Since the 1980s, thehorrorgenre has made huge leaps for itself.BetweenFriday the 13th, HalloweenandA Nightmare on Elm Street, horror has become far more than a mere laughing at fake cheesy gore and has instead become a battle for who can cause the most nightmares. That being said, the focus has also somewhat shifted away from using the same monsters and has effectively turned towards transforming the mundane into the horrifying via the use of everyday objects and scenarios.
One common trope that is used in almost every horror film is someone getting trapped at some point in time, creating more tension for the viewer and throwing the fate of the character up in the air. While some people get trapped in common places like bunkers, basements, or even cars, some filmmakers get creative with their locations, coming up with some brand new scenarios to turn terrifying. Of course, sometimes these places make us scratch our heads. Here are the oddest places in horror movies characters were trapped in, ranked.
7The Moon — Moon
It’s hard to imagine being trapped in space, butMoonbrings that horrifying notion to life. After a three-year stint on the moon, Sam (played by Sam Rockwell) is looking forward to getting back to his life on Earth, but things go horribly wrong when his health deteriorates. He begins hallucinating and meets what is possibly a clone of himself. This trippy film brings out the realities of isolation and being stuck somewhere so far from the rest of humanity, which is enough on its own to drive any sane person mad.Moonis a unique film that makes a planet that is so beloved somehow deadly.
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6Ski Lift — Frozen
Frozenrevolves around three friends who become stranded on a ski lift as a deadly storm approaches. The trio must make some life-or-death decisions in order to get down from the lift without losing their lives in the process. Being trapped on a ski lift is probably the nightmare of many skiers as it has the potential to become a deadly situation, asFrozenmakes it out to be. This situation is quite unique and is one of oddest places to use as a location for characters to be trapped, but it is not any less horrifying.
5Labyrinth — Vivarium
Vivariumhas been praised for bringing new concepts into the horror genre. When a couple travels to a suburban neighborhood where all the houses are identical, they soon realize that they are stuck in a labyrinth of houses where each road takes them back to where they started. Labyrinths have been done time and again in horror, butVivariumtakes it to new heights, giving us a very symbolic concept of suburbia, stating that once you get in, there is no getting out.
4Escalator — The Final Destination
Everyone’s fears come to life inThe Final Destination, where the escalator gets damaged and traps people, essentially grinding them up. While the character doesn’t actually die from this situation, it is still horrifying nonetheless. Remember when your mom told you to be careful on the escalator so that you don’t get pulled under? Yeah, well, sometimes the escalator goes haywire and there’s nothing that can be done to stop it.
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3Tanning Bed — Final Destination 3
TheFinal Destinationfranchisedoes a phenomenal job of making the mundane exciting by turning everyday objects into deadly weapons that can be used to carry out Death’s Design. One of the most iconic deaths in the entire franchise takes place when a woman is trapped inside a tanning bed and is burned alive as the bed malfunctions. While it may not seem like a nightmare to be trapped in a tanning bed in real life,Final Destination 3manages to make it seem like the worst fate on Earth. Not only is this death odd, but it proves that death can come from anywhere, even a tanning bed.
2A Wall — The Cloverfield Paradox
While it may sound ridiculous to hear that a character became stuck in a wall, it is very much the truth inThe Cloverfield Paradox. After the crew of the space station hears some mysterious noises, they go to investigate and come upon a woman who is stuck in the wall of the ship being pierced by wiring. Part of what makes this so horrifying is her whimpers and moans of pain as she is unable to verbally plead for help and must simply make visceral noises to be heard.
1A Nightmare — A Nightmare on Elm Street
In one of horror’s most defining films, we see a group of teens get targeted by Freddie Krueger, a midnight mangler who preys on people in their dreams, killing them in real life. The entire franchise revolves around Freddie trapping his victims in a nightmare so that he cankill them in real life. Being trapped in a nightmare not only causes emotional distress to Freddie’s victims but gives Freddie a massive advantage as he takes control of the environment being able to scare his victims with personalized fears and special deaths. This tops our list as theNightmare on Elm Streetfranchise has helped define the horror genre and make it what it is today.
