Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / DangerTakesABackseat

Go To

1%%
2%%
3%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
4%%
5%%
6%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1314047185013287900
7%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
8%%
9[[quoteright:350:[[Film/UrbanLegend https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/danger_backseat2_9640.jpg]]]]
10[[caption-width-right:350: [[Music/{{Skillet}} Watch out cause this may sting.]]]]
11
12->''"Rule #31: Always check the back seat."''
13-->-- ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''
14
15A character walks to their car. She may be aware that something is dangerous out there, or we may get a creepy vibe. But eventually she gets into the car, unharmed and prepares to drive off. She adjusts the [[MirrorScare rear-view mirror]] and- ''OH GOD TEETH IN THE FACE!''
16
17Perhaps it's because there's some idea of a car as a safe place, but attackers in TV regularly hide in your backseat, waiting to attack when you enter the car. Whether it's [[PsychoKnifeNut psychos with knives]], [[ProfessionalKiller hitmen]] with fiberwires, flesh eating monsters or mysterious spies with secret information, the intrusion of personal space is creepy if not outright terrifying. It's nearly never noticed before the victim is in their car, and no reference is made to how they got in without breaking the windows.
18
19Occasionally a stealthy or mysterious AntiHero protagonist can pull this off to intimidate someone, but it's not a very heroic thing to do -- it's rude! Chances are high he'll do it with a ClickHello if he uses a gun.
20
21Unfortunately, this can be TruthInTelevision.
22
23See also OffscreenTeleportation, StealthHiBye. Compare NotMyDriver, CloserThanTheyAppear.
24
25----
26!!Examples:
27[[foldercontrol]]
28%%
29%%[[folder:Advertising]]
30%%* Played with in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj8A9MagMks this Thai commercial,]] with a bit of the Hitchhiking Ghost legend thrown in.
31%%[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
34* Justified in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'' where Motoko uses [[InvisibilityCloak therm-optic camouflage]] to hide in the ''front'' seat.
35* In a variant that overlaps somewhat with CloserThanTheyAppear, an episode of ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' has a television producer being stalked by [[HumanoidAbomination Lil Slugger]]. He's on his way to work and looks in the rearview mirror. Nothing. He's in the clear. He looks again. [[OffscreenTeleportation Lil Slugger is roller blading behind him.]] On the highway. And it's catching up.
36[[/folder]]
37
38[[folder:Comic Books]]
39* In ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo'', The Question sort of... magics his way into the back of Renee's car between panels in Week 4.
40* For the AntiHero variant, Franchise/{{Batman}} has made something of a habit of this. But then, sneaking up and scaring people is part of his MO.
41* Subverted in an issue of ''[[ComicBook/NewGods Mister Miracle]]''. When his wife Big Barda gets into her car, she finds a mob thug hiding in her back seat: "Oh, ''please'' don't hurt me, I'll do ''anything'' you say," she mewls. (Anyone who is familiar with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Barda Big Barda's]] abilities and personality knows why this is funny.) Cut to later as she tells her husband about the incident: "Oh my god! Is he okay?!"
42* In ''ComicBook/{{Silverblade}}'' #1, Milestone is kidnapped when one of Vermillion's minions hides in the backseat of the Cord and grabs him and injects a sedative into his neck when he attempts to drive off.
43* This was how ComicBook/JohnConstantine first introduced himself to Abby Arcane in the pages of ''ComicBook/SwampThing''. Of course, in [[BlueCollarWarlock his]] case [[AWizardDidIt a wizard literally did it]].
44* In ''ComicBook/WelcomeToTheJungle'', Harry Dresden and the zookeeper he's protecting encounter a hellhound in the back seat of the Blue Beetle.
45* The Creator/DCComics HalloweenSpecial ''Are You Afraid of Darkseid?'' has a framing story of the Comicbook/TeenTitans telling campfire stories, some of whch are DCU riffs on classic ones. Damian's story describes the Batmobile apparently being run off the road by a truck, which is actually trying to warn Batman that the Mad Hatter is in the back with an axe.
46[[/folder]]
47
48[[folder:Comic Strips]]
49* ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'': Selford Depool does this to kill the hostess who had discovered his secret (that he was an escapee from the state asylum) and was taking the evidence to the police.
50* In one ''ComicStrip/RobotmanAndMonty'' strip, the protagonist is afraid to adjust the rear-view mirror of his car at night, [[LampshadeHanging citing]] the tendency of such an act to reveal a killer waiting in the back seat. But he does it anyway, and freaks out upon [[NoFourthWall seeing the reader's eyes in the mirror]].
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder:Film — Animation]]
54* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeavyMetal'' story "Harry Canyon", the title character is a taxi driver ready for this stunt with a disintegrator ray installed in the back of his seat to kill anyone trying to rob him.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
58* The second person killed in ''Film/TheAggressionScale'' is a man who gets into his car and is immediately shot by Lloyd who is hiding in the back seat.
59* There's a variation on this in ''Film/{{Aliens}}'' where [[spoiler:the pilot of the dropship is attacked by an alien that has snuck on board]].
60* Played with in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan''. A car thief uses a high-tech device to break into a car, gets into the driver's seat, and starts trying to hotwire it. Spidey's sitting in the backseat the whole time, and actually has to ''clear his throat'' before the car thief notices him.
61* ''Film/{{Antebellum}}'': After Veronica is [[NotMyDriver lured into a fake Uber]], [[spoiler:Jasper]] grabs her from behind and starts throttling her before knocking her unconscious by slamming her head into the window.
62* ''Assault on Precinct 13''
63** In [[Film/AssaultOnPrecinct131976 the 1976 original]], one character manages to leave the precinct through a sewer pipe, hotwires a car, and [[HopeSpot speeds off to call for help]]... only to be killed by a gangbanger hiding in the back seat.
64** In [[Film/AssaultOnPrecinct132005 the 2005 remake]], two of the protagonists try to make for a car past the attack squad to get help. They seemingly manage to get to the car and start celebrating [[spoiler: then one of said squad pops up from behind the seat, murders one of them and captures the other.]]
65* The Judge Reinhold film ''Film/BabyOnBoard'' subverted this when the lead character, a cabbie, returns to his taxi after getting some coffee only to have a man with a gun pop up from the backseat. The thug demands money, and the cabbie asks to put his coffee down first. As he does, [[GenreSavvy he presses the button that deploys pepper spray from the roof of his car]]. Cue the thug staggering out of the car while the cabbie calmly hands him eye drops and tell him it'll wear off in a few minutes.
66* In ''Film/TheBatman2022'', D.A. Colson leaves the 44 Below club under the influence of drops and is trying to start his car when he notices the headrest on the driver's seat is missing. Just as realisation sinks in, the Riddler rises from the backseat and chokes him into unconsciousness.
67* In ''Film/TheBeastOfYuccaFlats'' '''four-hundred-some-odd pound''' Creator/TorJohnson manages to sneak into the back seat of a car while the driver changes a tire.
