Line #77 Main/PivotalWakeup


1	[[quoteright:300:[[Film/{{Dracula1931}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pivotal_wake_up.jpg]]]]
2	[-[[caption-width-right:300:Dracula knows how to [[VideoGame/AlteredBeast1988 "Rise from your grave!"]] in ''style.'']]-]
3	%%
4	The Pivotal Wake-up is a classic move in the repertoire of old-school vampires and mummies. Once the sun dips below the horizon, the vampire's [[EyeOpen eyes will open]], the coffin lid will fly open on its own, and the occupant will [[PowerFloats levitate]] into a standing position while pivoting on their feet, as if they were a fulcrum.
5
6	Needless to say, this move is so old school it may be a DeadHorseTrope. However, it still occasionally sees use even outside the vampire community. Comedies seem to like to use it to demonstrate just how strange or freaky some characters are by, say, rising this way on the mention of their favorite food or after being punched in the face.
7
8	Usually requires that VampiresSleepInCoffins, though it may be PlayedForLaughs by having a vampire rise up out of bed in a similar manner.
9
10	Compare CatapultNightmare, the {{Muggle\|s}} equivalent.
11
12	----
13	!!Examples:
14
15	[[foldercontrol]]
16
17	[[folder:Advertising]]
18	* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDq0wVXGH4o A commercial for Nutri-grain Bars]] focused on a family of vampires talking about how weird it is to be able to walk about in morning time. At one point, we're shown a clip of the daughter rising from her coffin like this.
19	[[/folder]]
20
21	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
22	* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' - during the "warm-up" phase of Goku and Cell's fight, Goku knocks Cell over the edge of the arena. The (in-series) audience hopes for a ring-out, only for Cell to remind them all that he can fly by freezing and performing this trope in midair.
23	* ''Anime/OnePiece'': Don Kreig does this in the anime when he briefly recovers after Luffy defeats him, going on a tirade about how he can't be beaten before Gin knocks him out with a gut punch.
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Comic Books]]
27	* ComicBook/{{Galactus}} rose like this during the events of ''Marvel Superheroes ComicBook/SecretWars1984''. Doctor Doom was impressed.
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
31	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'', Jack Skellington emerges from a coffin like this while dressed as Santa Claus. (Of note, he does it while facing ''down'', which is unusual.)
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
35	* Played straight in Jean Cocteau's ''[[Film/BeautyAndTheBeast1946 La Belle et la Bête]]'' when the Beast is transformed into a handsome Prince. Done by having the actor fall backwards and reversing the film, of course.
36	* Margaret in ''Film/ChildrenOfTheCornIVTheGathering'' is shown doing this in her bed when she and other children suffer from the mysterious fever. Later, she does this in reverse when she is being used to bring Josiah into the physical realm for good.
37	* In ''Film/DarkShadows'', Barnabas Collins uses this style of getting up in one scene.
38	* ''Film/LesDiaboliques'' evokes this shot [[NightmareFuel very effectively]] at its climax.
39	* Parodied in ''Film/DraculaDeadAndLovingIt'' , the Count (Leslie Nielsen) does the wakeup... and ends up hitting his forehead on a metal chandelier.
40	* ''Franchise/EvilDead'' In ''Film/ArmyOfDarkness'', the deadite in the pit rises this way from the water/mist that were keeping her hidden, right next to Ash.
41	* ''Film/{{Fright Night\|1985}}'': The vampire Jerry Dandridge rises up out of his coffin this way after a stake is pounded into his chest. Watch it in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE7KosYg5Xs this trailer, starting at 1:40.]]
42	* Smith gets up like this once after Neo knocks him down in ''Film/TheMatrix''. Intentional reference?
43	* Interestingly, the 1920 movie ''Film/TheGolem'' has the {{Golem}} wake up in this manner when he is incautiously revived by the Rabbi's apprentice -- two years before ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}''.
44	* After Jessica Jones (no, not [[ComicBook/JessicaJones that one]]) in ''Film/InvitationToHell'' is accidentally run over by a driver who was [[DistractedByTheSexy distracted by two hot chicks walking by]], she gets back up like this and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwENxiQ_ADA fries the guy with her powers.]]
45	* Dracula's first scene in ''Film/TheLegendOfThe7GoldenVampires'' has him doing this.
46	* The UrExample and TropeMaker is almost certainly ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}: Eine Symphonie des Grauens'' (1922). It was done by having Max Shreck lifted from the coffin on a wooden board he was laying upon.
47	* In ''Film/SleepyHollowHigh'', the Horseman does this after being shot by Z.
48	* The New Zealand [[SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror Comedy/Horror]] flick ''Undead'' (nothing to do with the ''other'' movie named ''Film/TheUndead'') has the zombies who aren't head-shotted rise up this way with a cheerful "springy" sound effect.
49	* ''Film/VanHelsing'': Dracula first melts the ice that fills his coffin, and then does this. In fact, he has an [[http://actionfigure.guidestobuy.com/jakks-action-figure/van-helsing-dracula-w-coffin-playset/ action figure]] that works like the one used as the page picture!
50	* ''Film/WhatWeDoInTheShadows'' starts with a Pivotal Wakeup. Since the movie is a parody and the vampire in question is AffablyEvil, the levitation is sheepish and silly.
51	[[/folder]]
52
53	[[folder:Literature]]
54	* ''Literature/JohannesCabal'': {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d by Horst the vampire in ''Literature/TheBrothersCabal''. He has no idea how he can spring upwards "as if his feet were attached to some ghastly hinge" but is glad to have the trick, since it would be quite awkward to clamber out of a [[VampiresSleepInCoffins coffin on a bier]] otherwise.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58	* ''Series/OnlyFoolsAndHorses'': Inverted by that time Del Boy fell through the bar.
