10 Horror Movie Cliches That Need To Die
7. Not Confirming The Kill
Though this is also a trope in wider genre filmmaking, it's especially applicable in horror, where audiences will be left screaming at the screen as the main character doesn't kill the villain when they've got the chance.
They've managed to temporarily subdue the villain, yet rather than take one final swing to finish them off for good, they decide to flee instead, giving the villain time to recover and strike back, as they inevitably do.
While it's reasonable to expect a little panic and stupidity in a horror film, leaving the killer free to slaughter for another day shows a disturbing lack of self-preservation instinct, especially after already incapacitating the villain - the hard work's basically done.
Perhaps the all-time worst instance of this is in Scream 2, where Sidney (Neve Campbell) and her best pal Hallie (Elise Neal) are involved in a car accident with Ghostface, knocking him unconscious. But rather than stab or shoot him, they leave him be, resulting in Hallie's death moments later.
Considering that the first Scream makes a whole gag out of confirming the kill, this was head-smackingly poor judgment on their part, if perhaps slightly justified by the car crash and all.
Examples: Scream 2, Halloween: H20, Wolf Creek.