68* Last scare in ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn1984'' involves one of the children attacking Burt from the backseat of his car. He punches her out and the cast start walking to the neigboring town.
69* ''Film/{{Colombiana}}''. The BigBad flees the protagonist's RoaringRampageOfRevenge in a van [[spoiler:only to find she's left two attack dogs in the back.]]
70* ''Film/ConspiracyTheory'' has the Hero pull this off a few times.
71* ''Film/TheCrocodileHunterCollisionCourse'': After chasing the Irwins for miles, with one of them falling off their truck, and being dumped in a croc-infested river, one of the agents declares nothing could shock him. Then they turn around to see that Brozzie's pack of {{Angry Guard Dog}}s are sitting in the backseat.
72* Eric Draven does this to T-Bird, one of the five targets of his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, in ''Film/TheCrow''.
73* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has Harvey Dent/Two Face pulling a slightly modified version of this on Salvatore Maroni- Maroni gets into the back seat and then notices Dent sitting next to him. A FreezeFrameBonus reveals the {{mook}} who intended to get into that seat gets dragged off-screen by Dent moments before Maroni climbed into the car; Dent evidently got in at the same time.
74* ''Film/DawningOfTheDead'': At one point, Alex and Christian are given an old shop owner's car, and use it to get through town to the docks. On their way, they're jumped by a zombie in the back seat, causing them to accidentally flip the car.
75* Subverted in [[WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd James Rolfe's]] short movie ''The Deader The Better.'' The film is about two men whose job it is to patrol a cemetery where zombies emerge every night. Despite being standard Romero zombies who only need one good hit to the head, one of the men delights in creatively dismembering them, which he's reprimanded for by his partner. Sure enough, when he drives home that morning, there's a zombie in his backseat. KarmicDeath, right? [[spoiler: No, he savagely beats it up and throws it out the window.]]
76* ''Film/DogSoldiers'' has this happen when a werewolf hides in the back of a Land Rover. [[spoiler:Joe, who is inside the Land Rover at the time, realizes this before the wolf attacks, however, and decides to leap into the back of the Land Rover to take on the creature himself. The results aren't pretty]].
77* ''Film/DoubleIndemnity'': Phyllis and Walter are in on a murder plot to kill her husband and split the insurance money. Phyllis hides Walter in the back seat for him to ambush and strangle him.
78* Danger takes a front seat in ''Film/DriveACrookedRoad''. Harold climbs into the chief teller's car and lies down in the passenger side foot well. When the teller opens the door, he finds Harold lying on the floor pointing a gun at him.
79* A variation occurs in ''Film/TheElusiveAvengers: the Crown of the Russian Empire''. Here, Monsieur Duc's agents board the back seat in mid-trip during a short stop (the driver is [[NotMyDriver also of the "not my" variety]]) while Colonel Kudasov is still unsuspecting, ''then'' try to assassinate him.
80* ''Film/Elves2017'': When Colin gets into the driver's seat of his car, which won't start thanks to the cold, he finds himself being strangled by a mysterious assailant.
81* Justified in ''Film/TheEqualizer2'' as Robert [=McCall=] works as a Lyft driver. Halfway through the movie one of his passengers turns out to be a hitman sent to kill him.
82* At the end of ''Film/EscapePlan'', [[spoiler:Clark]] is attempting to flee, only to discover [[spoiler:Hush]] lurking in the back seat of his car. A cloth soaked in chloroform clamped over his nose and mouth soon follow.
83* The HumanAlien kids in ''Film/EscapeToWitchMountain'' do this early in the movie. Unusually for this trope, we see how they do it.
84* [[Creator/HarrisonFord Drummer]] does this during a meeting with Barney in ''Film/TheExpendables3''. The vehicle in question? A truck with [[ActorAllusion FORD]] written on the front in bold capital letters.
85* In ''Film/EyesOfAStranger'' the [[AntagonistTitle titular]] SerialKiller ambushes one of his victims by hiding in the backseat of her car, after [[HarassingPhoneCall calling her in her office and via the elevator phone]] as she descends to her parking garage.
86* In ''Film/{{Faceless}}'', Barbara is kidnapped when she is lured into Nathalie car for cocaine. Dr. Flamand is hiding in the backseat and grabs and immobilizes her while Nathalie injects her with a sedative.
87* ''Film/FearInc'' opens with a PursuedProtagonist being chased through a high rise carpark. She reaches her car and thinks she is safe, but when she starts the car she hears voices on the radio saying her pursuers know exactly where she is. Then she is garotted by someone hiding in the backseat.
88* In ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', Lt. Kaffee is on the receiving end when Lt. Col. Markinson is waiting in his car. Markinson [[LampshadeHanging points out]] that he left the back door unlocked. Possibly a subverted trope (on account of the fact that there was actually no danger)?
89* In the movie ''Film/{{Firewall}}'' the hero is kidnapped when the villain gets in the back of his car.
90* ''Film/TheGodfather''.
91** Clemenza knows that his protege Paulie betrayed Don Corleone. So he has Paulie drive him and a new henchman Rocco around for hours under the pretense of finding good housing for the upcoming MobWar; when Clemenza goes to relieve himself, Rocco kills Paulie from the back of the car.
92** He does it again more directly when Carlo Rizzi is [[ExactWords to be exiled]]. "[[PreMortemOneLiner Hello, Carlo]]". Explainable, as it wasn't Carlo's car.
93* ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}''
94** In the original ''Film/{{Halloween|1978}}'' film, Annie plans to drive over to her boyfriend's house after leaving her babysitting charges with Laurie. Finding her car locked, she goes into the house to fetch the keys, comes back to the car, opens the door ''without having to unlock it''...and just has time to notice steam on the windshield when Michael Myers (whose breath caused said steam) springs from the back seat and throttles her.
95** This also happens in ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' where Michael clings to the bottom of a moving pickup truck, before climbing up the side and killing the three men in the back of the truck.
96** And in ''Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers'', where Michael lurks in the back of Barry's van.
97* ''Film/TheHangover'' has it with a [[spoiler:sedated tiger]]. [[HilarityEnsues Hilarity]] [[WatchThePaintJob (and car damage)]] [[HilarityEnsues Ensues]].
98* Played straight in ''Film/TheHillsHaveEyes2006''. Bob attempts to flee the gas station in an abandoned car but is subdued by the mutant leader Papa Jupiter who is hiding in the backseat
99* ''Film/TheHitList'': After Gates is murdered, Allan tries to phone Brian Feltzer, the next name on the list, to warn him. Unable to reach him, Allan jumps in his car, intending to drive to where Brian-is to warn him in person. However, Jonas is waiting in the back seat of Allan's car and claps a gun to Allan's head before explaining that now he has started killing, the only way for Allan to stop him murdering all five people on the list will be for Allan to kill him.
100* In ''Film/HotFuzz'', [[spoiler:Frank Butterman]] attempts to flee in a stolen squad car and is attacked by [[spoiler:[[MakesSenseInContext the swan in the back seat.]] Justified, as we previously saw the swan put into the car and Frank is in a panic at the time.]]
