History Main / DeathByLookingUp

* Giro and his henchwolves are all killed in an avalanche at the end of ''ArashinoYoruNi''.

* ''TheSims2'' has a very low chance of this happening when sky- or star-gazing: Sims look up shortly before dying from falling satellite. On the plus side, you can sell the satellite in question for fun and profit afterward. No, really.

* Happened to [[CreatorCameo 45]] in the unaired version of the ''InvaderZim [[ChristmasSpecial Most Horrible X-Mas Ever]]''. Since this took place after the regular series, it can be assumed he was KilledOffForReal.

* ''{{Goblins}}''

->''"The funny thing is, the closer it gets, [[PianoDrop the more it looks like a piano.]]"''

* One of the victims in ''FinalDestination2'' looks up just in time to see a large window literally smash him into a bloody mess.
** The next two ''Film/FinalDestination'' films pay homage to that particular scene by reusing the same camera position showing the victim(s) that are about to be crushed looking up at the camera (and their impending doom). In the third, it's done with a falling cherry picker near the end of the film, and in the fourth, it's done in the opening disaster with a collapsing stone bleacher. The latter of the two notably kills off ''two'' people at the same time.

* TheDragon from ''[[Film/LethalWeapon Lethal Weapon 2]]'' got a face full of shipping container.
* Subverted in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Return of the King]]'', where Gothmog stares at the huge chunk of rock that is about to crush him, [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome only to take a step back at the last second, causing it to miss him completely]]. And then he ''[[{{Badass}} spits on it]]''.

[[quoteright:350:[[{{Halo3}} http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/halodeathlookup.jpg]]]]

-->-- '''Frankie Boyle''', ''MockTheWeek'', "Unlikely Last Words",

* ''VideoGame/{{Asylum}}'': This is a text-with-maze-graphics adventure game for the TRS80. The plot of the adventure ''requires'' the use of this trope. At one point in the game, you find [[ShmuckBait a written note that says "look up"]]. If you do, a piano immediately falls on your head and kills you, implying that there's a concert grand hovering over your head for the ''entire game'' just ''daring'' you to look at it. To kill an inmate who would otherwise murder you, you have to show the note to him, causing ''him'' to look up and get a piano dropped on his head.

->''"You know, the strange thing is, the closer it gets, [[PianoDrop the more it looks like a piano.]]"''

* In the first ''Redwall'' book, Cluny the Scourge is rooted to the spot in shock, staring up at the bell falling from above.

* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes The Road Runner]] played this trope up, down and sideways with all the various things that fell on Wile E. Coyote's head over the years. He's looked up and then opened a comically tiny umbrella to protect him; looked up, [[AsideGlace looked to the camera]], pointed up and gulped; looked up, seen the rock, stepped just out of the shadow on the ground and been hit anyway... you name it.

* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Wile E. Coyote]] has been known to look up just in time to see giant boulders, etc., fall on him. Made more hilarious when he tries to protect himself with a tiny umbrella.

* ''KungFuPanda2'' ends with [[BigBad Lord Shen]] crushed to death by his own cannon. Subverted in that he looks up at the cannon, but just closes his eyes and accepts his fate.

* ''Series/JonathonCreek'': In "The Clue of the Savant's Thumb", the killer attempts to topple a stone angel off the roof on to Fariba. She looks up and sees it coming. Her adoptive mother knocks her out of the way and is instead killed by the statue.

* ''MidsomerMurders'': In "The Dark Rider", one victim is lured outside his ancestral home and looks up just in time to see a gargoyle toppling on top of him.

SubTrope of DeathByIrony. SuperTrope of FallingChandelierOfDoom. Almost always used with DeathFromAbove.

They will usually be alerted by a [[BombWhistle whistling sound]], combined with the [[ShadowOfImpendingDoom rapidly growing shadow]] of the object that is around them. Of course, they are always comically slow in looking up to see the object...and even once they see it, they refuse to do anything useful such as leap out of the way. They instead choose to stare at it in shock until they are crushed. Of course, it's probably fairly surprising to see [[PianoDrop a piano bearing down on you]] in the middle of the sidewalk...but you would think survival instinct counted for something. Sometimes, a character, if trying to invoke the trope on someone they are fighting against, will also point up slightly to hint that they should look up, to which the enemy inevitably falls for it just as they are flattened.

* KungFuPanda2 ends with [[BigBad Lord Shen]] crushed to death by his own cannon. Subverted in that he looks up at the cannon, but just closes his eyes and accepts his fate.

* ''Film/JamesBond''

* ''Series/DeadLikeMe''
** The show starts off with George looking up at the sky to see a toilet seat from orbit smite her. Considering that it is moving at terminal velocity and would be more than "fairly" surprising, I do think it is quite justified that she doesn't do more than say, "Oh Shit".

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' likes playing with this trope. The first time it happens, a piano is dropped on him, but he didn't look up. The second time, both Sam and Dean do look up, but then time freezes and when the airconditioning unit finally does hit the ground, they're not in the same position as before.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', Wesker, having just opened a can of whupass on Chris, does a leaping punch to finish him, but Chris uses his last ounce of strength to fling himself out of the way out of Wesker's attack and straight at a lever. Cue loud noises, and Wesker looking up just in time to catch an I-beam with his face right before an entire pile lands on him. Subverted into a HopeSpot, however, considering what said character's [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat already had happen to him]].
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda''
** In the series, there was a returning enemy called a [[strike:stairmaster]] wallmaster, which would appear [[{{wallmaster}} suddenly]] in dungeons, scare the crap outta you, grab onto your face, and pull you into oblivion. In most games this would incur some damage, and if you were on the brink of doom, you would crumple to the ground as soon as you reappeared at the beginning of the dungeon.

* ''VideoGame/{{Asylum}}'': This is a text-with-maze-graphics adventure game for the TRS80. The plot of the adventure ''requires'' the use of this trope. At one point in the game, you find [[ShmuckBait a written note that says "look up"]]. If you do, a piano immediately falls on your head and kills you, implying that there's a concert grand hovering over your head for the ''entire game'' just ''daring'' you to look at it. [[spoiler:To kill an inmate who would otherwise murder you, you have to show the note to him, causing ''him'' to look up and get a piano dropped on his head.]]

** An alernate Forgath and Minmax, [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/09202011/ from a giant stone belt buckle]]. Note that they do try to run away -- just too late.

* Theater. One of the first things they teach on tech crew is ''don't'' look up when people yell "heads up," as that's a great way to get a faceful of molten plastic, shattered glass, broken light, falling planks . . . you get the picture. Run, duck, cover your head, just ''don't'' look up.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' likes playing with this trope. The first time it happens, a piano is dropped on him, but he didn't look up. The second time, both Sam and Dean do look up, but then time freezes and when the wardrobe finally does hit the ground, they're not in the same position as before.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' has one moment at the start of a mission where you'll see some Orks standing in the middle of the desert, one of them looks up and remarks, "What's that up in the sky?" moments before your drop pod turns the whole group into paste.