Top 20 Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Here are some of the worst choices made by characters in horror films that had deadly consequences:
1. **“Dawn of the Dead” (2004)** - The decision to leave the safety of the mall and attempt to escape on a boat led to chaos and death for many characters. Staying put might have been the safer option.
2. **“Saw II” (2005)** - The characters' failure to work together and follow Jigsaw's instructions resulted in several unnecessary deaths. Their mistrust and refusal to cooperate sealed their fates.
3. **“Hereditary” (2018)** - Annie's decision to participate in a seance to communicate with her dead daughter brought malevolent supernatural forces into her home, leading to a series of horrifying events.
4. **“The Purge” (2013)** - James Sandin's decision to let a stranger into his fortified home during the Purge exposed his family to extreme danger from the outside attackers.
5. **“28 Days Later” (2002)** - Jim’s decision to walk into an abandoned church and shout, "Hello?" alerted the infected to his presence, putting him in immediate danger.
6. **“Scream” (1996)** - Tatum's decision to attempt to escape through a pet door in the garage while being chased by Ghostface was not only impractical but also led to her brutal death.
7. **“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)** - Glen falling asleep while on watch, despite knowing Freddy Krueger attacks in dreams, resulted in his violent and iconic death.
8. **“Cabin in the Woods” (2012)** - The characters' decision to read from an ancient book in the basement, despite numerous warnings, unleashed a series of deadly supernatural events.
9. **“The Mist” (2007)** - David's decision to prematurely end the lives of his companions to spare them from the horrors outside, only to be rescued moments later, was a heart-wrenching and tragic mistake.
10. **“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)** - The characters' repeated decisions to ignore the signs and continue deeper into the woods, despite their growing fear and disorientation, led them directly into danger.
What do you think was the dumbest decision ever made by a horror movie character? Let us know in the comments!
1. **“Dawn of the Dead” (2004)** - The decision to leave the safety of the mall and attempt to escape on a boat led to chaos and death for many characters. Staying put might have been the safer option.
2. **“Saw II” (2005)** - The characters' failure to work together and follow Jigsaw's instructions resulted in several unnecessary deaths. Their mistrust and refusal to cooperate sealed their fates.
3. **“Hereditary” (2018)** - Annie's decision to participate in a seance to communicate with her dead daughter brought malevolent supernatural forces into her home, leading to a series of horrifying events.
4. **“The Purge” (2013)** - James Sandin's decision to let a stranger into his fortified home during the Purge exposed his family to extreme danger from the outside attackers.
5. **“28 Days Later” (2002)** - Jim’s decision to walk into an abandoned church and shout, "Hello?" alerted the infected to his presence, putting him in immediate danger.
6. **“Scream” (1996)** - Tatum's decision to attempt to escape through a pet door in the garage while being chased by Ghostface was not only impractical but also led to her brutal death.
7. **“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)** - Glen falling asleep while on watch, despite knowing Freddy Krueger attacks in dreams, resulted in his violent and iconic death.
8. **“Cabin in the Woods” (2012)** - The characters' decision to read from an ancient book in the basement, despite numerous warnings, unleashed a series of deadly supernatural events.
9. **“The Mist” (2007)** - David's decision to prematurely end the lives of his companions to spare them from the horrors outside, only to be rescued moments later, was a heart-wrenching and tragic mistake.
10. **“The Blair Witch Project” (1999)** - The characters' repeated decisions to ignore the signs and continue deeper into the woods, despite their growing fear and disorientation, led them directly into danger.
What do you think was the dumbest decision ever made by a horror movie character? Let us know in the comments!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00You know the part in scary movies where somebody does something really stupid and everybody
00:04hates them for it?
00:06This is it.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the Top 20 Dumbest Decisions
00:12in Horror Movies.
00:13There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror
00:18movie.
00:19This is my bad.
00:20I was never a very good practical joker.
00:24This isn't right.
00:25We should split up.
00:26We can cover more ground that way.
00:29Yeah.
00:32Yeah, good idea.
00:34Really?
00:35For this list, we're looking at all the worst choices made by characters in horror
00:39films.
00:40Since most of these decisions have an effect on the plot, there is a spoiler warning now
00:44in effect.
00:45What do you think was the dumbest decision ever made by a horror movie character?
00:50Let us know in the comments.
00:53Number 20.
00:54Going after the dog.
00:55Dawn of the Dead.
00:56Stop!
00:57It's hurting him!
00:58Look at me, Nicole.
00:59They're not interested in him.
01:00I promise.
