Line #13 Main/SmashToBlack


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4	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/LovingReaper https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/smashtoblack.png]]]]
5
6	->'''Dancer:''' Um, so...are we done? 'Cause I gotta pick up my kid from school.\
7	'''Doofenshmirtz:''' One second. Just wait till it goes to black.\
8	''[the screen turns to black]''\
9	'''Doofenshmirtz:''' Alright, now you can go.
10	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', "[[Recap/PhineasAndFerbRollercoasterTheMusical Rollercoaster: The Musical!]]"
11
12	Before a commercial, television shows have traditionally done a FadeToBlack. Recently, though, television dramas skip the fading and cut the picture to a completely black screen. Typically, a Smash to Black will immediately follow a shocking moment such as a WhamLine, a CommercialBreakCliffhanger, or a [[TheTeaser Cold Opening]], but can also follow a OneLiner or a moment of {{Deadpan Snark\|er}}. Expect this to be called "Older Than The DVD" thirty years down the road.
13
14	Named for the SmashCut, of which this is a subtrope. May be accompanied by a ScareChord.
15	----
16	!!Examples:
17
18	[[foldercontrol]]
19
20	[[folder:Anime]]
21	* ''Anime/GurrenLagann'' has this at the end of the eighth episode, wherein after [[spoiler:Kamina passes following his DyingMomentOfAwesome, speaking his final words to Simon.]]
22	* One of these occurs after a BigLippedAlligatorMoment in ''Anime/{{REDLINE}}'' where a family drawn in [[ArtShift a completely different art style]] is seen watching TV for no reason. Cue smash cut to black for added audience disorientation.
23	* ''Anime/SCryEd'' has one that's [[TearJerker phenomenally brutal]] in its simplicity. [[spoiler: Kimishima]] has been severely injured amidst his SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. So Kazuma carries him back home. Somewhere along the way, [[spoiler: Kimishima]] stops talking, but Kazuma [[DistractedFromDeath doesn't realize what this means]]. When they get home, Kaname realizes what's happened, and starts to cry. But [[IdiotHero Kazuma]]...
24	--> "Hey, now you hold on or you're gonna fall! [[spoiler: Kimishima]] are you listenin'? Hey! [[spoiler: Kimishima]]? Heh heh, say something. [[spoiler: Kimishima]] I am not in the mood to fool around. This isn't funny. Hey, Kaname, what's wrong?...Hey, wait. [[spoiler: Kimishima]]?"\
25	(''screen cuts to black'')\
26	"[[PleaseWakeUp Come on, wake up]]. [[spoiler: Kimishima]]..."
27	* In ''Anime/ZoidsWild'', Quade's final battle against Gigaboss [[spoiler:and Demise]] ends this way [[spoiler:right as Quade is killed and Zaber Fang is severely injured.]]
28	[[/folder]]
29
30	[[folder:Literature]]
31	* ''Literature/ChroniclesOfTheKencyrath''. Spoofed when the heroine falls out of a tree while retrieving a banner and everything goes dark...because the banner has fallen across her face, as she belatedly realises.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
35	* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei's nightmare ends this way after a FlyAtTheCameraEnding.
36	[[/folder]]
37
38	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
39	* ''Film/AClassicHorrorStory'': After Mark swerves the [=RV=] into a tree, it crashes, and the screen cuts to black.
40	* The movie ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' ends the same way.
41	* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'': As the New Avengers present themselves at the end, the music swells, Captain America steps up to them and says "[[AvengersAssemble Avengers... A--]]" Smash to credits. Seeing as the movie was directed by Creator/JossWhedon (see the entry under Live-Action TV below), this isn't surprising.
42	* ''Film/BewareTheWoods'': The movie cuts to black as [[spoiler:June is driving away with the [[EvilOldFolks old lady]] chasing her on foot]].
43	* ''Film/BloodRansom'': Happens right when Jeremiah lunges at Roman with the intent to kill.