101* In ''Film/HouseOf9'', Claire is abducted when her kidnapper garbs her from the backseat of her car outside a nightclub.
102* In ''Film/TheHowling1981'', [[spoiler:just as Karen and Chris are driving away from The Colony, Werewolf!Bill pops up from the backseat and attacks.]]
103* A glaring example is Rob Zombie's ''Film/HouseOf1000Corpses'' where it gets done ''in a convertible''.
104* ''Film/TheIncredibleMeltingMan'': The melting man kills an elderly couple when he creeps into the back of their car before they come back.
105* Strangely averted in ''Film/IndependenceDay''. Steven drives across the desert with an unconscious alien in the back of his truck. He brings it to the secret lab without incident. Very unexpected.
106* ''FIlm/InterviewWithTheVampire'': After Louis ends the titular interview, Daniel drives home on the highway, reviewing the tapes, when [[spoiler:Lestat jumps him and bites his neck, then takes the wheel.]]
107-->[[spoiler:'''Lestat:''' I assume I need no introduction.]]
108* ''Film/TheIrishman'': Early in the film, Briguglio strangles Tony Castellito from the backseat of a moving car. Frank, who is both a hitman and ProperlyParanoid, later on refuses to ride in the front seat with Briguglio sitting behind him.
109* ''Film/ISawWhatYouDid'': When Libby is trying to start the car to escape the house, Steve rises up from the backseat and grabs her by the throat.
110* The remake of ''Film/ISpitOnYourGrave'' has Jennifer doing this to [[spoiler:Sheriff Storch]] after luring him into the park.
111* In ''Film/JuliaX'', Julia leaves her date and returns to her car. As she sits down, The Stranger rises from the backseat and slips a garrotte round her throat.
112* The dilophosaur that kills Nedry from ''Film/JurassicPark'' attacks him in his jeep.
113* PlayedForLaughs in [[Creator/JackieChan Jackie Chan]]'s ''Kung Fu Yoga''. The main hero [[HeroStoleMyBike steals a car to chase a man]], only to find there’s a lion in the backseat. HilarityEnsues.
114* Happens to a policeman in ''Film/TheLastStarfighter''. He goes and gets into his squad car, only to be attacked and killed by a shapeshifting alien "hitbeast" called a Zando-Zan.
115* In the Spanish thriller ''La sombra de la ley'' (aka ''Gun City''), TheDragon of a local crime boss tries to garotte the protagonist from the backseat as he's driving down a country lane. The car stalls and the camera circles it repeatedly as the two men engage in a desperate GunStruggle until one of them gets shot.
116* By far the best addition to ''Film/LetMeIn'' was a 10 minute sequence where we follow the killer in the back seat from the time he gets in to the time he makes the kill. It's also one of the most intense sequences in the movie.
117* Parodied in ''Film/LoadedWeapon1''. The heroes are driving somewhere and suddenly realize they're "being followed," whereupon a pair of armed {{Mooks}} are suddenly revealed to have been sitting in the backseat in plain sight the entire time. The driver then "loses" then by taking a sudden turn. When we see the interior of the car again, the thugs have disappeared.
118* In ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' Dog does this to [[PapaWolf Big Chris]] by threatening Little Chris. [[MuggingTheMonster It does not end well for Dog]].
119* A DeletedScene in ''Film/{{Looper}}'' has a police officer (tired after being up all night searching for the protagonists) getting into his squad car after fetching coffee and [[NoPeripheralVision not noticing that Kid Blue is crouched in the seat next to him]] until he speaks up (the cop is so startled he [[DontSneakUpOnMeLikeThat crashes the car into a parked vehicle]]).
120* At the end of ''Film/LuckyNumberSlevin'', [[spoiler:the detective who has always been one step behind the protagonist falls victim to this while having an expository conversation with his colleague over the radio in his car. The protagonist is polite enough to wait until the exposition is finished, but strikes before the detective hangs up, making sure the colleague knows something is up]].
121* ''Film/{{Machete}}'': Luz hides in the back of Von Jackson's jeep. When he tries to escape, she emerges and shoots him in the back of the head.
122* In ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded'' during the highway chase scene, one of the Twins chasing Morpheus, Trinity and the Keymaster (the latter the target everyone's after) ghosts his way into the trio's car and rematerializes in the back seat leading to an in-car fight to keep him from taking the Keymaster ''while trying to keep the car steady''.
123* ''Film/NightOfTheDemons2'' has Angela popping out of the trunk to interrupt two [[SexSignalsDeath horny Catholic school students.]]
124* Happens in the horror anthology ''Film/{{Nightmares}}'', in the "Terror in Topanga" segment, and is based on the same Main/UrbanLegend (e.g., "The Killer in the Backseat") as the introductory scene in ''Film/UrbanLegend''.
125* At the end of ''Film/NightSchool1981'', the killer seeming rises from the backseat of Lt. Austin's car and holds a knife to his throat. [[spoiler:It turns out to be Taj playing a practical joke.]]
126* [[AxCrazy Jimmy Angelo]] pulls this in ''Film/PracticalMagic'' when his abused girlfriend, about to be rescued from their motel room by her more sensible sister, insists that she [[TooDumbToLive can't leave]] without the lucky necklace she left hanging on her rearview mirror...
127* Technically, Franchise/IndianaJones finding a snake in the compartment of his friend's plane in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' is a subversion, as the snake is harmless. [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes Not that he cares.]]
128* ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'':
129** The [[Film/SawI first film]] has a variant. Gordon isn't attacked in his car immediately, but when he steps out of it momentarily to use a phone, you see the back door slowly opening...
130** In a flashback in ''Film/SawII'', this is how Obi kidnapped Laura for the Nerve Gas House game.
131* In ''Film/ScareCampaign'', Emma and JD pile into the minivan and attempt to escape the AbandonedHospital. However, they can't find the keys and JD jumps out to retrieve a spare set. After he is gone, a blood covered Rohan rises from the backseat and lays his hand on Emma's shoulder.
132* Played with in ''Film/{{Scream 4}}'', where characters scared of Ghostface are constantly checking the back seat when getting into a car. [[spoiler:It doesn't help.]]
133* ''Film/{{Screamers}}'' ends with a shot of a doll in the back of the one-man spacecraft used by the protagonist to escape the planet. The doll is the type previously seen carried by the CreepyChild KillerRobot. Just before the movie ends we see the doll start to move of its own accord.
134* A flashback in ''Film/Series7TheContenders'' shows ActionMom Dawn garroting a victim from a past series this way.
135* The Yellow Bastard did this in ''Film/SinCity''. This was sort of implausible, since 1) it was snowing, 2) he was bleeding pretty badly, and 3) it was mentioned several times how much he stank, so you'd think there'd be some sort of a sign or trail that would've tipped them off. Hartigan ''does'' mention smelling him the whole time, but attributes it to a lingering stench from checking out his car.