01:01Look at me.
01:02They want us.
01:03Okay.
01:04As an act of goodwill, a group of survivors sent over a dog with supplies to a man stranded
01:07in a nearby building.
01:09However, when the plan fell through and the dog appeared to be in trouble, one member
01:13of the group, Nicole, the dog's owner, decided to go after the canine.
01:19This reckless act not only resulted in the group losing the safety of their compound
01:23against the zombies, but also resulted in several members of the group dying.
01:28Now, we get that dogs are man's best friend, but even the biggest dog person has to admit
01:33that this isn't sensible or ethical to let the concerns of one dog endanger one or more
01:39human beings.
01:40Plus, the zombies didn't even seem to be into the dogs anyway, making the whole sacrifice
01:45pointless as well as dumb.
01:48Number 19.
01:49Upsetting the spirit.
01:52Paranormal activity.
01:53When his girlfriend Katie became possessed by a demon, Mika decided to just make things
01:58worse any way he could.
01:59He flippantly documented everything with a camera, and wouldn't stop even when Katie
02:04asked him to do so.
02:05No, you haven't been having any progress, and you're not in control.
02:09It is in control, and if you think you're in control, then you're being an idiot.
02:12Among major sacrileges Mika committed were consulting a Ouija board, which, for anyone
02:17who's seen The Exorcist, is a major no-no when it comes to dealing with evil spirits
02:23and throwing a cross into a fire.
02:25His confrontational attitude and unwillingness to be helpful and supportive eventually led
02:30to Mika's death, which at first viewing may have seemed shocking, but looking back, probably
02:36shouldn't have been.
02:41Number 18.
02:42Being a jerk.
02:44Midsommar.
02:45Mark tagged along with his friends to a Swedish festival that takes place every 90 years.
02:50Rather than treat the locals with respect, he acted inconsiderately and urinated on a
02:55tree that was sacred to the people celebrating the festival.
03:06This turned out to be a huge mistake, as the locals were part of a death cult, and they
03:11exacted revenge on Mark for his insolence.
03:14Unfortunately for Mark, he was too thick-headed to put all the pieces together, which led
03:19to his doom.
03:23The moral of the story is to always be nice to strangers, because you never know if they're
03:28actually nutjobs who would skin you alive.
03:31Number 17.
03:32Running in a straight line.
03:34Prometheus.
03:35In this sci-fi horror film, a spacecraft that has been crashed into was sent rolling after
03:40two people who decided to keep running in the same direction the ship was spinning.
03:46At any point, they could have turned a different direction and avoided the ship, like literally
03:51any other direction.
03:52But no.
03:53They decided to keep going in front of the ship and risk getting crushed in the giant
03:57vehicle's path.
03:58One of the two caught on and did the obvious, while the other just whimpered and was crushed
04:03rather than apply common sense.
04:15Number 16.
04:16Throwing the map in the river.
04:18The Blair Witch Project.
04:20Mike admitted to committing this horrible act to his fellow film crew after spending
04:25days going in circles in the woods.
04:27Now, it's heavily implied in the movie that the Blair Witch has cursed the woods and that
04:33was why the three couldn't escape, but Mike didn't know that for sure.
04:37He just assumed the map couldn't lead them out of the woods and chucked it without consulting
04:41the others, which was incredibly selfish and self-destructive.
04:50If Heather or Josh had cut ties with Mike right there and then, would anyone have blamed
04:54them?
04:55Number 15.
04:56Playing a practical joke during a zombie apocalypse.
05:00Zombieland.
05:01During a zombie apocalypse, Bill Murray disguises himself as the undead to blend in.
05:06While that's a clever move, Murray probably should have thought twice about approaching
05:11other survivors in zombie makeup.
05:13We mean, the group was armed and could easily attack him in self-defense without checking
05:18to see whether he was a zombie.
05:28Even after Wichita hits him with a golf club, Murray unwisely decides to give Columbus a
05:33scare and gets shot in the process.
05:39We suppose a comedian like Bill Murray would probably think that life isn't worth living
05:43if you can't pull dangerous pranks during an apocalypse.
05:46Still, Garfield should only be his second biggest regret.
05:56Number 14.
05:58Driving under the influence.
06:00Hereditary.
06:01Let's start off by saying that it probably isn't a bright idea to take your kid sister
06:06to a house party.
06:07This is especially true if she has food allergies, and you plan on ditching her to do drugs with
06:12your friends.
06:13However, Peter decided to go through with this because he lied to his mum about going
06:18to a school-related activity, and she made him take his sister along.