44	* Creator/PaulThomasAnderson is fond of ending movies this way--''Film/BoogieNights'', ''Film/{{Magnolia}}'', ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''. The one in ''Magnolia'' is perfectly timed to the big guitar lick in Music/AimeeMann song "Save Me".
45	* ''Film/TheBridgeCurse'': Expect for there to be smash cuts to black after attacks by the ghost.
46	* ''Film/TheDevilInside'' is especially infamous for ending on this note, as the characters rush to seek out an exorcism to rid their friend of an evil spectre only to end up in a violent crash, then cutting to "The facts surrounding the Rossi case remain unresolved. Visit therossifiles.com for more information on the ongoing investigation." The film then rolls the credits after flashing the aforementioned website (Now defunct), and audiences everywhere are furious with the outcome.
47	* ''Film/DontLook'': The first {{Flashback}} of the movie ends this way, right when we hear a gunshot after a man tells his daughter "don't look".
48	* The first officially-released teaser for ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' has two, one right after the first glimpse of Franchise/{{Godzilla}}, another right ''before'' the second glimpse.
49	* The ending to ''Film/{{Inception}}''.
50	* ''Film/TheLighthouse'' uses this after Winslow falls from the titular building while whitewashing it.
51	* ''Film/NoCountryForOldMen'' is a strange example in that the smash to black comes after a long scene of dialogue in which Ed Tom Bell describes two unsettling dreams to his wife over breakfast. In a movie full of disturbing violence and suspense, the smash to black makes the final scene all the more ominous.
52	* ''Film/OLuckyMan'': An atypical usage. This effect, usually used as a dramatic ending, is used over and over again in this film, for transitions between scenes and even cuts within scenes. The effect is to unsettle the viewer.
53	* ''Film/TheRundown'' ends similarly.
54	* ''Film/{{Resolution}}'', a film about stories, the resolution thereof, and the EldritchAbomination guiding the story, has the characters asking the narrator for a second chance. There's a roar and a cut to black and the film ends.
55	* ''Film/TheSwarm2020'': While trashing some locusts nests in a fit of rage, Virginie slips on an overturned container, hits her head on the ground, and then the screen near-instantly goes black.
56	* Inverted in the case of the ending of ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' which does a Smash To White.
57	* Jen suffers this at least twice in ''Film/Revenge2017''.
58	* ''Film/United93'' ends this way after we see from the cockpit's perspective how the plane plummets to the ground.
59	* ''Film/TheWholeTruth2021'': When Mai's car crashes into another one while she's driving in the rain, the screen cuts to black immediately afterwards.
60	* Not only does Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail end with a smash to black when the policeman [[CameraAbuse covers the camera lens with his hand]] (followed by [[BornInTheTheater some moments of a broken film reel and a white screen]] before turning black again), it also has ''no ending credits whatsoever''.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
64	* How the opening theme for the short-lived radio/WorkCom series, "FM", ends.
65	* Creator/JossWhedon apparently loves this trope, using it with all his shows:
66	** ''Series/{{Angel}}'',
67	** ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'',
68	** ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}''
69	** ''Series/{{Firefly}}'',
70	*** Joss mentions in the DVDCommentary for ''Firefly'' that in order to avoid the automatic cuing of the commercial, they changed the color of the blackout, so Smash to Black became Smash to Almost Black But Really Just Very Dark Brown.
71	* Almost every episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' ends with a smash cut to a black screen with the Executive Producer credits.
72	* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' ends the fourth season like this (and on a major {{cliffhanger}}).
73	* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' ends it's sixth season cliffhanger, "[[Recap/CSINYS06E23 Vacation Getaway]]," with a black screen immediately after Lindsay and a serial killer take aim at each other... and a single shot is heard before the ending theme music begins.
74	* ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' ended its series this way as well, mainly as a ShoutOut to ''Series/TheSopranos''.
