Horror movies are known for their spine-chilling traps that test the limits of human survival. Join us as we count down the most ingenious and terrifying death traps that will make you squirm in your seat and question how anyone could possibly escape these nightmarish scenarios.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the Top 10 Traps In Horror Movies That
00:10Are Near-Impossible To Survive. This is your spoiler alert.
00:2010. Giant Oven – Escape Room
00:26Lured by the promise of a large cash prize, six people find themselves trapped in a series
00:31of deadly rooms, where every puzzle could mean life or death.
00:35Although each segment is meant to be tougher than the last, the giant oven scene at the
00:38start truly sets an eerie tone. It all begins in a seemingly normal waiting
00:56room, which the players soon realise is their first challenge. Things get terrifyingly real
01:00as the room's heat gets cranked up, turning it into a massive oven. In full panic, these
01:17players scramble to solve the clues and uncover a hidden door to escape. Luckily, they make
01:21it out just before the room's engulfed in flames. That was close. A second slower, and
01:28they'd all have been toast.
01:339. Erin's Front Door – You're Next
01:45Adam Wingard's slasher flick might start off as your basic break in horror, but with
01:50Shani Vincent's tough-as-nails lead, it changes the game. Where other female characters
02:03might scream or freeze, Erin does the opposite. Using her survivalist background, she invents
02:09brutal ways to take out her attackers.
02:20And when injured, she stays a step ahead with clever booby traps. One of the best is a rigged
02:24front door that swings an axe down on anyone who dares open it. It's one inescapable trap,
02:30because once the door opens, there's no reversing it. While it misses its original target, it
02:35clears the head off of a cop who shot Erin, thinking she's the villain. Perhaps Erin
02:45deserves a spot beside the trap mastermind, Jigsaw.
02:498. The Mausoleum – Saw 4
02:52Designed by the Saw franchise's resident mastermind, John Kramer, this trap is a pure
02:57nightmare fuel, pitting two victims against each other in a ruthless struggle for survival.
03:07In this case, Art and Trevor wake up in a mausoleum, chained by the neck to a large
03:12device. But here's the kicker. Trevor's eyes have been sewn shut, and Art's mouth
03:18is completely sealed, making communication impossible. Blind and terrified, Trevor begins
03:30hurling weapons in Art's direction, who tries to calm him. But as they're pulled
03:35closer to this device, their fear skyrockets, and a brutal fight soon breaks out. It ends
03:47with Art killing Trevor after retrieving the key attached to Trevor's collar. The
03:51poor guy never stood a chance in this twisted game.
03:557. The Slice and Dice – Cube
03:58Right from the start, this horror gem grabs your attention with its irresistible premise,
04:02packed with surprises and inventive booby traps. Imagine being stuck in an elevator.
04:12Terrifying, right? Now imagine that this elevator is a death trap, ready to slice you up and
04:17trap you if you take the wrong step. That's exactly what happens to Alderson, who finds
04:21himself trapped in this box. He wanders into the wrong room, takes a single fateful step,
04:27and in a split second, he's sliced into smaller cubes.
04:33The craziest part of this trap? You can't survive or avoid it, because it's over even
04:38before you realise what's happening. Throw in the claustrophobia and fear of the unknown,
04:43and you'll see why no one can beat this easily.
04:466. Dance of Death – The Collection
04:50A sequel to the 2009 movie The Collector, this continues the story of The Collector,
04:56a serial killer with a talent for elaborate traps. It kicks off with a jaw-dropping, visceral
05:00sequence in a nightclub, rigged with deadly surprises. How The Collector set this up?
05:05Who knows. But after this, you might think twice about visiting a nightclub.
05:14The chaos begins when Elena opens a box and unknowingly frees Arkin, triggering a wave
05:19of deadly traps. Rotating blades come raining down, slicing through partygoers, and turning
05:31the dance floor into a literal meat grinder. Those who survive are then trapped and crushed
05:36by a slowly descending box. It's a clean sweep, and only Arkin manages to escape while
05:49Elena's kidnapped by The Collector.
05:525. The Venus Flytrap – Saw II
05:55The second instalment in the Saw franchise begins with yet another hardcore trap. This
06:00time, Jigsaw chooses police informant Michael as his victim for his habit of spying on others.
06:05Michael wakes up in a strange room with a bloodied eye and a spike-filled mask locked
06:10around his neck. A billy puppet appears on a screen, revealing that the key to his freedom
06:19lies within his eye, and he only has 60 seconds to free himself. A frantic Michael accidentally
06:25triggers the timer, making his survival even more unlikely. Unable to bear the agony of
06:30cutting into his own eye, the nail-spiked mask snaps shut, ultimately killing him.
06:38This is one brutal trap that forces victims to face unimaginable self-torture or death.
06:454. Waking World Gooby Trap – A Nightmare on Elm Street
06:52This masterpiece from Wes Craven follows Nancy and her friends, whose dreams are plagued
06:56by the hideous killer Freddy Krueger. Unlike most horror scenes where the hero runs or
07:09hides, Nancy boldly decides to take Freddy down herself. After rigging her house with
07:14booby traps, Nancy pulls him into the real world, where every step he takes is met with
07:19a brutal surprise. The tables turn as the hunter becomes the hunted. First, Freddy is
07:29slammed in the chest by a sledgehammer, followed by a rigged lightbulb explosion to the face.
07:34It's clear Nancy calculated every move, ultimately leading Freddy to the basement, where she
07:38sets him ablaze. Well, Freddy clearly underestimated Nancy, and got himself nearly defeated.
07:523. The Razor Wire Maze – Saw Another simple but brutal trap from the original
07:58film, this sadistic set-up is a caged-in area in a basement lined with razor-sharp
08:03spikes. To survive, the victim must crawl through this maze to reach an exit door, but
08:14there's a catch. If they don't make it out in two hours, the door automatically
08:18locks, leaving them to die inside. The truth is, surviving unscathed is the only way to
08:33survive, especially with the victim almost naked and likely to be slashed in the process.
08:39In the film, Paul Leahy, the unfortunate victim, struggles to escape but meets a fatal end.
08:44Sure, this may look easy to beat, but let's not forget it's designed by one of horror's
08:49most sadistic villains, and definitely meant to kill.
08:572. The Entire Cabin – The Cabin in the Woods
09:03Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's anti-horror follows five stereotypical horror characters,
09:08who venture into the woods for a stay in a remote cabin. But this isn't just any cabin,
09:14it's a house of terror. From hallucinations to zombies and monster attacks, along with
09:20other gruesome fates, horror after horror is visited on these poor souls. No matter
09:32what they do, they can't seem to escape this mind-altering reality, all orchestrated
09:36by technicians. When does it all end? Perhaps when the old gods are satisfied by the bloody
09:49performance these unsuspecting teens put on. The brilliance of this movie is that the entire
09:53cabin is a rigged stage where characters are sacrificed for our entertainment. Survival
09:59was never an option for them.
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10:25The whole thing. Circle. Another trap-based horror flick that feels like reality from
10:30hell, The Circle dives into an alien game where survival feels impossible. Fifty strangers
10:36wake up in a strange room, only to realize that every two minutes someone dies.
10:48They're clueless about what's happening until they realize they must vote who dies next.
11:03How do you escape such a consensus? You don't. Where still, moving from your spot or touching
11:08someone else triggers an alarm and ignoring it means instant death.
11:19With panic high and death inevitable, surely some of us will make rash decisions and that's
11:31where the film succeeds in drawing you in. The big question is, would you vote for someone's
11:36death and what determines who should live or die?
11:49What horror movie scene has haunted you for years? Let us know in the comments section.
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