136* In ''Film/SlaughterHigh'', Carl manages to break out of the booby-trapped school and makes it to Carol's car. However, while he is trying to start it, the jester stabs him from behind with a sword through the driver's seat.
137* Parts ''[[Film/SlumberPartyMassacreII II]]'' and ''[[Film/SlumberPartyMassacreIII III]]'' in the ''Slumber Party Massacre'' trilogy both feature a scene where a person sitting behind the wheel of car gets struck with a drill that goes through the seat.
138* In ''Film/SomeGuyWhoKillsPeople'', Lyle Bagwell is murdered by the killer hiding in the cab of his pickup truck. The last shot of him is his bloody hand clawing desperately at the rear window.
139* Played painfully straight in ''Film/TheStrangers''. The male lead makes a dash for the car to see if it's still working. He sees that all the windows of the car have been smashed in. Now, any person with half a brain would either give up on checking the car, or at least look in the backseat. What does this guy do? [[TooDumbToLive Gets into the car without even taking a quick glance to the seats behind him!]] Guess what happens? [[spoiler: he doesn't get killed (there), but there WAS someone in the backseat.]]
140* The short film ''Suspicious'' has this happening to Janane Garofalo's character, in an enactment of an urban legend.
141* ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'' features a particularly vicious cougar in the back seat of the car that Ricky Bobby learns to drive again.
142* ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacreTheBeginning'' does this with the rebooted version of Leatherface, when he kills a fleeing woman by hiding in her car and surprising her. Which is actually rather incongruous, given that Leatherface is approximately 12 feet tall and built like a linebacker.
143* ''Film/TommyBoy'' with the deer (which Chris Farley and David Spade thought was dead).
144* ''Film/Triple9'': Russell gets into his car and one of Irina's {{mook}}s rises from the backseat and wraps a plastic bag over his head. Later, [[spoiler: Franco gets in car at the hospital and sees Jeffrey's tie hanging from his rear view mirror. He then looks in the mirror and sees Jeffrey in the backseat holding a gun on him]].
145* ''Film/TheUndertaker1988'': In one scene, a man sitting in his car boasts to himself about his intention to solve all the murders... and then [[BigBad Roscoe]] grabs him from the back seat and stabs him in the eye with a knife.
146* The first victim to die in ''Film/UrbanLegend'' was killed this way. As mentioned further below, it references a well-known urban legend, as do many of the important killings in the movie.
147* Grace Jones as "May Day" murdered '''''two''''' guys this way (separate attacks) in ''Film/AViewToAKill'', resulting in Film/JamesBond not getting the support/reinforcements he expected.
148* ''Film/WolfCreek''. The main character, believing she's gotten away from Mick Taylor, gets into a car, then hears his distinctive chuckle in the seat behind her, right before he stabs her in the back.
149* One of the rules that the GenreSavvy Columbus adheres by in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}'' is to make sure to always check the backseat for any zombies. Unfortunately Tallahassee doesn't listen to this [[spoiler:and an entirely human Little Rock gets the drop on him.]] Also comes in handy earlier when the two find an H2 Hummer [[spoiler: with weapons in the backseat.]]
150-->'''Tallahassee:''' Thank god for rednecks!
151[[/folder]]
152
153[[folder:Literature]]
154* Subverted in one ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' novel, where an invisible Holly hits Butler with her mesmer as he leaves the car and gets in when Butler comes back. Artemis, noting that Butler didn't perform the usual security checks or perform the errand Artemis told him to do, immediately asks the (still invisible at this point) Holly what she wants.
155* Played with in ''Literature/BadMonkeys''. An attendant at a gas station is trying very hard to get Jane to leave her car and come into the gas station. [[spoiler: She recognises the urban legend-type setup and says, "There's a guy with an ax hiding behind the driver's seat, isn't there. Don't worry, he's not going to hurt me."]]
156* Another good guy version happens in the ''Literature/{{Burke}}'' novels. Burke removes the back seat of his Plymouth and puts in a pile of dirty blankets, saying he uses the back to carry stuff. Actually the Prof (who's very short) is hiding under the blankets. When the man in the passenger seat pulls a gun, he suddenly finds cold steel pressing against the back of his neck.
157-->'''Prof:''' Your hole card is a low card, motherfucker. I see your pistol and raise you one [[SawnOffShotgun double-barreled scattergun]].
158* ''Literature/TheCountOf9'': Donald the private detective drives away from Mortimer Jasper's house, only to be surprised by two thugs who were hiding in the back seat of his car. They beat the hell out of him and steal the jade idol that Donald just received from Mortimer Jasper. (The idol was stolen, and Donald eventually figures out that Jasper sent the goons to retrieve the idol that he'd just handed back to Donald.)
159* This is ''Literature/{{Dexter}}''[='s=] M.O. in the books. Plus some fishing wire to the throat. Ouch...
160* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': In ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', a very clever werewolf pulls off a low-tech variant, hiding under a tarp in a ''rowboat'' to ambush someone as they came aboard.
161* ''Literature/FairWarning'': The serial killer at the end of this novel kicks this trope up a notch, hiding in the trunk of Jack [=McEvoy=]'s SUV before opening the hatch to the back seat.
162* In ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'', [[spoiler:Peter Van Houten scares Hazel when he pops up in the back of her parents' van]].
163* In Creator/StephenKing's novel ''Literature/GeraldsGame'', Jessie finally escapes the (almost) human version of Death and her [[ChainedToABed Cuffed-to-the-bed]] predicament. She runs outside, jumps in her car, and gets a few miles down the road before tiredly glancing into her rear-view mirror and gets an eyeful of the guy she just narrowly avoided. Whoops!
164%%* Happens with ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'', using LOOK BEHIND YOU! as a WhamLine.
165* In ''Literature/JohnDiesAtTheEnd'', the protagonist is driving in the middle of the night with a lot on his mind, and experiences this trope. Fortunately, the guy in the backseat just wants to talk. Unfortunately, the guy brought along something to motivate the protagonist into speaking more freely, and it's thirsty for blood.
166* ''Literature/NickVelvet'':
167** In "The Theft of the Fireman's Helmet", Nick meets the two thugs who hired him to steal the helmet. Getting in the front seat of the car to talk to the brains of the outfit, Nick realizes too late that the second one was hiding in the back seat. He jabs a gun against the back of Nick's neck in case Nick is planning any funny stuff.
168** In "The Theft of the Campaign Poster", Nick gets threatened by a thug hiding in the back of his car who puts him in a choke hold and then knocks him out.
169* In ''Literature/{{Pact}}'', the protagonist Blake Thorburn, after having become a MirrorMonster, steps into the reflection of a rearview mirror of the back of a car being driven by a local wizard in order to have a chat. He's not actually sitting in the back seat, but in the ''reflection'' of the back seat.
170* ''Literature/ScaryStoriesToTellInTheDark'' retells the classic UrbanLegend about this under the title "High Beams".