75	* ''Series/GameofThrones'' did this in Season 3 Episode 9 Rains of Castamere, which concluded with the infamous Red Wedding. While the audience is reeling, not only does the screen smash to black, the credits, which usually have a backing track, are completely silent.
76	* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' does this with just about every major or minor plot twist. In other words, ''a lot''.
77	* Season 5 of ''Series/MadMen'' ends this way, just after a woman propositions Don Draper. It's probably a tribute[=/=]ShoutOut to ''The Sopranos'' (on which ''Mad Men'' creator Matthew Weiner was a writer and producer).
78	* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' did this in nearly every episode, complete with a door-slamming sound effect.
79	* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' had one episode ("Michael Ellis", 1974) in which the actors were discussing how to end the show.
80	--> "Well, how about a sudden ending?" CUT
81	* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' smashes to black so often that the one time they did the [[FadeToBlack fade out]] (Katie's S4 episode) it stood out (and some people suspected the fade out to be a lengthening device to cover up time lost from cut scenes).
82	* {{I\|tWasHisSled}}nfamously, ''Series/TheSopranos'' [[NoEnding ended the]] ''[[NoEnding series]]'' this way, with Music/{{Journey\|Band}}'s "Don't Stop Believin'" cutting off mid-''word''. The meaning of this has been debated at length, the usual interpretation being that [[spoiler:Tony was killed in a hit]].
83	%% * ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' does this frequently.
84	%% ** And lampshaded in "Monster Movie", featuring a MonsterOfTheWeek who's a GenreSavvy movie fan.
85	%% -->"End scene." (monster boots Dean in the face. [[CommercialBreakCliffhanger Smash Cut to commercials.]])
86	* Pops up now and then on ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', notably when the porcupine monster rampages through a TSA holding area in the teaser of "Nothing as It Seems".
87	* ''Series/TheLateLateShow'' did this with Craig Ferguson's GrandFinale, referencing ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'', ''Series/StElsewhere'', and getting cut off like ''The Sopranos'', music and all.
88	** The new James Corden version used this on a "Celebrity Noses" sketch (one where Corden can't get to Celebrity Noses because things keep going wrong) cut to black because the director told them they were out of time.
89	* This was actually common on many drama and action adventure series produced by Creator/UniversalStudios in the 70s and 80s.
90	* Used hilariously to conclude the penultimate Season 2 episode of ''Series/{{Galavant}}''
91	--> '''Jester:''' (''singing'') Or will we leave all our viewers with pain and anger,\
92	Just like we left them last year?\
93	Could we just stop once again, on a huge cliffhanger—\
94	(SmashToBlack.)
95	* Along with the Smash ''From'' Black, this is how the CBC and its French counterpart SRC presented its '''interlude''' title cards (the ''only'' text to be shown in the picture) in the 70s and 80s.
96	* ''Series/StrangerThings'' ends episodes with this. It memorably subverts this in [[Recap/StrangerThingsS4E4ChapterFourDearBilly "Dear Billy"]] where [[spoiler: Max's running from Vecna ends with a Smash Cut, four seconds of silence, another second of dialogue and a Smash From Black to her opening her eyes above the grave before that scene ends with a gentle FadeToBlack.]]
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Theme Parks]]
100	* The former ''Ride/TheFuntasticWorldOfHannaBarbera'' at Ride/UniversalStudios ended this way when Yogi turns off a ceiling lamp.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Video Games]]
104	* ''Music/TheBeatles: VideoGame/RockBand'' does this with "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," befitting [[NoEnding how the song itself ends]].
105	* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' ends in a similar way to the ''Mass Effect'' example below. The actions in the final scene coincide with the soundtrack, cutting to black with the final piano note. And by actions, [[spoiler:every version of Elizabeth (one of the two main characters) in the multiverse [[RetGone disappearing from existence]] before the camera, smashing into black with the last one--the one known throughout the game. [[TearJerker Especially when its revealed Elizabeth drowned her father]] [[HeroicSacrifice at his own request.]]]]
