Line #162 Main/RailingKill


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10	[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/RawhideKid https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bettermuchs_9156.jpg]]]]
11	[[caption-width-right:350:[[NoOSHACompliance OSHA guidelines]] never seem to account for dramatic falls.]]
12
13	Even [[NoOSHACompliance OSHA compliance]] is no guarantee of safety. A {{mook\|s}} (usually) standing behind a railing, usually about waist-height, on an elevated surface who is shot during a firefight will invariably fall forward and flip over the railing, falling to his (presumed) demise, probably [[StockScream Wilhelm]] screaming on the way down. Conversely, someone standing in front of a railing will flip ''backward'' over the railing. This occurs even if the mook was [[BlownAcrossTheRoom shot from the direction of the railing with a weapon that normally throws people violently backwards]]. The phenomenon that causes this is called ''Ledge Gravity'' (not to be confused with EdgeGravity, which is basically the opposite), and specifies that [[GravityIsAHarshMistress people will tend to fall]] in the direction they'll fall furthest because there's more gravity that way.
14
15	Although this technique gained prominence in [[TheWestern Westerns]] with the railed balcony on the second story of every building in a dusty town, it can be found in any setting.
16
17	If the ledge is high enough, a DisneyVillainDeath may occur.
18
19	Not to be confused with people being killed [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice when they land on a spiked railing]].
20
21	!!As this is a {{Death Trope\|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
22	----
23	!!Examples:
24	[[foldercontrol]]
25	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26	* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'': During the church shoot-out in "[[Recap/CowboyBebopSession5BalladOfFallenAngels Ballad of Fallen Angels]]", Faye Valentine complains about several bullets barely missing her, then a mook Spike shoots falls over the railing above her and nearly hits her as well.
27	* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'': [[spoiler:Tenma]] shoots [[spoiler:Roberto]] off of a balcony in a library. He survives.
28	* In ''Anime/MyHime'': Subverted when Natsuki fires at Nagi and he appears to have fallen victim, at least until his rail-clinging hands become visible.
29	[[/folder]]
30
31	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
32	* ''ComicStrip/TheFarSide'': One comic features this, in a Western parody: "And Jed, if you do get plugged, for gosh sakes don't just slump over and die. Put some drama into it and throw yourself screaming from the edge."
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
36	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'': During the final showdown between Rango and Rattlesnake Jake, Wounded Bird attempts to shoot Jake from the clock tower. Jake shoots him and he topples over the railing and falls to the ground.
37	-->'''Wounded Bird:''' That was a bad idea.
38	[[/folder]]
39
40	[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
41	* ''Film/AceVenturaPetDetective'' has the titular private investigator helping to analyze a crime scene, where he determines via SpottingTheThread and a SherlockScan that Miami Dolphins chief of operations Roger Podacter was the victim of a RailingKill rather than being DrivenToSuicide. [[spoiler:It turns out, later on, that the man had stumbled upon the film's BigBad, ex-Dolphins kicker Ray Finkle, who had disguised themselves as police officer Lois Einhorn through partial sex reassignment surgery, and who then opted to [[KilledToUpholdTheMasquerade kill Podacter to keep him quiet]].]]
42	* ''Film/AustinPowers'' uses this a few times, which makes sense considering it's a ''Film/JamesBond'' parody.
43	* In Tim Burton's ''Film/Batman1989'', gangster Jack Napier fires at Batman, who is intervening in the botched Axis Chemicals job. Batman deflects the bullet with his armored gloves; Napier gets hit by the deflected bullet (which goes through his face and ostensibly results in the nerve damage to his mouth that causes [[SlasherSmile his permanent "smile"]]), tumbles over the railing in the typical way (taking a lot of steps to do so), and falls into a vat of acid (which permanently bleaches his skin). One quick trip to a back-alley plastic surgeon later, and Jack's dead... but The Joker lives.
44	* In ''Film/TheBride'', Frankenstein's [[TheIgor hunchbacked assistant]] Paulus [[ManOnFire catches fire]] and then falls to his death off the gantry during the laboratory explosion.
45	* ''Film/CaptainSindbad'': The BigBad El Kerim falls over a balcony railing in his EvilTowerOfOminousness as he dies at the end of the film.
46	* In ''Film/ChoppingMall'', Greg is killed by Protector 3 when it throws him over the railing of the mall's third floor.
47	* ''Film/{{Commando}}'': This happens to a guard in a tower.
48	* ''Film/DeadAgainInTombstone'': One of the men Guerrero shoots in the saloon topples forwards over the staircase banister.
49	* ''Film/TheDeadlyBees'', a fellow [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 MST3K]] feature, dispatches its antagonist with one of these as well after the villain unleashes his [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin deadly bees]] inside his home; in defense, the heroine starts a fire, driving the villain upstairs. He dies when he falls over the railing and into the inferno.