171* ''Literature/ShortAndShivery'': In "Narrow Escape" (from book 4 of the series, ''A Terrifying Taste of Short and Shivery''), Tessa drives away from the gas station, ignoring station attendent Dale yelling at her to get out of the car. It turns out that he saw the Gold Country Killer, a serial murderer who's been stalking the area, climb into her backseat. Fortunately, Dale follows and catches up to her in his own vehicle, and proceeds to clobber the killer with a tire iron just in time.
172* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'': ''Literature/DeathTroopers'' features quite an interesting one near the end of the book. [[spoiler: Late in the novel, the "team" of survivors, Trig, Han, Chewie, and an unnamed Imperial soldier are flying back to civilization in a small Imperial ship. Trouble is, the forgot to make a headcount. A nearby [[RecycledInSpace space zombie]] leaps out from behind, takes a good chunk out of the nameless Imperial man, only to be shot by Cody, who apparently took a back-er seat than the zombie.]]
173* ''The Surgeon''. Dr. Catherine Cordell gets into her car, intending to return to the hospital to tend to a patient. But when she calls the hospital from her car phone to verify some information, she's told that a previous call originated from that very same phone. Her attacker lunges at her from the backseat...
174* Jack Fleming of ''Literature/TheVampireFiles'' has resorted to a heroic version of this to take down gangsters. Justified by his being able to enter locked cars by vanishing, and not showing up in rear-view mirrors even if he goes solid.
175* ''Literature/{{Wyatt}}'': In ''Paydirt'', Wyatt hides in the boot of an another criminal's car. He waits until the car is underway, then kicks his way in through the backseat and claps a gun to the driver's head.
176
177[[/folder]]
178
179[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
180%%* This is how Dr. Cassandra meets time-hopping Cole in ''Series/TwelveMonkeys''.
181* In the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E4FaceMyEnemy "Face My Enemy"]], Raina gets in her car to discover a HYDRA [[{{Mooks}} mook]] waiting for her in the backseat.
182* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' pulls this on Wolfram & Hart employees when he wants to intimidate them. Since he's a vampire, they can't see him in the rear-view mirror.
183%%* Happens to Alex Drake near the start of ''Series/AshesToAshes2008''.
184* ''Series/AshVsEvilDead'':
185** Deadite-[[spoiler:Roper]] hides in [[CoolCar the Delta's]] back seat in order to ambush Ash while he's driving.
186** When Professor Knowby tries to escape the cabin in 1982 with the Necronomicon, he's killed by [[spoiler:that time period's Ruby]] who hid in the back seat of his car.
187* Every time someone gets into a vehicle in the Crows' garage on ''Series/Batwoman2019'', you can usually expect someone dangerous hiding in the back seat. It's often Alice, but the trope was subverted at least once by Sophie's sister Jordan, who's coming to her for help.
188* A non-lethal version in ''Series/TheBoys2019''. Billy Butcher has a habit of TrespassingToTalk, appearing in houses, offices and car backseats with equal disrespect for privacy. The latter is justified when he has to make contact with someone confined to a secret Vought facility covered by surveillance cameras. He hides in their car, leaving the door ajar so they'll come out to investigate, then he tells them to drive him somewhere the cameras aren't watching.
189* In ''Series/BreakingBad'', [[spoiler: this is how Tuco kidnaps Jesse and Walt at [[Recap/BreakingBadS2E1SevenThirtySeven the beginning of season two]].]]
190* The VictimOfTheWeek in episode 1x02 of ''Series/ByAnyMeans'' is chloroformed by an attacker hiding in the back of her car.
191* In ''Series/{{Carnivale}}'', Justin Crowe uses astral projection to hijack the car [[spoiler:Henry Scudder]] is using to escape, killing him with a sickle.
192* ''Series/{{Castle|2009}}'': In "Significant Others", the VictimOfTheWeek is stabbed to death with an icepick by a killer hiding in the back of her car.
193* Used in ''Series/TheCityHunter'', with [[TheHero Yun Sung]] doing this to [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Kim Jong-Shik]]; and later when TheDragon is arranging Young Ju's "suicide," beginning by drugging him unconscious from the back seat and locking him in the car.
194* Inverted in an episode of ''Series/ColdCase''. A young drug mule who stole some of the wares is being chased by her bosses when she encounters her "friend", who lures her into her car where her boyfriend (and enforcer for the dealers) surprises the girl in the front seat and then kills her while the friend held her down.
195* In the ''Series/CSIMiami'' episode "Special Delivery", the VictimOfTheWeek - a delivery driver - is garrotted from the back of his van as he gets back into the driver's seat.
196* On ''Series/{{Curfew}}'', pregnant Faith has an encounter with Team Awesome where they get out of her shooting them by doing a song and dance routine. After she drives off, she discovers that one of them, Cheese, snuck into the back seat of her Jaguar during the performance. However, it turns out that Cheese recognized that she was in labor and went along to be a birthing coach.
197* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': After learning from Karen the details of how Wilson Fisk got himself out of prison (by snitching on an Albanian gang), Matt hides in the backseat of [[AmoralAttorney Big Ben Donovan]]'s car, and when he gets in, strangles him from behind and threatens him into giving up why Fisk is doing this (he did it to get accessory charges against Vanessa thrown out). Matt is forced to abandon his interrogation when an FBI tactical unit monitoring Donovan show up to rescue him, and Matt is forced to fight them off to escape.
198* In the final battle of the KGB vs. CIA episode of ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'', [[spoiler:the last KGB agent is killed via a CIA agent hiding in the back of his car and garroting him.]]
199* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'' pulls this on Mike Donovan, the PedophilePriest he kills in the very first episode.
200* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
201** In the [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie TV movie]], the Doctor does this to Grace. Well, she knew he was ''around'', as he'd followed her to her car, but he [[StealthHiBye sort of vanishes]] and gets in the back of the van without her noticing. He's not exactly an {{Antihero}}, but due to TraumaInducedAmnesia, he has NoSocialSkills — even more so than usual.
202** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars "The Waters of Mars"]]: Ed and the escape shuttle are lost when the possessed Maggie boards it behind him and infects him, prompting him to blow up the ship before the infection can take hold.
203* ''Series/DropTheDeadDonkey''. PlayedForLaughs when Globelink News decide to make a crimewatch program. Gus Hedges assures the police liaison officer that it's not going to increase the public's fear of crime for cheap ratings. Cue the title sequence showing a couple moving fearfully through a darkened street, while an ominous voiceover accompanied by creepy music tells how crime is lurking everywhere, waiting to strike... The music stops as the couple make it to their car, lock the doors and sigh with relief, only for a blood-stained man wielding a huge knife to rise up from the backseat.
204* ''Series/{{FBI}}'': In "[[Recap/FBIS05E10 Second Life]]", VictimOfTheWeek Chloe Rogers is abducted by someone hiding in the back seat of her pizza delivery car.
205* In ''Series/Hawkeye2021'', knowing that Kazi is the only person who can get through to Maya, Clint waits for him in the backseat of his car and threatens him, demanding he talk Maya into calling off her vendetta before things escalate any further.
206* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': [[KnightTemplar Danko]] is relaxing in his car fiddling with the radio only to be interrupted by [[BigBad Sylar]]: "I love this song."
207* ''Series/InspectorMorse'' had an interesting variation. A female office worker is being hassled by a creepy co-worker. When she leaves he starts chasing her in his own car, and by the time he gets her to stop she's quite hysterical — it turns out he's trying to warn her about the man he saw jumping into the back of her van.
208* ''Series/LethalWeapon''. In the "Lawmen" episode, Barton kidnaps Captain Brooks from such a position. The setting makes the trope so obvious of its actualization, that a nagging feeling can be anticipated.
209* In ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' episode "[[RashomonStyle The Rashomon Job]]", Eliot pulls this on an unsuspecting doctor to get into an art show.
210-->'''Eliot:''' Don't talk. I know it's your first instinct to talk, but don't. Your best course of action is to nod.\
211'''Doctor:''' Wh...\
212'''Eliot:''' Nod. ''[Doctor nods]'' Good. I'm gonna need a couple things from you. I need your clothes, and I need your little invite to this party. Now this can go two ways; you can give them to me, and I can stuff you in the trunk of this car, which, by the way, looks pretty comfortable. Not a bad night. Or you can not give them to me... (Eliot’s face hardens) and I can do exactly what you'd expect a crazy guy in your back seat to do to you.
213* Lampshaded in the fourth episode of the second season of ''Series/LieToMe'' in that the victim, Torres, is later seen to berate herself for not locking the car door. It was broad daylight...
214* ''Series/MajorCrimes'': In "Year-End Blowout", Sykes is preparing Rusty for his decoy mission and tries to drive home to him the importance of always checking the back seat of his car before getting in. On his first day, he fails to do this and [[spoiler:Sykes]] rises up from the back seat and puts a gun to his head.
215* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': The first two victims in "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS9E1 The House in the Woods]]" are garrotted by a killer hiding in the backseat of their car.
216* An episode of ''Series/Millennium1996'' has a service station owner calling a woman into his office because her credit card was invalid — it turns out he'd actually seen a man hiding in her back seat. That killer was also striking in the manner of {{Urban Legend}}s.
217* ''Series/{{Motive}}'': In "Purgatory", a strip club owner returns to his car to find it has been broken into. He climbs inside, and is surprised by the killer in his back seat who proceeds to interrogate him. He then goes for the gun he has hidden in the car, only to learn the killer has already found it and taken it. Things then get worse for him.
218* In the ''Series/MrBean'' episode ''Mind the Baby, Mr Bean'', a Doberman sneaks into Mr. Bean's car, after a RunningGag that whenever Mr Bean makes a baby's toy squeak, the dog runs after it. He squeaks it one last time, and the dog barks in his car, from the back seat.
219* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In "Crescent City" (the BackDoorPilot for ''Series/NCISNewOrleans''), FBI Agent Doyle is killed by a murderer hiding in the back seat of the car.
220* ''Series/TheNewAvengers'': In "Cat Among the Pigeons" Steed is attacked by [[AnimalAssassin a falcon]] that has been planted in the back of his car.
221* In the ''Series/NewTricks'' episode "Only The Brave" a gang member tries this on Sandra, threatening her with a gun. This is a mistake as Sandra breaks his nose and knocks him out.
222* One episode of ''Series/NewYorkUndercover'' has a subversion with a young supermodel being attacked in her car. The assailant didn't kill her, but he did slash up the poor girl's face, [[CareerEndingInjury effectively ending her modeling career.]]
223* Used in ''Series/OneLifeToLive''. Todd Manning has been stalking his victim Marty Saybrooke for several days, intending to persuade her into not testifying against him--he's planning to rape her again and possibly kill her. He lurks in the backseat of her car, but his attack his foiled when her friend shows up and unwittingly saves the day, with neither of them having ever been aware of his presence.
224* In ''Series/OrphanBlack'', Katya contacts Sarah Manning this way. Katya at first thinks that Sarah is Beth.
225* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Combined with DyingMomentOfAwesome in "Dead Reckoning". [[spoiler:RogueAgent Kate Stanton has forced Mark Snow to wear an ExplosiveLeash and carry out her orders for months. Finally she sets the timer to blow him up, only [[TheDogBitesBack to find him]] sitting in the back seat of her car [[TakingYouWithMe as the last few seconds count down]].]]
226* Played with in the ''Series/PowerRangersSPD'' episode "Reflection". While hunting for the escaped criminal, Mirloc, Bridge and Z spot him in the rear view mirror of their jeep and turn around to face him in the back seat, except he's not there. Mirloc reminds them that his the power is to travel through reflective surfaces so he's only appearing to them through the mirror.
227* ''Series/{{Psych}}'':
228** Shawn Spencer pulled this off in hilarious fashion on two cops.
229** Another episode inverted it. Abagail is in the back of Buzz's cop car when suddenly he's knocked out and the episode's villain gets in the ''front'' seat.
230* ''Series/PsychopathDiary'': In-woo hides in Mu-seok's backseat. As soon as Mu-seok gets in the car In-woo sedates him.
231* ''Series/ThePunisher2017'': A non-lethal version when Turk finds a NotQuiteDead [[TheDreaded Frank Castle]] waiting in his backseat.
232-->'''Turk:''' [[OhCrap Oh, hell no.]]\
233'''Frank:''' ''(amused)'' Oh, hell yeah.
234* ''Series/RizzoliAndIsles'': The VictimOfTheWeek in "Over/Under" is stabbed to death by the killer, who slips into the backseat of his van as it is going through a carwash.
235* ''Series/ScottAndBailey'': In [=S03 E08=], DCI Gill Murray is threatened by a woman who hid in the back of Gill's car. The rest of the episode shows Gill's team and other police officers trying to work out who the woman is, where she is forcing Gill to drive them, and how to safely rescue Gill, while Gill tries to convince her captor to let her go.
236* ''Series/ScreamQueens2015'': In "[[Recap/ScreamQueensS1E2HellWeek Hell Week]]", one of the security guards is stabbed to death by the killer hiding in the back of her patrol car.
237* In the ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode "[[Recap/SmallvilleS04E12Pariah Pariah]]", the killer has the ability to turn into sand and can get to the backseat easily.
238* In ''Series/TheStand1994'' miniseries, Campion sees (or believes he sees) Randall Flagg traveling with him and his family from Project Blue to Arnette in the backseat:
239-->"There was a man with us some of the time; he was a dark man. I was looking through the rear-view mirror and I'd see him just sitting there, grinning at me. I thought I could outrun him...you can't outrun the dark man."
240* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
241** This occurs in the series [[Recap/SupernaturalS01E01Pilot pilot]]; one of the victims of the MonsterOfTheWeek agrees to take her home, but when he reaches the house she vanishes. As he's driving away he checks the rear-view mirror and sees her sitting in the back seat. Cue GoryDiscretionShot. JustifiedTrope as she was a ghost.
