Survival Horror Movies Need To Stop It With This Cheap Storytelling Trick

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Horror is now a hugely popular and successful part of TV and film, with many different types. One consistently popular type is “survival horror,” where the main character(s) are stuck in a dangerous and isolated place and must fight to stay alive long enough to escape.

Survival horror resonates with audiences because many of us have wondered what it would be like to be lost and in danger. However, these films often struggle because they usually focus on a single character for long stretches. Recently, filmmakers have tried to keep things exciting with predictable and uninspired twists, and the genre needs to move beyond these tired tricks.

Survival Horror’s Imagination/Hallucination Twist Is An Aging Gimmick

Survival horror movies often feature a twist where the main character experiences a traumatic event that distorts their perception of reality. The story builds to a climax where everything seems clear, but then the film reveals that parts of what we’ve seen were actually hallucinations – a result of the character’s descent into fear, insanity, or death.

One well-known example is the 2017 survival horror film, 47 Meters Down, directed by Johannes Roberts. The story centers around two sisters, Kate (Claire Holt) and Lisa (Mandy Moore), who become trapped during a shark diving excursion inside an underwater cage. The film takes a surprising turn when Kate is attacked by a shark, leaving Lisa trapped beneath the cage. Suffering from nitrogen poisoning, Lisa begins to hallucinate a dramatic escape with Kate from a group of great white sharks. However, the film reveals this to be a delusion, and concludes with Lisa being rescued by the Coast Guard.

The unexpected twist in 47 Meters Down contributed to its cult following, but it also became a common trope in similar movies, even though it wasn’t the first to use it. This gimmick often involves a character making a fatal error in judgment during a survival situation. A well-known example is the ending of Frank Darabont’s 2007 film, The Mist. The movie, about people trapped in a grocery store hiding from a monster-filled fog, features a shocking conclusion where the remaining survivors, believing they are about to be attacked, choose to end their own lives. However, it’s then revealed they were actually being rescued, leaving the protagonist to realize they gave up hope just moments before help arrived.

The 2017 sci-fi thriller Life used a clever trick in its final moments. It led the audience to believe a surviving astronaut heroically sacrificed himself to save his teammate and prevent a dangerous alien from reaching Earth. However, this was a misdirection. The film actually revealed the rescue attempt had failed, and the escape pod that landed on Earth unknowingly carried the deadly alien with it.

The classic horror trope of making audiences think a character is safe, only to reveal they aren’t, continues in recent films like Scott Mann’s Fall (2022). The movie centers on Becky and Shiloh, two friends who become stranded on a 2,000-foot radio tower while trying to cope with a personal tragedy. (Spoiler alert!) In a shocking turn, Shiloh attempts a risky descent to retrieve essential supplies but falls to her death. Becky then experiences a fleeting delusion where she believes she saved Shiloh, and they continue their struggle for survival. However, the film ultimately forces Becky to confront the harsh reality of Shiloh’s death when she realizes the only way to survive is to use Shiloh’s body as a tool. Fall exemplifies how this “fake-out” technique has become overly used in survival horror, serving as a cheap way to prolong the climax instead of focusing on meaningful character development.

Okay, so Sam Raimi’s new film, Send Help, tries something we’ve seen before, but it’s a pretty wild ride. It centers on Rachel McAdams as an executive who finds herself stranded on an island with her awful boss, Dylan O’Brien. Let me warn you, things get seriously twisted. The movie really goes off the rails in the final act – McAdams’ character, Linda, completely loses it. There’s a moment where you’re left guessing if she’s committed a terrible act against some potential rescuers, and Raimi plays with that uncertainty beautifully, throwing in a series of jump scares and hallucinations. We see dead characters return as these terrifying creatures, and it’s genuinely unsettling. But then, the reveal comes – and yes, she did do the unthinkable. It’s a lot to take in, but Raimi keeps you guessing until the very end.

The movie Send Help feels different because its use of fake scares—making you think something terrifying is happening when it isn’t—doesn’t quite fit the overall tone. The film aims for a psychological thriller exploring relationships and power, set in a scary environment, and this trick feels out of place. It doesn’t really add anything, especially since many successful survival horror films (The Shallows, The Long Walk, I Am Legend, The Reef) manage to be gripping without relying on these kinds of illusions. The one exception is Mike Flanagan’s Gerald’s Game, which expertly uses psychological elements to create a truly terrifying experience. Gerald’s Game cleverly flips the script, making the uncertainty of what’s real and what’s not central to the story, and it does so better than most horror films in recent years.

Ultimately, survival-horror games should truly focus on the core idea of simply surviving. If you’re building a story around that, make sure the struggle to live is compelling and filled with genuinely interesting ideas.

You can find Send Help in movie theaters. Gerald’s Game and Fall are available for streaming on Netflix, while Life is on Sling TV. 47 Meters Down can be streamed on both Prime Video and Tubi. Share your thoughts on your favorite survival horror films with us on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-02-26 04:11