50	-->'''Mike Nelson:''' Well, now, you can't blame ''that'' on the bees.
51	* ''Film/DeathShip'': In a failed attempt to regain control over the titular GhostShip and stop Marshall from escaping in a life raft after the ship finds a new target, the possessed Capt. Ashland starts shooting at the nearby machinery, [[spoiler:only to slip and fall off the railing and plunge into the ship's steering gear, crushing him to death]].
52	* ''Film/TheDevilsMessenger'': In "Condemned in Crystal", John Radian stabs Madame Germaine and she staggers through the railing on the landing and plummets into the lobby.
53	* ''Film/District13'': A big part of the action scenes is mooks flubbing jumps into multi-story falls whenever they're not just '''shoved''' over railings. One [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill memorable kill]] was shoved over a stairwell, '''''smacking against each railing on each side all the way down.'''''
54	* ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars'': After the Man With No Name shoots [[BigBad Ramon Rojo]] , his brother [[DragonTheirFeet Esteban]], who had disappeared earlier on, points his rifle out of the window- only to be shot by BadassBystander Silvanito, despite his being tortured minutes earlier.
55	* ''Film/GangOfRoses'': During the final shootout, Zhang Li shoots a man on a roof who topples over the railing and falls to the street.
56	* ''Film/GetShorty'': Invoked when two guys intend to kill a third by removing the bolts holding the railing over the balcony together, so that, if one leans on it, they'd fall about 40 feet to the ground and break their neck, [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident making it look like an accident]]. Then the villain (the one who invoked the trope in the first place) falls victim to it himself after his bodyguard undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, pushing him over using ''Travolta himself'' (they were in the middle of framing his character for assault so it wouldn't look like they just killed him).
57	* ''Film/GhostRock'': The first outlaw Moses kills in the opening shootout crashes through the rotting railing and topples into the street.
58	* ''Film/GodsGun'': The first member of the Clayton Gang to die in Lewis' RoaringRampageOfRevenge is startled by Lewis' appearance on the roof--thinking him to be the priest's ghost--and falls trough the railing on the saloon roof to his death.
59	* Nobody gets killed, but in ''Film/TheGreatRace'' they have a saloon fight so big, with so many people being punched, kicked, thrown, and kissed (it makes sense in context) off the balcony that the entire balcony and stairwell collapses (as well as most of the interior of the saloon). (Used to hilarious effect when the local villain -- played by villain [[Series/FTroop Larry Storch]] -- exits an upper room and does a header onto the first level because the balcony is gone and he steps out onto nothing.)
60	* ''Film/TheHobbit'': Used quite literally. In Goblin-town, the dwarves take up a handrail and use it to swat whole groups of incoming goblins off a catwalk and into the abyss beneath them.
61	* ''Film/TheImmortals'': During the shootout in the nightclub, Billy shoots one of Dominic's men standing on the lighting platform who is about to shoot Gina, who topples over the railing and crashes to the floor.
62	* In the ''Franchise/JamesBond'' movies:
63	** The elevator fight sequence in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever'' ends with Peter Franks being blinded by a fire extinguisher and falling to his death over a railing on Tiffany Case's floor.
64	** It occurs in the opening firefight in ''Film/GoldenEye'' when several Russian soldiers are attacking Bond and Trevelyan as they plant explosives. One of the guards is shot as he crashes through the door to the staircase leading down to the floor, and his momentum causes him to crash through an oddly-placed gate in the railing...leading to open air.
65	** In ''Film/{{Spectre}}'', when Bond's cover is blown in the SPECTRE meeting, he throws a security guard who tries to apprehend him over the balcony to his death.
66	* ''Film/JohnnyReno'': Bellows topples over the staircase rail in Nona's ranch house after he's shot by Reno.
67	* In ''Film/TheKeep'', Glaeken dishes out a truly epic railing kill to the Nazi soldier who tries to grab hold of him, chucking him over a bridge railing and down a big gorge. In slow motion, no less!
68	* ''Film/KillBill'': Played with in ''Kill Bill Vol. 1'': The leader of the Crazy 88, Johnny Mo, duels the Bride while standing ''on'' a balcony railing, only to fall into a small pool below when the Bride slices his leg off.
69	* ''Film/KnifeForTheLadies'': During the climax, Elizabeth and Travis are struggling for the knife on the stairs. Jarrod shoots Elizabeth and the pair of them crash through stair railing and on to the floor, where Travis is accidentally impaled on Elizabeth's knife.
70	* ''Literature/TheLastOfTheMohicans'': A nameless Indian is shot far into the air above a cliff because of this trope, uttering a WilhelmScream on the way down.
