History Main / UnhandThemVillain

* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': The Joker does this with Rachel (as pictured above). Luckily it wasn't a sheer drop he was holding her over, so Batman has time to save her.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheDarkKnight https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a0baf4e99044cb699d72f6700a568287.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"Let her go!"\\
"[[LampshadeHanging Very poor choice of words]]."]]

* In ''Film/UnderworldRiseOfTheLycans'', Viktor seizes a dissenting (Human) silver mine owner by the throat. The man croaks "Let me go." Viktor complies, hurling him headfirst into a massive stone pillar and splattering his brains.
* ''Film/UnderworldAwakening'' has a heroic (put loosely) version of this. Selene is using a HighAltitudeInterrogation on a mook that let her escape from the facility so they could use her to find Subject 2. After the mook explains this and tries to get some mercy by saying he "let her go", Selene quips "now we're even" and drops him.

* A variation in the film of ''Film/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' occurs when Count Olaf has Sunny hanging in a cage. Violet tells him to let her go... that's the exact order he relays to his underling. Needless to say, the children had him hold that order in a hurry.

* Referenced and defied in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12180569/1/Where-I-Reign Where I Reign]]''. [[Manga/{{Magi}} Hakuei]], who is currently [[GrandTheftMe possessed]] by Arba, is able to break through the possession enough to see what is happening outside her mind and is horrified to see Arba holding her younger brother Hakuryuu over the ocean by his throat. She starts to invoke this trope but then stops herself.

* In 1952, police officers moved to arrest burglars Derek Bentley (age 19) and Christopher Craig (age 16) at a time when Craig had a revolver. Supposedly, after getting away from Detective Sergeant Frederick Fairfax, Bentley told Craig, "let him have it, Chris," which can be interpreted as an instruction to turn over the gun or an instruction to shoot. The latter interpretation was chosen, as Fairfax was shot in the shoulder as he managed to catch up to them. When Fairfax retreated, Police Constable Sidney Miles made it onto the roof and was fatally shot. Craig and Bentley were found guilty of murder, Bentley was executed, and the execution was so controversial that it arguably led to the abolition of capital punishment in the U.K. In 1998, Bentley's murder conviction was posthumously quashed.

* In 1952, police officers moved to arrest burglars Derek Bentley (age 19) and Christopher Craig (age 16) at a time when Craig had a revolver. Supposedly, after getting away from Detective Sergeant Frederick Fairfax, Bentley told Craig, "let him have it, Chris," which can be interpreted as an instruction to turn over the gun or an instruction to shoot. Fairfax was shot in the shoulder. Shortly thereafter, Police Constable Sidney Miles was sent onto the roof and fatally shot. Craig and Bentley were found guilty of murder, Bentley was executed, and the execution was so controversial that it arguably led to the abolition of capital punishment in the U.K. In 1998, Bentley's murder conviction was posthumously quashed.

See also HighAltitudeInterrogation.

* ''Film/MenInBlack'': The BigBad crashes his ship into the fields of a stereotypical, shot-gun wielding redneck farmer. When the giant roach tells him to lower his weapon [[BlatantLies because he's not a threat]], the redneck responds that the giant roach "can take the gun from [his] cold, dead hands." The roach complies.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening'', Dante catches Lady's ankle when she's falling off the tower. She orders him to let her go, and he asks if she even thought that through. She makes him let go by shooting him, then stops her fall with a BladeBrake.

* Happens in an episode of ''Series/{{Psych}}''.

Variations can occur, as particularly cunning villains may find other, less obvious ways to turn a demand that a hostage is released into a request to kill them. [[AntiHero Antiheroes]] have their own [[DarkerAndEdgier special]] variation, where they [[HighAltitudeInterrogation hold a bad guy over a ledge to get information]], and then when the bad guy demands he be let go... well, you know the rest. Sometimes, someone's plea to let them go starts at a survivable drop and quickly turns negatory once they get higher up.

* Parodied in the classic Creator/ChuckJones cartoon ''WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys'':
-->'''Tom:''' ''[To a stuffed moose head]'' Unhand her, Dan Backslide! ''[To his two fellow heroes]'' Unhand her, Dan Backslide! ''[Finally, to the already thoroughly-pummeled villain]'' Unhand her, Dan Backslide! ''[AsideComment to the camera]'' [[LampshadeHanging Hey, we're getting in a rut!]]

-->'''Tom Dover:''' ''[To a stuffed moose head]'' Unhand her Dan Backslide! ''[To his two fellow heroes]'' Unhand her Dan Backslide! ''[Finally, to the already thoroughly-pummeled villain]'' Unhand her Dan Backslide!! Hey, we're getting in a rut!

[[caption-width-right:350:[[AC:"Let her go!"]]\\
"[[LampshadeHanging Very poor]] [[ExactWords choice of words]]."]]

So, the villain has taken a [[IHaveYourWife hostage]], and to make sure the hero understands that this is serious, the villain is holding the hostage off a roof, or over some other height. Usually, in this case, the villain just has one simple, quick request: they want the code, or the [[HostageForMacGuffin MacGuffin]], or the hero's [[PutDownYourGunAndStepAway surrender]]. The hero gives in to the demand. And then says something along the lines of "Now let him/her go!".

* In ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesIDW'', Raphael makes the mistake of saying this to the Rat King (in this incarnation a god of chaos) as he's holding a child by the leg over a drop into the east river. Michelangelo [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the stupidity of saying that, bringing up ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' as a reference.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3'', Dante catches Lady's ankle when she's falling off the tower. She orders him to let her go, and he asks if she even thought that through. She makes him let go by shooting him, then stops her fall with a BladeBrake.

* The Azurite captain from ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'' should have probably picked a different BadassBoast than "You'll never take this city while I'm alive, monster!" As it is, the Death Knight's reply is [[BondOneLiner "Terms accepted."]]

* {{Implied|Trope}}, but not actually followed through, in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'' Episode 2, "[[Recap/BigHero6TheSeriesS1E02BigRoommates Big Roommates]]", when [[BlobMonster Globby]] is holding [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Alistair Krei]] hostage. [[spoiler: [[HoistByYourOwnPetard He ends up tripping off the building by himself]].]]

* Heroic (of a sort) version in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''. Ted Turner, having dressed himself as Captain Planet, forces someone to sign a pledge not to dump any more sludge by holding them out of a skyscraper window, after which he will let them go. The guy complies, and Turner releases him.

See also: HighAltitudeInterrogation