Summary
- Avoid old, large houses and stick to apartments in populous areas to increase your chances of survival in a horror movie.
- Never drive behind full trucks as they can pose a danger even in real life, and sticking to driving safely around small cars is the way to survive.
- Don't trust dolls or humanoid robots, as they can be possessed or become sentient and try to murder people. Stick to playthings that don't resemble humans.
Horror movies often rely on the clichés and tropes that have become synonymous with the genre, especially when it comes to slashers. Famously, Scream's Randy delivered a series of rules for surviving a horror movie. As a keen film buff and slasher fan, Randy learned how to avoid becoming a victim of a masked killer.
The rules for surviving a slasher may seem strict, but they are key to a character's survival. There's nothing more annoying for horror movie fans than watching a character make a series of foolish decisions that lead to their untimely deaths. Though no rule is entirely foolproof, listening to a few of them might help a character survive.
Updated by Fawzia Khan on 21st September, 2023: With the release of movies like Talk To Me, The Nun II, and Insidious: The Red Door, fans of the horror genre have plenty of cinema to dig into. Watching one of these always compels the viewer to think what the rules to survive a horror movie are, and if they would ever make it to the end. This list has been expanded with even more scary movie rules that would ensure that a character makes it out, unscathed.
15 Avoid Old, Large Houses
Haunted houses are a common trope in the genre. When a new family shifts into a considerably old house, especially if the kids don't like it, then trouble isn't far. It begs the question of why these families decide to move into creepy mansions with creaky attics and dark basements at all, especially the ones that are built in secluded areas like forests and farmland.
Movies like The Haunting in Connecticut, its sequel, The Conjuring, and The Amityville Horror center around homes that are the main source of the haunting, so an obvious horror movie rule would be to avoid moving into these abodes at all and stick to apartments in populous areas. The upcoming haunted house film, A Haunting in Venice would reiterate this rule beautifully.
14 Never Drive Behind Full Trucks
Final Destination 2 has definitely drilled into every millennial's mind the importance of never, ever driving behind a large truck. If the truck is full of logs, rods, or anything that can roll off, it's best to take the day off and stay home. What makes this rule even more important is that it applies just as well to real life: getting hit by projectiles from trucks is a valid possibility in the absence of ghostly entities. Death can be around the corner at any time, and if these horror films about chance and fate are to be believed, driving safely and only around small cars is the way to survive a little longer.
13 Don't Trust Toys or Robots
From the Child's Play franchise to the more recent M3gan, one of the more significant guidelines in the horror movie rules list is to never trust dolls or humanoid robots. Definitely don't pick Chucky-like dolls up at yard sales, and never buy them from homeless people because they could be possessed by the soul of a serial killer. Vintage dolls like Annabelle are even more dangerous.
When it comes to androids, the biggest mistake is developing them in the first place. They will certainly grow sentient and try to murder people, which was what produced the greatest M3gan scares. Sticking to play things that don't resemble humans is the way to go.
12 It Never Dies the First Time
In this case, "it" could be anything: a zombie, a demon possessing a body, or a serial killer. It happens often — the main character delivers a seemingly fatal blow or performs a prayer which leaves the assailant completely still on the floor. They think that they've managed to kill them, for good, but that's rarely true. Most recently, this was seen with the possessed Maurice in The Nun II who appeared to have been felled by the eyes of St. Lucy. However, the moment Irene lets her guard down, he rises from the dead, more powerful than ever. Zombieland established the "double-tap" for precisely this reason: a second shot to the head ensures that it stays dead.
11 Stay Away from The Clown
Clowns have always been innately creepy, which is probably why children avoid them at birthday parties, even though their purpose is to entertain them. Scary movies have made use of this spooky factor amply, making it obvious that steering clear of the painted clown is how one survives a horror movie. The menacing appearance of the clown should be enough to ward people off, because they often turn out to be serial killers, serial killing aliens, or even try to eat kids, like Pennywise from It. No good can come from being around these jesters, and to run in the opposite direction is the way to survival.
10 Don't Be A Jerk
The "jerk" character archetype usually has the most violent death. These figures range from abusive parents, like Halloween's John Strode, to high school bullies, like Carrie's Chris. The jerks are typically inserted in the story to provide conflict for the heroes before they face the killer.