71	* ''Film/LoneHero'': In the cowboy show where John, Pablo and Tim perform as outlaws, Pablo stages a railing kill when shot by the marshal, landing in a hay wagon that conceals a crash mat. After the show, Pablo complains that one of the other two can do the fall next time as he is sick of getting bruised. Becomes a ChekhovsSkill during the final shootout, when Tim is shoot by one of the bikers and falls off the roof and lands in the wagon: setting up that he has actually survived.
72	* ''Film/TheMagnificentSeven2016'': Happens to the Blackstone thug Red Harvest kills as he comes charging out of the barbershop. Later [[spoiler:it happens to Goodnight when he is shot in the belfry of the church.]]
73	* ''Film/NewJackCity'': [[spoiler:This ultimately is how the BigBad gets it at the end.]]
74	* ''Film/OurManFlint'': Subverted twice . Flint fights two {{Mooks}} on an industrial catwalk, only one side has a railing, the {{Mooks}} go off the side that doesn't. Later, EvilBrit villain Malcolm Rodney goes over a stairway railing, but survives the fall.
75	* In ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum1991'', AlmostDeadGuy Mendoza reappears after Torquemada's death, toppling over the rail and falling to floor of the chamber where the PendulumOfDeath is located.
76	* ''Film/{{Prison}}'': This happens when one of the guards is electrocuted by resident PsychoElectro.
77	* ''Film/TheRibaldTalesOfRobinHood'': When Robin shoots Prince John with an arrow, John topples over a low parapet and crashes to the ground.
78	* ''Film/RoboCop1987'': This happens during the particularly one-sided shootout in the drug factory.
79	* ''Film/TheRunningMan'': Ben Richards throws a mook over a railing during a prison break, complete with PreMortemOneLiner: "Give you a lift?"
80	* ''Film/SpaceMutiny'', the {{Trope Nam\|ers}}ing film, really beat this to death. [[Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 Mike and the Bots]] practically made it a DrinkingGame. Well, they couldn't drink, but they did shout "RAILING KILL!" [[RunningGag every time one happened]].
81	* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' sees this happen quite a few times. It seems to happen preferably -- although not exclusively -- to Klingons. ("firefight" might mean actually "ship-to-ship battle" in this case…) When the ''Enterprise'' self-destructs and the bridge is exploding around him, one Klingon is thrown violently over the railing in the middle. This is what happens in space battles without using proper seat-belts.
82	* This trope is common in ''Franchise/StarWars'':
83	** In ''Film/ANewHope'', an Imperial Stormtrooper falls into the maintenance shaft of the Death Star when shot.
84	** In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', an Imperial Officer goes over a railing inside the Endor base after getting hit in the face with an [[HeyCatch improvised projectile]]. That's sound engineer Creator/BenBurtt (the voice of WesternAnimation/WallE, by the way) who goes over the railing; he even attempts his own version of the [[StockScream Wilhelm Scream]] on the way down.
85	** In ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'', Coleman Trebor attempts to assassinate Count Dooku in the balcony overseeing the Petranaki Battle Arena, but is shot by Jango Fett and falls backward over the balcony railing, about 50 feet or so down to his death.
86	** A Stormtrooper does this in the ''[[Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial Holiday Special]]'' by stumbling into the railing and falling through it…even though it was designed to prevent the much heavier Wookies from falling to the distant ground.
87	* In ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'', this happens nearly as often as in ''Space Mutiny''.
88	* While no real deaths from them, ''Film/SpaceMutiny'' was referenced in the ''Podcast/RiffTrax'' riffing of ''Film/SupersonicMan''
89	-->'''Bill Corbet:''' ''Railings''. Will Cameron Mitchell never learn?!
90	* ''Film/{{Valentine}}'': After being hit by several arrows, Lily topples over a railing and falls into a dumpster.
91	* ''Film/LeViager'' uses the same technique: a man saws through the wooden railing of a second story window in a summer house, hoping to kill the owner. The first person to go on the balcony isn't the owner but the would-be-killer's wife.
92	* In ''Film/WithoutAClue'', Professor Moriarty's [[TheDragon Dragon]] Sebastian attempts to murder Watson by sabotaging the railing of his hotel room balcony. However, Holmes ends up taking that room, and, while drunk, leans on the railing, causing it to break. He's saved by his cape snagging on the broken rail.
93	* In ''Film/YellowHairAndTheFortressOfGold'', Pecos kills one of Tortuga's thugs by shooting the underside of the landing he is standing on. The thug topples forward through the railing and lands on the poker table below: smashing through it.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Literature]]
97	* In ''Literature/CaptiveOfTheRedVixen'' the only casualty during the Red Vixen's attack on Rolas' ship is a crewman who fell over a railing in engineering after being stunned. And she punishes the pirate responsible.