242** Happens in "[[Recap/SupernaturalS06E15TheFrenchMistake The French Mistake]]", in which [[spoiler:a depowered angel]] hides in the backseat of Misha Collins' car. He himself lampshades it.
243--->'''Misha Collins:''' ''[typing into his phone]'' Ever. Get. The. Feeling. That. There's. Someone. In. The. Back. Seat? Frowny-face.
244** The good guys that can teleport tend to do this too. Only with less gore and more friendly scare.
245* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', a poor secretary discovers a Terminator waiting in the back seat of her car. She promises not to scream. Don't make promises you can't keep...
246* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': Referenced in the episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E9PerchanceToDream Perchance to Dream]]". Edward Hall tells the psychiatrist Dr. Rathmann that he once nearly got into a car accident because his overactive imagination led him to believe that he was living out one of these stories in real life. As he looked into his rearview mirror, he thought he saw a pair of strange catlike eyes, something that distracted him enough to nearly hit another car.
247%%** The classic episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S1E16TheHitchHiker The Hitchhiker]]".
248* In ''Series/VengeanceUnlimited'', [[AntiHero Mr. Chapel]] waits in the backseat of one of his marks' accomplice's car, then [[InstantSedation chloroforms]] them.
249%%* Happens to ''Series/VeronicaMars'' at the end of the first season with [[spoiler: Aaron Echolls]].
250* In ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'', Alex (of course) is kidnapped by one of the Villain of Week's henchmen, who has been lurking in the backseat of her SUV. One would think that as an ADA, the girlfriend of a cop, and someone who's been kidnapped or assaulted numerous times, she'd be more vigilant about her personal safety.
251* ''Series/TheXFiles'': In the episode "[[Recap/TheXFilesS06E16Alpha Alpha]]", the killer is a dog who shapeshifts between a human and canine form, meaning he/it can be small enough to hide in the back, yet is also able to open the car door.
252[[/folder]]
253
254[[folder:Music]]
255* The end of Ayumi Hamasaki's music video for the song "ourselves".
256[[/folder]]
257
258[[folder:Mythology & Folklore]]
259* The classic UrbanLegend about this goes something along these lines: A woman driving alone is pursued by another car or truck, ''Film/{{Duel}}'' style, and its driver keeps flashing his headlights or high beams at her, to her increasing panic. When she finally makes it home and gets out of her car, the other vehicle parks right behind her. She runs inside and calls the police, they arrive and attempt to arrest the other driver who had stayed inside his vehicle with the lights on, keenly watching the place. However, he then reveals he was only chasing the woman and flashing his lights because there was ''a man with a knife'' hiding in her backseat, who was still there right now. Every time the man stood up while she was driving, he had flashed his lights to make the man duck down again.
260* A non-headlights variation has the woman stop at a gas station, paying with a credit card, and the attendant insists that there's a problem with her card so could she please step inside the store? To her annoyance, the woman gets out, and the attendant suddenly drags her inside, to her shock. But then he tells her about the man hiding in her backseat.
261[[/folder]]
262
263
264[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
265* In Wrestling/{{Chikara}}, this happened to Mr. Touchdown, who left the Wrestle Factory, only to get jumped by [[EldritchAbomination Nazmaldun]]-[[DemonicPossession possessed]] UltraMantisBlack. The next time we saw Touchdown, he'd become part of Nazmaldun's [[BrainwashedAndCrazy "HeXed Men"]], which lasted until the end of the season, when the hex was broken.
266[[/folder]]
267
268[[folder:Radio]]
269* A ''Radio/{{Suspense}}'' episode titled "Backseat Driver" stars Jim and Marian Jordan (aka Radio/FibberMcGeeAndMolly) as a married couple driving home from the movies who discover that an escaped killer has been hiding out in the back of their car.
270[[/folder]]
271
272[[folder:Video Games]]
273* In ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo: The 40th Day'', one cutscene involves a man robbing a store, running to a car, and preparing to make his getaway...only to realize that [[ItMakesSenseInContext there is a tiger in the back seat.]] It ends about as well for the robber as you would expect.
274* Played straight in the worst ending of the Super Famicom horror game ''VideoGame/{{Clock Tower|1995}}''. The protagonist flees the house of death in a stolen car, and just as she thinks she's gotten away from it and the scissors-wielding murderer... [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cloth-6.gif cue scissors rising up,]] scream, and FadeToBlack.
275* In some of the various endings of ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' the pilot who comes to pick you up at the end of the 72 hours is attacked by a zombie hiding in his helicopter.
276* In ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'', at the end of the game, [[spoiler:when Issac successfully scrambles to the shuttle after defeating the (surprisingly easy) Hive Mind and is seemingly safe, he is surprised by Nicole's Necromporphed corpse lunging at him from behind the cockpit as the screen cuts to black]].
277* ''VideoGame/FaithTheUnholyTrinity'': [[spoiler:One of the endings for the first chapter involves John shooting a mysterious shadow in the woods and getting jumped by Michael while inside his car.]]
278* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', T-Bone Mendez, who (correctly) suspects that CJ is a double agent, pulls one of these to try and get him to admit it. He hides in the back seat of the car, then gets CJ in a chokehold from behind and puts a gun at his temple. CJ doesn't spill the beans and after a bit Mendez is called off by [[OmniscientMoralityLicense Mike Toreno]].
279* This is how Michael and Franklin meet in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV''. Franklin has been sent to repossess Michael's son's SUV and manages to get it out of the garage successfully. On the way back to the dealership, Michael jumps out of the back seat and takes charge of the situation, threatening Franklin by gunpoint to do so. If the player refuses to do what Michael says, Michael will knock Franklin out with a PistolWhipping. Players who are paying attention will notice a blanket covering the backseat.
280->'''Michael:''' [[ClickHello That's a nine-millimeter semi-automatic pushed against your skull.]] Ah-ah, don't look around, you just keep driving where you're going.
281* ''VideoGame/{{Rebuild}}'' shows this in one of the endings, when [[spoiler:a zombie sneaks up on whoever is piloting the repaired helicopter... before getting its brains blown out by a fellow passenger]].
282* A non-car example in the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'': In ''Complex'', one can choose to take the luxury cruiser out. If so, Henry ambushes the captain of the vessel this way, complete with [[PsychoStrings sudden violin.]] He sails off into the sunset... and then one of the ''crew members'' does the same thing to Henry.
283--> ''[[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Did you think none of the crew would notice an unscheduled departure]]?''
284* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' uses this in the introductory cutscene. Claire and Leon pile into an abandoned police cruiser and start driving for the station. A zombie eventually lunges out of the back after Claire finds a gun in the glove compartment. The three swerve into a wall, causing the unbuckled zombie to fly through the windshield (or rear window if you put in Leon's disk).
285[[/folder]]
286
287[[folder:Visual Novels]]
288* In ''VisualNovel/TheLetter'', the StringyHairedGhostGirl appears in Rebecca's mirror while she's driving her friend Isabella home, almost causing her to crash.