106	* ''Videogame/BuckshotRoulette:'' Whenever you catch one of the shotgun's live rounds, all you see is the muzzle flash lighting everything before it ''immediately'' cuts to black, followed by a return to the table as the MagicalDefibrillator bringing you back. [[spoiler:Or your arrival at the Pearly Gates, if you got unlucky in the last round]].
107	* ''VideoGame/CleaningRedville'': The game does this after [[spoiler:you accidentally hit someone walking across the street]].
108	* Occurs twice in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III]]''.
109	** At the end of Chapter 4, [[spoiler:Ash is revealed to be another survivor of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky Hamel Incident]] and affected by the Erebonia curse, shoots the emperor and is taken into custody.]]
110	** The {{cliffhanger}} ending, as [[spoiler:Rean kills the Ancient Beast and unleashes the Great Twilight after Millium's death, fully succumbing to his SuperPoweredEvilSide and is immobilized by [[ArchnemesisDad Osborn]] who prepares to finish what he started.]]
111	* TheStinger of ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' ends with [[spoiler:Bowser, the Koopalings, and Bowser Jr. getting crushed by their castle after succeeding to flip Bowser back on his front. The crashing sounds and Bowser roaring are still heard when the screen cuts to black.]]
112	* Done in ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' as well, sometimes out of nowhere, usually to indicate something bad has happened, and always to great effect.
113	* Used prominently in Creator/TelltaleGames' projects.
114	** ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' ends Episode 1 with [[spoiler: the reveal of Snow White's severed head on the front step of the Woodlands]], Episode 2 with [[spoiler: Crane smashing the magic mirror]], Episode 3 with [[spoiler: a severely injured Bigby lying bleeding in an alleyway]], Episode 4 with [[spoiler: whatever action the player took upon meeting The Crooked Man (especially effective if the player chose to smoke as the smash occurs when Bigby ignites his lighter]], and most shockingly, Episode 5 with [[spoiler: Bigby's reaction to the game's single largest WhamLine that leaves a major part of the story (is Faith really dead, and if so, when did she actually die? Is Nerissa who she says she is, or is she actually Faith in disguise?) up for discussion. The smash only occurs if the player chooses to go after Nerissa, and punctuates Bigby's last memory of Faith. "I'll see you around...Wolf."]]
115	** The first episode of ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' ends with the group discovering the Gordys Project, just as Rhys sees [[spoiler: A.I. Handsome Jack right next to him.]]
116	** ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'' ends Episode 1 on a weird gradual example as all the lights in the Travelier Motel go out one by one, and a moment after the last one shuts off, the smash occurs. Episode 2 ends with a smash to punctuate [[spoiler:Jolene's video tape of Clementine in the motel, and the line, "You'll be safe, I promise"]]. Episode 4 ends with [[spoiler:Lee being stunned completely speechless by The Stranger on the walkie talkie as the game ignores whatever option the player chose by smashing to black]], and Episode 5 ends with the SequelHook of [[spoiler:Clementine alone in a field spotting two figures off in the distance]].
117	* An option in ''VideoGame/{{Limbo}}'' can be switched on if you don't like the gory deaths that can occure. It smashs to black the instant the boy is about to be killed, but leaves the sound of his demise in.
118	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' ends like this, with the Smash to Black coinciding with the final note in the ending music. However, if the EMS is high enough and the player chose to destroy the reapers, there is a quick scene after [[spoiler:in which Shepard wakes up in the rubble]].
119	* ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'' ends with this, with the door of the gunship that the protagonist squad is in slamming shut after Boss says "Delta Squad! Lock and load!"
120	* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', if all human characters in the party die, the screen makes a sudden cut to black accompanied by a screeching sound, which lasts several seconds before fading in to a scene of you crossing into the afterlife.
121	** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' does the same, only without any sound effects to go with your final moments of life.
122	* In ''VideoGame/AlienIsolation'', whenever the Xenomorph catches you, the screen smashes to black the moment before the creature deals the finishing blow.