98	* In ''Literature/EthanOfAthos'', the heroine shoots a mook with a ''non-lethal'' stunner -- but he happens to be standing on a high catwalk at the time, resulting in a more literal than usual example of the trope. She doesn't feel ''too'' bad about it though, since the guy she killed has murdered dozens of people, and he was on the catwalk to arrange an "accidental" death for Ethan.
99	-->'''Quinn:''' Gee, I feel really bad about that. I've never killed a man by accident before. Unprofessional.
100	* ''Literature/LeMorteDarthur'': OlderThanPrint. Galahad, at one point, knocks a man off a bridge. He survives by landing on a boat, and is never heard from again.
101	* In ''Literature/CaptainFuture in Love'' by Creator/AllenSteele, our hero [[TheParalyzer paralyzes]] a Starry Messenger terrorist as he's sabotaging a SpaceElevator above Venus. Unfortunately the stunned man stumbles over a railing and falls into the atmosphere of Venus [[CruelAndUnusualDeath where he's burnt to a crisp]].
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
105	* ''Series/{{Andor}}'': During the prison break, Melshi runs a floor down and shoots a guard at the top of the elevator, sending him tumbling over the railing.
106	* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': Played with when [[BigBad Vandal Savage]] is shot and falls off a balcony...but never seems to hit the ground (or if he did, he got up and ran away right afterwards). [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Whether this is due to his mostly-immortal status or some kind of magic teleportation is never revealed.]]
107	* ''Series/BlakesSeven'':
108	** A stuntman with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Fell appropriate name of Fell]] does this in "Death Watch". He lands on a conveniently placed sofa below.
109	** Whereas in "Redemption" a guard does this from a long way up (the inside of a real-life nuclear silo).
110	* In ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' episode "In the Name of Honor", Boba and [[Series/TheMandalorian Din Djarin]] both simultaneously blast a Pyke Syndicate goon that tries to shoot them from a rooftop. Then they [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill shoot him about a dozen times total on his way down]].
111	* Used for ObscuredSpecialEffects in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. An Initiative scientist is killed this way in "Primeval", pulled over the railing with CombatTentacles by an [[NothingIsScarier unseen monster]].
112	* The final {{Flashback}} of the ''Series/ColdCase'' episode "Torn" reveals that the victim's ''mother'' killed her this way, albeit it was an AccidentalMurder.
113	* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'': A stabbing variation in "Nine Thirteen." A victim is shivved by an old enemy while on a 10th floor balcony. The assailant leaves, thinking the man is dead. He rouses, staggers over to the edge and falls over the railing to his demise, landing on a parked taxicab.
114	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E3PlanetOfTheOod "Planet of the Ood"]], [[spoiler:Dr. Ryder reveals he's a member of Friends of the Ood who infiltrated the slave trade and has been helping their HiveMind reassert itself. Mr. Halpen promptly pushes him over a railing and into the enormous Ood Brain.]]
115	* ''Series/EmeraldCity'': In "[[Recap/EmeraldCityS1E3MistressNewMistress Mistress - New - Mistress]]", this happens to [[spoiler:Jack]] after [[spoiler:he kisses a very upset Tip. Tip pushes him away, causing Jack to crash through the railing of the balcony they're standing on]] and fall to a DisneyVillainDeath.
116	* ''Series/FamilyMatters'': The two-story saloon version is parodied in a dream/fantasy sequence, in which Carl Winslow mortally wounds a bandit version of Urkel on the first floor of the establishment, who then dramatically makes his way around the set, climbing up the stairs, only to fall through the railing into a table on the ground level right next to where he started.
117	* Happens in the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "War Stories", when the {{mook\|s}} whom Mal is fighting is [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill shot repeatedly by several of Mal's crewmembers]] and plummets to his death. He bounces off at least two girders and gets ''bisected'' by a saw on his way down.
118	* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Myranda gets this, courtesy of Theon, with an added 'splat' sound effect.
119	* ''Series/MissionImpossible'':
120	** Happens in TheTeaser to "The Pawn". A dissident is shot by the authorities and pitches forward over a fire escape railing.
121	** Happens again in TheTeaser to "The Golden Serpent (Part 1)". The leader of another IMF is hit in the back by a shuriken. He someone manages to twist in such a way that he falls over the railing and plunges into the river below.
122	* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': In "[[Recap/SmallvilleS02E13Suspect Suspect]]", when Lionel Luthor is shot, he falls over the balcony railing onto a glass table, which [[DramaticShattering shatters dramatically]].
123	* ''Series/StargateSG1'': Although he survives with minor injuries, this happens to Siler in "Upgrades", when Jack O'Neill accidentally pushes him off the stairs and over a railing. (Siler is also played by the series stunt coordinator.)
124	%%* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', has one in the episode "Preemptive Strike".