06:22Because of his irresponsibility, Peter's sister had an allergic reaction to the food at the
06:27party, and Peter decided to drive her to the hospital even though he was high.
06:32He didn't even have the decency to call for an ambulance.
06:35We guess it's nothing to lose your head over.
06:41Number 13.
06:42Reading from the book.
06:44Evil dead.
06:45Naturum Demonto.
06:46Naturum Demonto.
06:47The Book of the Dead.
06:52Such words may not seem appropriate for someone battling a heroin addiction in the woods,
06:57but in Fede Alvarez's supposedly fresh instalment on the classic series, Eric made the conscious
07:03decision to study a flesh-bound book which also happens to be written in blood.
07:23Spoiler alert, Mia soon has more to worry about than drugs though, all thanks to Eric
07:28and his dim-witted curiosity.
07:30Here's hoping you never find yourself in a situation where you have to choose between
07:34Naturum Demonto and illicit substances.
07:39Number 12.
07:40Hoarding what you shouldn't.
07:42The Return of the Living Dead.
07:47In this film, canisters of toxic gas that could turn cadavers into zombies were stored
07:52in the basement of a medical warehouse.
07:55To show off, Frank took his new employee down to see the toxic gas, which supposedly
08:00served as the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead.
08:10Despite not knowing how stable the canisters were, Frank decided to pat one of them.
08:15This released toxic gas that started a zombie outbreak.
08:18If your workplace is full of gas that can cause corpses to turn into zombies, maybe
08:23you shouldn't disturb them.
08:25Number 11.
08:26Going into the Pipe.
08:28Jeepers Creepers.
08:29In the middle of a road trip, a brother and sister came across an aggressive hothead who
08:34had a bad case of road rage.
08:41After following the mysterious man, the two witness him drop a body into a pipe.
08:45Rather than do the sensible thing and call the police, the brother, Darry, decided it
08:50was a good idea to take matters into his own hands and explore what was in the pipe.
09:00How bad was this decision?
09:02Darry's sister goes meta to explicitly warn him that this was like something out of a
09:07horror movie.
09:08This failure to recognize obvious red flags ended up sealing Darry's fate.
09:20Number 10.
09:21Having Poor Security.
09:22The Cabin in the Woods.
09:25Despite the brilliance of the narrative itself, this cinematic collaboration from Joss Whedon
09:30and Drew Goddard has one major flaw that can't be ignored.
09:35As the orchestrators of a plan to appease the gods watch a contrived narrative unfold,
09:40Marty and Dana manage to survive the ritualistic mayhem and find themselves in a secret elevator.
09:46I think I can get it to go down.
09:50Do we want to go down?
09:52While it may seem like a tough predicament, they manage to pick the lock, so to speak,
09:57thus unleashing the monsters all over the surprised staff.
10:03Hmm, all that work, but still a flawed security system.
10:09Of course, you also have Kurt's questionable motorcycle jump, but in a way, that one makes
10:15a bit more sense.
10:24Number 9.
10:25Not Hanging Up and Calling the Police.
10:27Scream.
10:28By now, we can look back at this scene and laugh, considering we know the franchise as
10:33a whole.
10:34Still, it's a perfect example of how poor decision-making can make any mild-mannered
10:38viewer foam from the mouth, whether inside the movie theatre or at home.
10:43As Wes Craven's iconic film starts, Casey Becker gets a naughty phone call.
10:49But no matter what the person on the other side says, she can't manage to hang up the
10:52damn phone and call the cops.
10:56You gotta hand it to Drew Barrymore for such an honest performance, even if her character
11:08is a few apples short of a bushel.
11:17Number 8.
11:18Entering an Unexplored Cave.
11:20The Descent.
11:23Considering what happens to Sarah's family in the opening events of The Descent, you'd
11:26think that Juno might have learned a lesson when it comes to future outdoor excursions.
11:32Safety first.
11:39But these are the movies, and if you're going to take your loved ones flunking, you go big
11:44or go home.
11:46Of course, Juno didn't exactly tell anybody the truth regarding the unexplored cave system.
11:52So naturally, they were all kinds of screwed and left to battle some deeply annoying creatures
11:58known as the Crawlers.
12:00And you know what happens next.
12:08Number 7.
12:09Not Running to Safety.
12:10I know what you did last summer.
12:13When you're being chased by a dark figure with a massive hook, and they appear to be
12:17quite efficient in their ways, the best course of action is always to keep moving.
12:22You know, running away from certain death.