289[[/folder]]
290
291[[folder:Webcomics]]
292* ''Webcomic/KevinAndKell'': Attempted in the [[https://www.kevinandkell.com/2007/kk0301.html March 1, 2007 strip]], where an alligator is hiding in wait in the backseat of a sheep's car. Unfortunately for the alligator, the sheep happens to be a customer of Aby Eyeshine and her auto service, and had a "Check Back Seat" light and associated ejection seat installed for just such an event.
293* While Mordecai Heller of ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' didn't mean Mitzi harm when he hid in her backseat to wait for her, you can bet he went about it that way because he was [[PsychoForHire very used to meaning people harm]].
294-->'''Mordecai:''' I'd like a word with you...if you can refrain from [[HandbagOfHurt assaulting me with bakelite]] for a moment.
295-->'''Mitzi:''' Is that all? Why do you always have to do things the creepy way?
296* In one issue of ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'', Tycho goes to Game Stop to buy a copy of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' on its release date, only to find out that they only have one copy, a used one. Tycho immediately questions how this happened. The next two panels are from earlier in that day; Gabe picked up a copy, only to find the store manager, Frank, was in the back seat of his car, and...''coerced'' Gabe into selling it back for store credit.
297* Done by the titular character of ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary''. Except that, since he's an amorphous blob who can change his shape at will, he doesn't need to lay in wait on the ''back''seat.
298-->'''Haban:''' Hmm... my flight seat is softer than I remember- [[OhCrap HOLY SWEET MOTHER]] [[KilledMidSentence OF urk.]]
299* Subverted in ''Webcomic/UncommonAnimals'' when Terry [[http://uncommonanimals.thecomicseries.com/comics/18/ checks her backseat]], only to find it empty, before taking off.
300[[/folder]]
301
302[[folder:Web Original]]
303* A variation occurs in the ''Podcast/AliceIsntDead'' episode "Nothing to See," where the long haul trucker CharacterNarrator is troubled by persistent, loud banging in her trailer, only to check it twice, find nothing and ''still'' hear noises, [[spoiler: until the third check, where her Humanoid Abomination stalker the Thistle Man reveals himself, then makes a point of attacking her ''in a Target parking lot'' to [[ExploitedTrope display]] how easy it is, and how no one will help. The police, as it turns out, are in his pocket.]]
304* In ''WebVideo/EverymanHYBRID'' (a subset of ''Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos''), there's a brief shot that shows the Slender Man himself in the back of someone's car. One of the team remarks on it, thinking it's the fake Slendy they'd been putting in as [[DeadlyPrank a prank]], but when the car later pulls over, [[OffscreenTeleportation there's nobody in the back-seat]].
305* In the ninth episode of ''WebVideo/TheJokerBlogs'', [[spoiler: Dr. Arkham gets into his car only to be greeted by the recently escaped Joker.]]
306%%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=EhkC-xLi5DI This short video.]]
307[[/folder]]
308
309[[folder:Western Animation]]
310* Played for laughs in an early episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' where Grim sneaks into the car of a man who was driving erratically since he was playing with his cell phone behind the wheel. After Grim kills the phone's battery, the driver barely avoids crashing and killing several kids who were crossing the street. As he realizes what he almost did, he adjusts his mirror and sees Grim in the backseat, causing him to panic and floor it again.
311* ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies'': In the season 1 finale, [[spoiler:[=McGuirk=] uses this on a soccer dad as his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.]]
312* ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'':
313** In ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooWhereAreYou'', the following two instances have the VillainOfTheWeek hiding in the Mystery Machine:
314*** Played straight in "[[Recap/ScoobyDooWherAreYouS2E1NowhereToHyde Nowhere to Hyde]]", when the Ghost of Mr. Hyde hides in the van after stealing a necklace while the gang is at the malt shop, then is discovered by Scooby when the latter grabs the beach blanket the former was hiding underneath to keep the gang warm due to van's broken air-conditioning unit, which then kicks off the mystery. It's also {{lampshade}}d when [[TemptingFate Shaggy and Velma are discussing]] the BMovie ''I Was a Teenage Blob''.
315*** Inverted near the end of "[[Recap/ScoobyDooWhereAreYouS2E4JeepersItsTheCreeper Jeepers, It's the Creeper]]" when the titular Creeper is found in the ''driver's seat'' when the gang is about to contact the sheriff when they, at first, suspect a hermit they visited as the culprit.
316* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
317** A variation with Bart sprinting from his home to the school bus to escape a killer dog and convincing himself that he's safe when he gets to his seat, only to be chased right back out by the dog in the seat behind him.
318** In another episode an escaped convict tries this on Marge, but waits on the backseat of the wrong car.
319** Another episode invokes the above urban myth with Otto telling Lisa a story about a someone doing this. He ends up terrifying her into screaming at the top of her lungs when he tells her that he was the maniac.
320** In yet another, some sleazy executives make a getaway from Homers' farm, where he grows addictive tomatoes laced with nicotine, in a helicopter, soon after the farm is devastated by crazed farm animals addicted to the product. One of these, a sheep, is hiding in the back seat.
321* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'':
322** For the whole of ''World Tour'', Ezekiel hides out in the cargo hold of the Total Drama Jumbo Jet. He starts out as a normal teen who can't accept his early elimination, but the longer he stays in hiding, away from humans and alone with rats, scavenging and biding his time for food, the more he feralizes and the more he is framed as a potential threat to those on board whenever he's present in the shadows. It doesn't come to that, if nothing else because Chris has him captured.
323** In "[[Recap/TotalDramaABlastFromThePast A Blast From the Past]]", a sea monster earlier shown to arrive at and roam the island hides in the back of Chef's jeep when he looks for Shawn. The monster does not attack either, because it's actually Amy and she only seeks to harm Samey.
324[[/folder]]
325
326[[folder:Real Life]]
327* Being "taken for a ride" was a common method of execution by TheMafia. This entailed being driven to an out-of-the-way location and then killed by a hitman sitting in the seat behind the victim.
328* Also a precaution included in every female defense guide ever. If you're walking to your car and it's dark, ''check the damn back seat first.'' Men should do this as well as women, for obvious reasons.
329* One story in a kid's magazine was written by a girl who got in a car with her mother to head to school, only to have [[CatScare a cat jump out]]. They had left the window open, and newborn kittens were in the trunk.
330* Inverted in at least one real-life case. In 2012 in Australia a thief stole a woman's car, only to find that her baby was still in the child seat in the back.
331* Supposedly, the "Killer in the Backseat" (or "High Beams") urban legend originates from an event that happened in New York during 1964, where a police officer found an escaped murderer in the backseat of a police car and shot him dead.
332* One of the first episodes of the Investigative Discovery show, ''Over My Dead Body'', featured this, where a woman went to go get gas for a moment. He held her (and her kids) at knife point but she managed to fight him off and get him out of her car (after he made her drive to a secluded location), before she ran him down. The perp survived, was arrested, and sentenced to prison, while paralyzed from the waist down.
333[[/folder]]

Top