125	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Tends to happen with the safety rails surrounding Voyager's warp core (a crewman working as a DoubleAgent gets killed this way in "Investigations" when he falls into the core), or on the Bridge whenever InertialDampening is knocked out. The pilot episode has a variation though; an explosion goes off right behind a RedShirt and sends his face flying straight into a bridge rail.
126	* ''Film/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial'': How the dumbest stormtrooper in the universe gets taken out.
127	* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': John Hart pulls one of these on Jack Harkness, killing him. Jack, being Jack, comes back to life.
128	* ''Literature/TheTripods'': In the TV adaptation, Will and Fritz kill three Black Guards during their escape from the Master's city this way.
129	%%* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'': Done by a ''zombie'' in episode 2.03.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Magazines]]
133	* ''Website/TheOnion'' parodied [[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/43699 a variation]] on this.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:New Media]]
137	* During the Website/ChannelAwesome[=/=][=MST4K=] [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/aj/ajs/14481-rdrag riffing]] of the Chinese ''Manga/DragonBall'' movie, [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]], a professed fan of ''[=MST3K=]'', declares a railing kill.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
141	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Necromunda}}'' much of the terrain in the 1st and 2nd Editions of the game consisted of decaying and dilapidated catwalks, gangways, and bridges; all of which are decaying and unstable. Since characters could be pushed, shot, or otherwise induced to fall off these terrain features, there were rules for falling damage with falling more than one level generally resulting in instant death. While the basic rules for 3rd Edition set the game within tunnels and other close confines, the first ''Necromunda: Gang War'' supplement reintroduces rules for battling in three-dimensional environments including falling damage and rules for being knocked from terrain after suffering a hit.
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Video Games]]
145	* In ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'', guards can be thrown off rooftops with or without railings; in ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedII 2]]'' this is a convenient way of killing since it doesn't raise your [[WantedMeter notoriety]].
146	* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'' gives you a few opportunities to do this with the Batclaw, which lets you grab an enemy with your grappling hook and yank him over the ledge. A few Predator challenges require you to do this, possibly to two mooks at once. There's also the Ledge Takedown, where Batman jumps up from the ledge he's hanging from, grabs a henchman, slams his head into the railing, and then flips him over it. A ''slight'' subversion in that, as per Batman's [[ThouShaltNotKill rule]], this doesn't actually kill anybody, although it does dispatch them for more or less the same effect.
147	* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' is set in a {{Steampunk}} City In The Sky. Expect plenty of this.
148	* In ''VideoGame/TheBourneConspiracy'', one of Jason's hand-to-hand environmental takedowns is to smash the head of his opponent off a railing, and the casually flip the mook ''over'' the railing.
149	* The ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' series of video games (especially the first game), where almost all enemies standing behind railings will flip to their deaths.
150	* ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'': In one game, you have to dispose of [[spoiler:a possessed starship captain]] this way.
151	* ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'': The physics engine allows for defeated foes to end up slumped over railings, although goofiness sometimes occurs and leaves a body dangling by a foot or even a hand that somehow got caught.
152	* ''VideoGame/CounterStrike: Condition Zero - Deleted Scenes'' features one guy on a roof who, if shot, will fall off and be impaled on a fence. To be honest, this trope is one of that game's biggest "features".
153	* ''VideoGame/CrisisBeat'' has the Automatic Lock-On function allowing players to send enemy mooks smashing into objects. They are standing near a railing, the player will deliver an uppercut that causes the unfortunate mook to crash through the railing.
154	* In ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', if any monster is killed at a certain height above the player then it will push their corpse toward the player to achieve this effect for monsters near ledges, though it does result in a few oddities like Lost Souls and Cacodemons being pulled toward the player as they die.
155	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'': Due to the conversion of overkill damage to momentum, any stealth/archer or destruction mage character in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' or ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' is bound to get a railing kill or two as they make their way through the game. Also, anybody who uses Unrelenting Force heavily will do this a lot, since blasting somebody off a cliff or balcony is an easy kill. FUS RO DAH!
156	* In ''VideoGame/FableII'', Luring someone onto the top floor of a building and using the force push spell, or merely launching them over the edge with a well-executed flourish attack.
157	* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'': The player can do this to enemies in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', and ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' due to the [[WreakingHavok Havok engines]] used for physics. Sometimes enemies, especially those hit with weapons with high KnockBack, will fall back over a railing... sometimes, quirks of the physics engine will cause dead enemies to [[BlownAcrossTheRoom fling themselves twenty feet horizontally]] and over conveniently low railings, [[CherryTapping even if you killed them with a BB gun]]. Given the mixture of seriousness and silliness inherent in the games and their setting, this isn't quite as immersion-breaking or out of place as it might seems.
158	* In ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'': Possible, most often due to the [[WreakingHavok wonky physics]]. There's even one Replica soldier who attacks you from a catwalk early on and is scripted to ''leap over'' the railing and fall down a pit when you kill him.
