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Published -
- March 13, 2020
- 2:00 am
These scares are starting to get stale.
For this list, we’re looking at the most overused tropes and scenes that appear in horror movie previews. Since we’ll be talking about a few plot details, beware of spooky spoilers coming your way. Our countdown includes clichés from films such as “Friday the 13th” (2009), “Psycho” (1960), “Midsommar” (2019) and more!
How does the overuse of the low angled shot in horror movie trailers make it stale?
For many horror enthusiasts, a trailer is the initial invitation into the world of horror movies. It’s the gateway that teases the audience to come and experience the dread, terror, and horror that awaits them in the movie. However, over time, horror movie trailers have been plagued with clichés that tend to detract from the viewer’s experience. This article will explore the top ten biggest horror movie trailer clichés that have become all too familiar to fans of the genre.
1. Jump Scares: Jump scares are now the most common cliché in any horror movie trailer. It involves sudden, loud noises and quick cuts to scare audiences. While it may work its magic in the beginning, it gets old and predictable after a while, making it a too-familiar cliché.
2. Creepy music with high-pitched violins: Many horror movie trailers use a high-pitched violin sound to build tension and add suspense to their scenes. Eventually, it becomes too easy for viewers to predict when the scare is coming, thereby reducing its impact.
3. Blood Splatters: Blood, gore, and violence have dominated the horror genre for decades, but using excessive amounts of blood splatters, and gory scenes in trailers can become too predictable and uncreative.
4. The Low Angled Shot: Shooting a character from below the waistline or floor level is commonly used to create tension, making the character appear more ominous or intimidating. While it’s a great tool for horror movies, overuse of this technique makes it stale.
5. The Creepy Child: Children have long been a horror trope, and their inclusion in trailers almost always leads to predictability. Using a child to scare audiences is no longer unique or original.
6. The Abandoned Location: It’s common in trailers to see scenes set in abandoned or isolated locations such as woods, hospitals, or churches. While it’s great for creating an eerie atmosphere, it’s become too familiar and predictable.
7. The Close-up Shots: Close-up shots of characters reacting to jump scares or strange phenomenon are too common in horror movies trailers. They’re meant to create suspense, but they’re overused, and viewers now anticipate them.
8. The Creepy sound effect: Creepy sound effects like whispers or an eerie ambiance are often used in horror movie trailers as a scare tactic. The audience can predict the scares coming once they hear these sounds, making them predictable and less effective.
9. The Rise of the Dead: Zombies or other supernatural creatures rising from the dead are undoubtedly a common horror movie trope. Overuse in trailers has led to a decreased shock value and loss of the element of surprise.
10. The ‘based on true events’ tagline: Several horror movies trailers have taken to using the phrase “Based on a True Story” to make their movie seem more believable. However, this tagline has been overused, and for audiences who have seen it before, it loses its effect.
In conclusion, while these horror movie trailer clichés are familiar to many horror fans, they are becoming overused and predictable, reducing the impact of the film. Filmmakers should consider new approaches to shock and scare their viewers instead of relying on these overdone tropes. By doing this, they can keep the horror genre fresh, exciting and provide their audiences with a genuinely immersive horror experience.
