, but if it’s not, you get nothing. There’s no upside to saying Candyman’s name, so it’s the world’s dumbest risk. Is it worth getting gutted by Candyman so your peers don’t think you’re a chicken?
#25: Splitting Up
Various
You know the expression that there is safety in numbers? Apparently, that expression is lost on characters in horror movies. Whenever there’s a group of people that find themselves in a dangerous situation, their first instinct is often to split up rather than stick together. Chances are someone separates from the group to explore a mysterious noise, or the whole group separates to cover more ground when they explore an area. Oftentimes, whoever is stalking the group takes advantage of this decision by finishing off members of the group one by one.
#24: Opening the Puzzle Box
Another Top 10 Opening Scenes in Horror Movies
“Hellraiser” (1987)
Like “Candyman,” “Hellraiser” is a Clive Barker story where characters needlessly invite trouble by summoning malevolent spirits. In the first “Hellraiser” movie, Frank Cotton and his niece Kirsty both open the puzzle box and summon Cenobites for completely different reasons. Frank opens the boxes because he was looking for pleasures from another plane, only to be surprised when that meant an eternity of torture. Meanwhile, Kirsty solved the puzzle box because she liked puzzles, only to be horrified when that meant an eternity of torture. If you like puzzles, a sudoku or a crossword seems like a more sensible alternative than an ominous cube.
#23: Digging Up Jason
“Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives” (1986)
Obsession can make you do stupid things. As a child, Tommy Jarvis had a traumatic encounter with Jason Voorhees where he managed to kill the slasher. However, he was plagued by the feeling that Jason was still alive, so he brought a friend with him to dig up Jason’s corpse to make sure he was actually dead. When they got there, Jason was dead, but the masked murderer was revived because Tommy’s exhuming Jason’s corpse exposed him to lightning. As a result, Jason was able to continue his murderous rampage.
#22: Breaking into a Home of Supernatural Terrors
Top 10 Unanswered Questions in El Camino A Breaking Bad Movie
“Annabelle Comes Home” (2019)
Over the years, Ed and Lorraine Warren have collected cursed objects that have disturbing backstories. Given their reputation, anyone who visits their house should know better than to go into the cursed objects room without their permission. However, Daniela, a teenage friend of the Warrens’ daughter’s babysitter, goes in anyway because she wants to contact her dead father. And of course, if she’s dumb enough to go into the room without any safety considerations, she’s dumb enough to mess with all of the objects, including Annabelle. If you wanted to talk to your dead father, Ed and Lorraine Warren could probably have that arranged through a seance or something. These kinds of things are best left to the professionals.
#21: Going After the Dog
Top 10 Dumbest Decisions In Paranormal 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!
#20: Trusting the Scary Clown
“It” (2017)
Given the age of Bill’s little brother Georgie, we’ll cut him some slack. But still, come on. How could he think it was a good idea to interact with a clown that is in a storm drain? That obviously isn’t normal or natural, even to the most naive child. Georgie also mentions that his parents have warned him not to talk to strangers, so he knew better than to talk to Pennywise. Kids at that age are gullible, but it is a complete lapse of common sense for Georgie to stick his hand in the hopes that Pennywise would give that boat back.
#19: Upsetting The Spirit
Top 10 Movies Way Too Upsetting to Watch Twice
“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
Top 20 Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
“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: 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?
#16: Playing a Practical Joke During a Zombie Apocalypse
Top 10 Actors Who Won Oscars Playing Villains
“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.
#15: Reading From the Book
“Evil Dead” (2013)
Naturom Demonto. The Book of the Dead. Such words may not seem appropriate for someone trying to treat their substance use disorder. 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...
#14: Running in a Straight Line
Top 10 Running Out Of Time Movies
“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.
#13: 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.
#12: 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.
#11: Having Poor Security
Top 20 Stupidest Horror Movie Characters
“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.
#10: Entering an Unexplored Cave
“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.
#9: Going into the Pipe
Top 10 Dumbest Decisions by Horror Villains
“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 goes meta 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.
#8: Not Running to Safety
Top 20 Worst Decisions In Saw
“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.
#7: Putting Both Hands in the 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.
#6: 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.
#5: Have Crime 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: Watching 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: Releasing the Chimps
“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: Giving up Too Soon
“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.
#1: Keeping the Beaches Open
“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.