159	* ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}'': In the 2013 remake, Conrad can lure an unwitting enemy to him while hanging from a ledge, then hurl them to their death ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' style.
160	* ''VideoGame/FrankoTheCrazyRevenge'': The final boss is disposed this way, falling onto the train tracks in the process. Franko [[spoiler:doesn't even need to land any finishing blows, the railing itself breaks under the boss's weight as he was resting on it.]]
161	* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather: The Game'', you gain the Watch Your Step [[FinishingMove Execution Style]] by taking advantage of the NoOSHACompliance to knock people off railings.
162	* ''VideoGame/{{GoldenEye\|Wii}}'' features plenty of convenient railings for guards.
163	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' makes taking out above enemies a breeze due to most enemies in higher ground's tendency to do this.
164	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'''s [[MediaNotes/GameEngine Source engine]] actually features an entity (named [[http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Phys_ragdollmagnet Phys_ragdollmagnet]]) created ''explicitly'' for recreating this effect in-game. Considering how many game engines throw dead bodies over railings, this could be a common feature of many engines.
165	* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'':
166	** In at least ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'', pushing someone into a railing causes them to fall over it, and their death will be considered an accident by anyone discovering the body (no matter how many other "accidental" or overtly suspicious deaths may have occurred on the premises since your arrival). It kills them even when [[DeathByFallingOver the rail is three feet off the ground]].
167	** ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution'': Should you choose to dispose of [[spoiler:Doctor Valentine]] by spiking his hair-growth formula with fire paste, he'll hit a railing and plummet to his doom in the midst of his panicked running around.
168	** All three games in the ''VideoGame/WorldOfAssassinationTrilogy'' also allows you to throw someone over a railing, though this time they need to fall a decent amount to actually be killed by it, rather than knocked out.
169	* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'': During the [[TheWildWest Old West style shootout]] at the ghost town, the Bulbins positioned on railings die this way when Link snipes them with his bow.
170	* ''VideoGame/LethalEnforcers'': Most enemies located on high ground will fall off their perch when shot. This is especially visible in the second stage, when a lot of goons pop up from second floor windows.
171	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'': This can happen, especially in [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 the second game]] with its version of the Throw power. At high levels, if your enemy is near a railing and Throw hits them in the head or upper torso, there's a good chance they'll be smacked over and off the railing. Sometimes, even a high railing won't help if the Throw projectile manages to connect at an upwards angle, sending the victim flying in a high arc. It's been known to happen as a gratuitous finisher to ThatOneBoss in the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC in particular. There are even several places in the second game where enemies stand looking out over the edge with their back to the direction you're coming from. The only way it could be a more obvious set up would be if you overheard one of them commenting on how much it would suck to get thrown over the ledge. Can even happen to your player character if you're killed by an enemy that throws you around near a long drop. (Sometimes you'll fall straight off the level map into blackness.)
172	* In the ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' series, it's possible in most of the games to just run up and toss an enemy over a railing to their death. Specific instances of it are:
173	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', there is a level with two elevators that Snake must take downward. As he descends, armed guards jump down to do battle with him. However, instead of engaging in the rather annoying task of dodging their bullets and shooting them all down, you can simply run up to them and punch/throw them over the edge of the railing for an instant kill. The only disadvantage is that you don't get the items they drop.
174	** In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'''s Tanker chapter, there's a door in the hallway with the Raven action figure that opens to reveal a guard with his back to Snake, facing a railing. If shot, he'll fall over it. If you time it just right, [[DevelopersForesight he'll fall onto one of the patrolling guards below, killing him too]].
175	* ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'': In the second game, Alan O'Neil falls off a ledge and is promptly swallowed by a whale when he's defeated.
176	* ''VideoGame/MidnightFightExpress'': With the Environmental Finisher unlocked, defeating an enemy near railings will have you toss them over it.
177	* ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'': Very common, as elevated enemies all have the same railing animation (double over at the waist), even if they fall off a platform ''without'' a railing. Hilarious. There's also one instance of being ''saved'' by a railing kill: You're over a water tank with a shark and your catwalk is retracting. Some nearby henchmen on a railing above you start shooting. Shoot back, they topple into the water, the shark eats them and not you, letting you swim to safety.
178	* In ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', there is a guard in the Chicago level standing on an emergency staircase. His death is pre-scripted as a railing kill. Several of the snipers in the Villa level will fall off the roof when shot.
179	* ''VideoGame/PredatorConcreteJungle'': A variation. One of the [[OneHitKill Fatalities]] available to you is to snap somebody's back against a railing.
180	* In ''VideoGame/RedSteel'', shooting anyone in the general vicinity of a railing causes them to keel over it and die.