12:25However, in I Know What You Did Last Summer, the beautiful Helen Shivers finds herself
12:30distracted by a marching band and obvious safety.
12:34However, she inexplicably stops, and not to check her phone.
12:39And that's how she gets herself killed.
12:41Now that's why people scream at inanimate objects in public.
12:50Number 6.
12:51Putting Both Hands in the Box.
12:54Saw 2.
12:55For round two of Jigsaw's devious game of murder, he threatens slow and nasty deaths.
13:01But like a true gentleman, he informs the victims that antidotes can be found around
13:07Well, once Addison reaches a glass box, she's not quite as composed as she'd like to be.
13:24If she would have just processed the situation properly, rather than sticking not one, but
13:29both hands in the box, she might have noticed the key lying just a few inches away.
13:37Not a sharp move, Addy.
13:40Kind of like Lawrence cutting off his damn foot in the original Saw, rather than using
13:44his shirt to get the phone.
13:51Number 5.
13:52Let Crime Be Legal For One Night.
13:54The Purge franchise.
13:55Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous
14:02hours.
14:03While the idea behind The Purge sounds like an interesting thought experiment, it's a
14:07bad idea that should be scrapped immediately after consideration.
14:12Once you start to think about the logistics of carrying out such a concept, the more it
14:16starts to fall apart.
14:18Even if it boosted economic productivity and brought down unemployment, the human cost
14:23would outweigh any economic benefit from The Purge.
14:36Each movie shows different problems that come from The Purge, not only on the poor and marginalized
14:41communities, but also everyone else.
14:45Number 4.
14:46Watching a Videotape You Know Is Haunted.
14:48The Ring.
14:49If Scream made people laugh and cry, this American remake of a classic Japanese horror
14:57film made viewers melt down in public and dribble a little bit of pee down their leg.
15:05At the heart of The Ring is The Tape, a disturbing recording that characters have been warned
15:13not to watch because it will kill them.
15:16And just like how nobody can turn away from a train wreck, the characters of the film
15:21naturally just have to know what the F is going on with the tape, as if they actually
15:26knew that a creepy girl would crawl out of the TV and drag them to hell.
15:30But alas, that's what happened.
15:33The moral of this story?
15:34Maybe don't push play, and just go to the gym or something.
15:49Number 3.
15:50Releasing The Chimps, 28 Days Later.
15:54Kind of like climate change, some people just refuse to believe scientists.
16:05Despite warnings from one in the opening minutes of the zombie flick 28 Days Later, a group
16:10of activists make a supremely idiotic decision.
16:20The chimps essentially rage against the machine, and they rage hard, giving the film its title
16:25and making viewers hate those animal activists, as if PETA wasn't already having a hard
16:31enough time as it is.
16:33They really ruined it for everybody, and even managed to infect us with anger.
16:44Number 2.
16:45Coming up too soon.
16:46The Mist.
16:47In perhaps one of the most agonizing moments in modern cinema, a man comes to the proverbial
17:03crossroads after The Mist wreaks havoc.
17:06Yet this path of escapism involves death for his entire crew.
17:12Being the upstanding citizen that he is, David Drayton executes a mass act of what
17:17he considers as mercy, sparing himself only because he ran out of bullets.
17:22But surprise!
17:24The war is over, as the US Army rolls up and inadvertently delivers the knockout punch to
17:29old Davy's very soul.
17:32Now that's what you call some bad timing, and certainly a blow to the senses.
17:45Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.
17:49Running up the stairs.
17:51Various.
17:52Sidney Prescott fell for this cliche.
18:03Splitting up.
18:04Various.
18:06easy to divide and conquer.
18:23Going into the Warrens' room of cursed artefacts alone, Annabelle comes home.
18:28This is the last room anyone should go in.
18:38Trusting the scary clown.
18:40It.
18:41The fact that the clown was in a sewer should have been your first clue something was wrong.
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19:12When the remains of a dead body are found on shore, Mayor Larry Vaughn doesn't bulk
19:16under pressure from local authorities.
19:19Rather, he stands tall in the name of the almighty dollar, even if people later describe
19:24ginormous teeth in the wrecked hulls of boats.
19:37And so the smug politician doesn't close the beach.
19:41After all, they caught the culprit in question, right?
19:44Well, no, they didn't.
19:50Some people in horror movies screw only themselves with dumbass decisions.
19:54But in Jaws, one prideful man just couldn't pay attention to the obvious facts and made
20:00everybody feel the wrath of a great white shark.
20:12Do you agree with our picks?
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