These characters' deaths often deliver a sense of justice amidst the senseless murders that can help endear a killer to fans. Fans might cheer when they see a jerk die, and their deaths are the best guilt-free kills in a horror.
9 Keep A Cellphone Handy
More recent slashers often have to remove characters' cellphones as the first order of business before getting the story started. After weapons and cars, cellphones are the most important item when it comes to surviving a killer.
Even if a character loses their car or weapon, having a cellphone means they can call the police. One of the dumbest moves a character can make is to leave their phone behind. Although Scream's Ghostface has taught characters to be careful with their phones, being able to access a cellphone is a key lifeline. Without it, characters are isolated.
8 Don't Drop The Weapon
There's nothing more careless than a horror movie character finally obtaining a weapon, only to drop it. In some movies, a character will even get ahold of a gun, giving them a major advantage over the killer, only to drop it before murdering their attacker.
Typically, characters purposefully drop their weapons after hurting their attacker but never verify if they are dead. Any weapon, no matter how big or small, should be kept close during and after a fight. An empty gun could be used as a weapon and is better than going empty-handed.
7 Just Keep Driving
Many horror characters could have avoided their disturbing deaths if they'd just kept driving. As Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Hitcher proves, the best things a character can do is just keep driving and phone the police if they're concerned. Also, picking up a hitchhiker will seal a victim's fate.
Stopping for random passengers is such a hazard that numerous urban legends are dedicated to warning people against it. Cars are key to survival in horror, but many characters don't seem to realize this until it's too late.
6 Never Split Up
Large groups of characters often split up in horror movies, which is easily one of the most foolish decisions. Splitting up means it becomes significantly easier for killers to pick off their victims and corner the survivors. Many characters are quick to point out the idiocy of thinning their numbers.
Being able to outnumber a serial killer is a strong advantage to have, so it makes no sense that characters would want to lower their chances of survival. Horror films that are set in the woods often rely on this trope, as splitting up in open and vulnerable places makes it easier for characters to lose sight of their friends or the killer to stalk their prey.
5 Stay Out Of The Basement
There are few horror locations as terrifying as a basement. The Evil Dead franchise centers on Ash Williams and his friends' terrible decision to explore a basement and its secrets. In horror, characters are always better off staying above ground.
Basements often represent dark secrets and dormant threats. These have ranged from the Necronomicon and other haunted items to killers themselves, like Leatherface. The basement is also a dead end, so characters have no escape once they're inside.
4 Avoid Sex
In many slasher movies, intimacy and sex are death warrants. The characters who sneak off are already at risk of being attacked, but it's even worse when characters are naked and vulnerable.
After John Carpenter's Halloween, numerous horror movie characters have died during intercourse. Typically, the more promiscuous a character is, the more certain their death is, especially when they're having an affair.
3 Avoid Drink And Drugs
Drugs and alcohol are almost always a firm death sentence in slashers. When being stalked by a serial killer, the biggest weakness a character can give themselves is to dull their senses. Some meta horror movies even discuss the running joke that the 'stoner' character or, as Cabin in the Woods put it, "the fool" will face almost certain death.
Substances can make characters weaker, slower, and less aware. Some characters get so intoxicated that they'll come face-to-face with a killer and pass it off as the effects of their inebriation. The first kill in the Friday the 13th reboot was a man buying drugs, so it's best for horror movie characters to stay sober.
2 Leave Town
2022's Scream, in keeping with the slasher series' meta nature, finally had a character realize their best bet was to simply leave town. It's always infuriating to watch a horror movie where none of the characters leave their small town when a murderer is on the loose.
Even in isolated settings, like Midsommar's commune or Halloween's Haddonfield, there's always a character who insists on staying in town, even though their friends usually protest this choice. Once things start to go wrong - especially in an unfamiliar location - leaving is the only sensible option.
1 Never Say "I'll Be Right Back"
Every Scream movie had a meaning, especially with how subversive it was in the horror genre. Randy had a list of rules for surviving a horror movie in the first movie. One of these rules was to never say "I'll be right back." The rationale is that anyone who says this, in keeping with slasher rules, won't return. In fact, many horror movie victims said this just before the killer murdered them.
If there are any firm rules in horror, it's that the characters most sure of their survival are the ones who will die first. Fans can expect that anyone who promises to be right back, especially side characters, will die within moments.