181	* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
182	** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'', Ada knocks Annette over a railing, but doesn't kill her. Later she herself falls over a rail to her [[DisneyDeath "death"]] after being shot by Annette.
183	** In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', it's G1 Birkin that ends up taking a fall over a railing, after being damaged enough by either Leon or Claire. The railing he falls over; however, leads to a {{Bottomless Pit\|s}} and his death turns out to be [[NotQuiteDead not so final]].
184	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'': It's possible to shove zombies off and over railings in a few places, killing them instantly. This is a great way to save ammo early in the game.
185	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'': This will happen if you fire at an enemy on a ledge. You are expected to do it during a number of sequences as a shortcut way of dispatching enemies, although outside of these specific places it isn't always an instant kill. It's even more amusing with Militia mooks because of the "NOOOOOOOOO" they scream while falling. No combination of attacks will ever send an enemy over an actual railing, however, even when their momentum clearly should have them tumbling over it.
186	** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil6'': Pushing the enemy over a railing or off a ledge is one of the melee moves.
187	* ''VideoGame/RiseToHonor'': Possible in multiple locations, and it's an insta-kill. The catch is the bad guys can do it too...
188	* ''VideoGame/ShadowComplex'': Used to a ridiculous extent. Every enemy you kill near a rail goes flying over it to his doom, {{Wilhelm\|Scream}}ing the whole way down. As it is a 2.5D game, they often fall hilariously into hazards or off-screen. The best part? There's an achievement for causing a certain amount of enemies to scream as they fall over railing and off ledges.
189	* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'': Starting in ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'', Fisher can pull enemies off ledges or out of windows when hanging below. In the Arctic levels of ''VideoGame/SplinterCellDoubleAgent'', you can knock the ice out from under an enemy and drown them.
190	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
191	** ''VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga'':
192	*** In ''Jedi Academy'', one mission starts with Force-pushing a rock out of the way. The rock then flies right into someone who falls over a small ledge in this way. Similarly, Force-pushing someone over a railing.
193	*** In ''Jedi Outcast'', in the Nar Shadda level, shooting down a rooftop sniper will cause him to plummet from the roof down through a window on the building in front of him. The game's coding would deliberately make any enemy near a cliff tumble off of it. This can have amusing results when a stormtrooper is incredibly far away from a ledge, but seems to leap off of it anyways.
194	** In ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire'', any kills scored on a mook sufficiently close to an edge will result in them falling over, Wilhelm-screaming. There may or may not be railings involved.
195	** In ''VideoGame/RebelAssault 2'', killing a [[{{mooks}} stormtrooper]] near a bottomless pit will almost always cause this to happen, accompanied by a WilhelmScream.
196	* ''VideoGame/SunsetRiders'', being somewhere between an AffectionateParody and straight depiction of the SpaghettiWestern, has plenty of these. Any {{Mook\|s}} who is shot from a window or other high place will slump over the rail or sill and [[EverythingFades blink out of existence]] or plummet ''over'' the rail to the ground in a classically over-dramatic fashion. Multiple bosses also have railing-kill animations due to them being located on high places. Their deaths are appropriately over-the-top.
197	* ''VideoGame/SystemShock'': Enemies in the original game tend to gravitate towards nearby ledges when killed (and can crush anybody they fall on), presumably to show off the physics engine.
198	* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': In Meet the Sniper, the BLU Demoman is hit in the eye by a piece of his bottle. He then stumbles around, blindly shooting grenades into the air, bumps into a railing and falls over it. In game, the KnockBack caused by certain weapons can also result in people taking fatal fall damage or falling into BottomlessPits.
199	%%* ''VideoGame/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesTurtlesInTime'': [[FinalBoss Shredder]] dies this way. Also combined with DisneyVillainDeath.%%Dies how?
200	* ''VideoGame/TimeSplittersFuturePerfect'': A variation occurs in the level aboard the [[spoiler:underwater base]]. At a certain point, the player finds a chasm with buildings and walkways built into the cliff walls. In one area, shooting an [[ExplodingBarrels explosive barrel]] causes a mook to be launched over the railing, over the chasm, and landing on his crotch on the railing next to the player, at which point he slides off to his doom.
201	* ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'': Can happen. Using the rope arrow on a mook standing on a balcony will cause Lara to yank him off the ledge (and in at least one case you can do this by ''pulling down the balcony itself''). Mooks can also tumble over balconies when shot, and StuffBlowingUp (grenades, making someone [[OhCrap drop dynamite]] by [[HoistByHisOwnPetard shooting them before they can throw it]], shooting ExplodingBarrels, etc.) can fling them over ledges as well.
