20 Horror Movie Scenes That Make Absolutely No Sense
Some of horror cinema's biggest plot holes.
It's no secret that many horror movies struggle in the logic department, primarily because their stories are often driven by rather implausible behaviour. Why didn't they close the beaches in Jaws? In Halloween, how was Michael Myers able to drive when he'd been locked up since the age of six? Why do groups of slasher movie characters keep splitting up? Why don't a family in a haunted house ever just pack up and leave immediately?
Well, suspension of disbelief is a fundamental part of the moviegoing experience, and horror stories are narratives where pretty much everything that can go wrong does go wrong. That's not exactly realistic, and so, inevitably, plenty of unrealistic things need to happen in order to drive the plot.
As such, it's impressive in the worst way that the following 20 horror movie moments stood out even by this genre's dubious standards. Some of them even come from otherwise strong horror flicks, but even the sturdiest flicks aren't immune to plot holes. Ranging from inexplicable villainous plans to moronic character choices to ridiculous factual errors, these will all leave viewers scratching their heads in baffled bewilderment. Kicking off with a Spanish horror classic...
20. Rec - Why Didn't They Send The Inspector In Without Armed Back-Up?
Plot: A TV news crew find themselves trapped in a quarantined apartment block where a sinister, Rabies-like virus is turning the residents into bloodthirsty zombies.
Spanish horror flick Rec is one of the greatest found-footage movies ever, one arguably far superior to the more famous examples of The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity. It intelligently utilizes this oft-misused format to place the audience right in the centre of a zombie outbreak, while the brilliant jump scares and gnarly gore send it soaring even higher.
Nonetheless, that's not to say the movie is without its logic issues. Namely, the way the authorities handled the outbreak was questionable to say the least. They started out fine by sealing off the building, but when they sent in a health inspector later on, he was sent in with no armed backup whatsoever. Why?
Sure, such a situation would be an unprecedented scenario for anyone, but even so, surely sending in some firepower with him would've made a lot more sense? An awful lot of deaths, including that of the health inspector, could've been prevented that way.
Ironically enough, 2009's Rec 2, which picks up right where the original left off, does see a SWAT team being sent in, but it was still pretty off that they only sent in armed forces when nearly everyone in the apartment block was already dead.