59	* In a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'', Dracula rises like this in ''Series/YoungDracula''.
60	* Angelus pulled this trick on ''Series/{{Angel}}''. Seeing as it's a spinoff of ''Buffy'', which debuted six years earlier, it's remarkable that they resisted this trope for as long as they did. (The weirdness of this trope is actually invoked to remind the viewer that this is a [[BuffySpeak weird, dream-walky place]], right before Faith and Angelus start interacting with the memory-dream-projection-Angel.)
61	* ''Series/DoctorWho'', "Image of the Fendahl": After [[spoiler:Thea Ransome]] is possessed by the Fendahl, her body rises to its feet like this.
62	* An episode of ''Series/TheYoungIndianaJonesChronicles'' has a vampire knocked down during a fight, then instantly do this and pop right back up again.
63	* In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers,'' the ''first'' time Tommy returned, he used his temporary powers to get back the other Rangers' Power Coins (their power source) and was near death from the strain on his body (and having the tar beaten out of him while only at partial power.) Later, Power Coin energy surrounds him as he rises into the air and pivots to a standing position, and only once standing does he awaken. Turns out he'd absorbed enough power from the force field around the coins to rejoin the team for good (with plenty of scares that the temporary powers may yet give out.)
64	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. In "Monster Movie" a shapeshifting demon with a liking for monster movies does this when rising from a coffin as a {{Mummy}}.
65	* ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'': In the season 3 episode "Return of the Mack", when Damien Darhk is revived by his cult, he rises from his coffin in this manner.
66	* ''Series/WhatWeDoInTheShadows2019'': In the pilot episode, Nandor wakes up in the manner in his first scene, after Guillermo finally manages to open the coffin.
67	* ''Series/WandaVision'': At the beginning of "[[Recap/WandaVisionEpisode9TheSeriesFinale The Series Finale]]", after being blasted by Wanda, [[spoiler:Agatha Harkness]] rises up straight to her feet behind the twins. Not unexpected, as she can fly.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Music Videos]]
71	* The dancing interns of the Avicii song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovdm2yX4MA& Levels.]]
72	[[/folder]]
73
74	[[folder:Pinballs]]
75	* Happens with Drac himself in ''Pinball/MonsterBash''. As the leader of a band on tour, this is how he makes his entrance when they're about to perform.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
79	* The way WWE's Wrestling/TheUndertaker sits bolt-upright after recovering from a knock down is similar to this trope.
80	* The Undertaker's Brother Wrestling/{{Kane}} also performs a similar bolt-upright sit up, but his is more of a zombie-like sit up.
81	* And now, with the debut of Wrestling/AleisterBlack, the WWE finally has the literal ''tilting-to-upright-by-their-feet'' (albeit with the aid of lying on a platform) proviso of this trope covered.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Toys]]
85	* The trope illustration is a Burger King tie-in toy with Universal Studios; curiously, the WolfMan toy did the same thing (emerging from a kind of crate or cellar with pivoting doors instead of a coffin with a pop-off lid).
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Video Games]]
89	* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
90	** What happens when the Gibdos appear out of the coffins in the Bottom of the Well in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime''.
91	** The [=ReDead=] Knights as well, in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', though they have no coffins.
92	* Vincent Valentine does this when you wake him up in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''.
93	* How vampires awaken in ''VideoGame/TheSims 2''.
94	* In ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'', Morrigan gets up this way. Although she cheats. Her wings turn into bats that push her up.
95	* A zombie example: a similar animation is played in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' when a reanimate zombie spell is cast on someone's corpse. The body doesn't act rigid and realistically bends, but otherwise the effect is the same.
96	* Rare heroic, non-vampiric example: when a party member is revived with a Zing or Kazing spell in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', they levitate to a standing position in this manner, head and limbs hanging limp until they are almost completely upright, before opening their eyes and assuming their normal battle posture.
97	* ''VideoGame/Legend1998'' have sorceror enemies that when knocked off their feet but not yet killed, will get back upright vertically in an instant.
98	* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'': After the first boss encounter, [[spoiler:Mia, the PlayerCharacter's wife]], is knocked out following your first encounter with them, they do this as they comes up off the floor and throw you through the wall, leading into the next stage of the fight.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Western Animation]]
102	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': In a non-vampire example, Sheen is laid out by the martial arts bad guy until Libby calls herself his girlfriend. This gives him the will to fight, and he suddenly just becomes vertical again and beats his opponent with The Power of Dance.
103	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretSaturdays'': Argost does this in "The Thousand Eyes of Ahuizotl".
104	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E13ChilleTid Chille Tid]]": {{Inverted\|Trope}} when Garnet -- a [[SiliconBasedLife Silicon-Based Lifeform]] currently manifesting a humanoid form -- tries to show Steven how to relax:
105	-->'''Garnet:''' ''I'll'' show you how it's done. ''[[==][[KnuckleCracking Cracks knuckles]] and collapses face-first onto the sleeping bag]''\
106	'''Pearl:''' ...Garnet?\
107	'''Garnet:''' ''[Snores]''
108	* WesternAnimation/CountDuckula locates his ancestors' diary and reads from it. The transition goes back to when Duckula was an evil incarnate as he snaps up rapidly from his coffin.
109	-->'''Duckula:''' Good evening, Igor.\
110	'''Igor:''' Good evening, sir. And a most horrible night if I may make so bold.\
111	'''Duckula:''' Yes. The sort of night that makes one feel good to be dead.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Real Life]]
115	* With sufficient lower body and abdominal strength, one can stand up from a lying on the back position in a way similar to a pivotal wake-up.
116	[[/folder]]

Context Main / PivotalWakeup