10 Horror Movies Tropes That Have Completely Disappeared Today – Screen Rant

As horror movies evolve, things (thankfully) get consigned to the scrap bin of movie making - like these outdated tropes.

There isn't much of a middle ground when it comes to spooky stories. People either seek them out and watch every single new horror movie that comes out, or they shy away from anything with a jump scare or a ghost. Horror movie fans are some of the most passionate around as they love rewatching classics and newer films, too, trying to find more meaning in every viewing.

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Not every horror movie classic holds up today, just like not every horror movie trope still exists in 2020. While horror is a genre that seems to be getting more popular by the day, there are many common tropes that seem to have gone missing from recent releases.

The haunted house horror moviehas been made for decades now, but as time marches on, it feels like the horror trope of a house being haunted is falling by the wayside.

Instead of a house being haunted, it seems like more and more, the person is haunted. For example, inSinister, Ethan Hawke's author character realizes that he's being followed by an entity who targets anyone living in that home. He completely loses sight of reality as he's consumed by this horror.

While waiting for Scream 5, it's fun to take a look back on the original movie and see how much things have changed since then. Back in the '80s and '90s, a horror trope involved a good vs. bad teenage girl. There was the "good girl" like SidneyinScreamor Nancy inA Nightmare On Elm Street, and then they always had a friendwho was more experienced than them in bed.

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The character who had sex was often the one to die, but characters in more modern horror films don't get killed just because they sleep with their partner. For example, inIt Follows, which was released in 2014, all of the characters were followed by a supernatural entity after sleeping with someone. No one in particular was shamed or stood out for that behavior.

The classicPsychoscene involves Janet Leigh's character being killed while she's taking a shower, and for a while, many other horror films involved a character being targeted while just trying to wash their hair.

This doesn't happen anymore as it has definitely been done too many times, so it started to lose its scare factor.

InThe Ring, Rachel (Naomi Watts) does some research on the creepy lighthouse, as she's a journalist and this is definitely within her wheelhouse.

There are many terrifyingmoments that take place in libraries in horror films, but doing some library research is a common trope that doesn't seem to be used much anymore. It's rare to see a character pulling up the information that they need on an old projector or going through the stacks. This must be because of technology and how the character can just pull out their iPhone.

The charactersfrom Scream live on, and so does the legacy of this meta horror movie. The whole meta thing is definitely a common trope that isn't used much anymore.

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This must be because it's hard to make a proper meta movie. Sometimes this trope is used in a way that is pretty dull and lame.Screamhas always stood out because itdiscusses the rules of horror movies so well.

From mainstream films likeThe Craftto TV horror movies that haven't been watched as widely, it used to bethat characters would be truly scared of a creepy woman in this type of movie.

They would swear that she was a witch and if the movie took place in high school, would leave things in her locker or try to drown her in the swimming pool, wondering if witches floated or not. This isn't something that is really seen anymore.

From funny memes to several sequels, it's hard to overstate the cultural impact thatScreamhas had.

Of course, the opening sequence featuring Drew Barrymore is iconic, and there was nothing scarier than watching Casey get a phone call from Ghostface. The question "What's your favorite horror movie?" suddenly became terrifying. These days, everyone has a cell phone and getting a call on a home phone line doesn't even seem like something that could happen. Recent horror movies are changing the game, fromUnfriendedwhere something supernatural takes place on the computer screen toCountdownabout a killer app.

In many older horror movies, a person of color was the best friend/a random side character who would usually get killed. There was a lack of diversity in old slasher movies, and that is something that is thankfully changing today.

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Thanks to Jordan Peele's recent horror filmsUsandGet Out, there is more representation and more stories about the experiences of BIPOC people.

There's been a recent trend of horror movies, such asThe Open HouseandSlender Man, where all of the main characters die at the end. There is no justice and they don't win, making the killer/monster/bad guy victorious.

The common horror movie trope of the main character always surviving seems to be gone. This can be viewed as both a good and a bad thing. While it's always satisfying to watch a horror film where the good guys seem to win, at least filmmakers are trying to surprise people these days.

In older horror films, there wasoften a damsel in distress.She was one of the main characters and would often find whatever was going on to be totally terrifying. She would run away from the killer (often falling down quite a lot) and wouldn't usually survive the film.

This common trope has been totally changed by recent entries in the genre. Now there are characters like Samara Weaving's Grace inReady Or Notwho are determined to stay alive and they will beat the killer (or supernatural entity) at their own game.

NEXT:10 Recent Horror Movies That Should Be Considered Classics

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Aya Tsintziras writes about travel and pop culture. She loves coffee, barre classes, avocado, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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10 Horror Movies Tropes That Have Completely Disappeared Today - Screen Rant