Top 10 Best Rules to Survive a Horror Movie

1. 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.

Don’t be a jerk.

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.

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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.

Just keep driving.

Many horror characters could have avoided their fates by continuing 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.

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.

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.

Stay out of the basement. Never have 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.

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6. Never say I’ll be right back.

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.

Avoid drinking & drugs. Leave town.

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.

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, especial ly side characters, will die within moments.