202	* ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'': Due to the [[{{BFG}} sheer power]] of guns in most games, it usually combos with BlownAcrossTheRoom and sometimes as a reflection shot. Case in point, using the [[RuleOfCool "charged up" alt-fire of the shotgun]] against a lighter enemy like a mantid will fling him so hard against the railing behind him he'll rebound off that and fly over the one he was just leaning over like he hit a rubber bar. And that's if he didn't split in half on impact, or get blown clear over it by a higher angled shot. Happens a little less often in Unreal, too, especially with the vehicular weapons, shock rifle, and lightning sniper rifle. One specific Turok pistol can also do this for heavy enemies, but usually just splits the smaller ones in half or removes as much as a rocket would. [[RuleOfFunny (It's a VERY strong pistol.)]] All of these do fall more towards the 'mass' than 'penetration' side of things though.
203	* ''VideoGame/UrbanChampion'': You defeat opponents by punching them into an open sewer manhole.
204	* A common occurrence in all three ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop'' games. Sooner or later, you'll shoot a random {{Mook}} who will go over a railing and fall to their death below. Likely as a homage to 1980's and 1990's action movies.
205	* In ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000: VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'', troops killed while in a building are somehow thrown out the windows.
206	* In Barbara's sequence of ''VideoGame/WhatRemainsOfEdithFinch'', Barbara knocks the hook killer off the railing. Subverted in that the killer does not actually die.
207	* In ''VideoGame/WingCommander IV'', two deckhands are dramatically sent over a railing by an explosion in the scene where Blair, Eisen, Maniac and Vagabond first arrive aboard the BWS Intrepid. [[SlowMotionFall In slow motion]].
208	* In ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009'', this seems to be programmed in. Whenever you kill an enemy near a railing, they will stagger over to it and flip over, screaming.
209	[[/folder]]
210
211	[[folder:Webcomics]]
212	* In ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' Agatha sent [[spoiler:Othar Tryggvassen, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!]] over the board of an [[CoolAirship airship]]. The embarrassing part of the incident is that she did it within a hour after yelling at Gil for doing [[DestinationDefenestration almost exactly the same]]. This guy "''does'' that to people".
213	* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0455.html Invoked]] when Elan uses an illusion spell to [[BadBadActing somewhat unconvincingly]] fool the goblin army into believing they've killed the PC party. Since the illusion won't leave corpses behind, it has to drop out of sight to be believable.
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	[[folder:Web Original]]
217	* ''WebVideo/LedgeFighters'' is basically Railing Kill: The Movie, as the entire premise is people fighting near and ultimately being thrown over a railing.
218	* ''Roleplay/RubyQuest'': Ruby didn't mean to... ouch.
219	-->"Ruby: Wave and greet Stitches by the purification system."\
220	* Ruby pushes Stitches over the railing*\
221	"WHAT?!"\
222	* Cue death by blender*\
223	"OH NO! THIS IS NOT WHAT RUBY WANTED TO DO! THIS IS NOT WHAT RUBY MEANT TO DO AT ALL!!! Ruby didn't... she didn't mean to."
224	* ''WebVideo/VaguelyRecallingJoJo'': During the Ebony Devil mini-arc, Silver Chariot rapidly stabs Cursed Devo nearby a Singapore Hotel balcony. Cursed Devo goes on a rant on how he managed to curse Polnareff and falls off the railing before yelling, "Damn you, Polnareff!" DIO saw that and looked concerned for Cursed Devo's health. [[spoiler:Devo survives and has lunch with DIO and [[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Franziska Von Karma]], which gets ruined because of Cursed Devo's synchronization with Ebony Devil.]]
225	[[/folder]]
226
227	[[folder:Western Animation]]
228	* ''WesternAnimation/GerryAndersonsNewCaptainScarlet'': Played straight with Scarlet and Black. [[NighInvulnerability They Got Better]], naturally.
229	* ''WesternAnimation/SquirrelBoy'': Happens to the crazy cat in "Gumfight at the S'Okay Corral", which parodies Western tropes.
230	* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'':
231	** Subverted when Agent Kallus and a random Stormtrooper are knocked over a railing into a pit, as they both manage to hold on to one of the pylons. Double subverted when Agent Kallus kicks the Stormtrooper down anyway.
232	** Sabine knocks a Stormtrooper down one in "Rise of the Old Masters".
233	[[/folder]]
234
235	[[folder:Real Life]]
236	* This rather drunken patron at a bar [[https://youtu.be/lwBgLszd870 willingly flipped himself over a bannister]] and fell straight down the middle of a stairwell, hitting another bannister 2 floors down especially hard, faster than you can say “rib fracture!”
237	* British singer Marc Almond nearly became a victim of this trope in late 1993 when two drug dealers tried to kill him by throwing him off a balcony. This incident prompted Marc to seek help for drug and alcohol addictions dating back to the early 1980s.
238	[[/folder]]

Context Main / RailingKill