123	* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'': In the ''King of Cards'' campaign, after the credits, [[spoiler:King Knight is basking in his castle and monologuing that he got rid of every card and made his castle golden, and that he will be a king forever. The usual "The End" writes out. However, upon your attempt to return to the logo, the words "The End" disappear. Then the door opens, and Shovel Knight enters. King Knight prepares to battle Shovel Knight, and the screen smashes to black before finally going to the logo]].
124	* The second hallucination Scarecrow induces in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' ends with a hard a cut to black, which implies Batman died or passed out in shock. Since Batman has to deal with these hallucinations for the rest of the game, it also works as an EndingTrope of sorts for the game's first chapter.
125	* Each chapter of ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' begins with one of these after a few lines of introductory dialogue.
126	[[/folder]]
127
128	[[folder:Web Animation]]
129	* "WebAnimation/NoEvil" has this in "Black Bart" as part of Wrip's perspective when [[spoiler: Charles/Black Bart takes Xochipilli's ear covers, absorbing the [[SealedEvilInACan Black Tezcatlipoca]]. He promptly uses the new power on everyone nearby, Wrip included, causing a Smash To Black.]] We're then given a shot of her waking up, surrounded by the rest of the cast.
130	[[/folder]]
131
132	[[folder:Web Comics]]
133	* PlayedForLaughs in ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', when the Author tries to stop Proto Man from unmasking his impostor [[spoiler:the titular Bob]] until the next strip to preserve dramatic tension. When Proto Man dares the Author to try, the last panel is completely blacked out.
134	[[/folder]]
135
136	[[folder:Web Original]]
137	* The "Sex Survey Results" episode of ''WebVideo/LasagnaCat'' uses a Smash to ''Orange'' in its ending.
138	* ''WebVideo/UnusAnnus'' ended this way as [[spoiler: the channel was deleted live on stream.]]
139	[[/folder]]
140
141	[[folder:Western Animation]]
142	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' does this at the end of each episode.
143	* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' ends nearly every episode with a hard cut to the credits. The one time they used an IrisOut, it was just a FakeOutFadeOut.
144	* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' uses this in many act breaks.
145	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'' does it many times prior to the credits in almost all of the episodes.
146	* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' does the smash to black prior to the credits.
147	* ''WesternAnimation/Animaniacs2020'' finish all their episodes, as well as the segments, with the smash to black prior to the credits.
148	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' was perhaps the first show to do this consistently. Most act breaks avoided fadeouts, in part because they usually end acts on a gag and it is thought a fadeout would detract from its impact.
149	** To combat the automatic commercial problem noted above, most Simpsons episodes have a fadeout artificially added when they air in syndication. This can be problematic since often there is plot or a joke happening up to the very last second of an act, so the fadeout often begins while the action is still occurring.
150	* Most of the episodes of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' ended like this, yet allowing the background music to end properly even after the end. Starting from somewhere around season 6, smashes to black are only seen on the DVD or iTunes versions of the episodes (note that the background music is ending within the episode, not after the smash to black), while on Nick.com and international versions of Nickelodeon, there are no smashes. Starting with Season 9B, this was mostly replaced with IrisOut.
151	** "Okay! The secret formula i—"
152	* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'' uses this instead of its usual star shaped IrisOut for more serious episode endings.
153	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' did this in "Lois Kills Stewie". Serves as bit of a TakeThat to the infamous ending of ''Series/TheSopranos'' mentioned above.
154	-->'''Stewie''': [[TemptingFate Well at least it didn't end like ''The Sopranos'' where it just cut to black in mid-sen-]] ''(Smash to Black)''
155	* Happens OnceAnEpisode on ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'', usually about one minute from the end of the episode.
156	* Although not a true smash to black, as there is still audio, the video smashes to black during one of the biggest [[WhamLine Wham Lines]] in season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Bojack Horseman}}''
157	-->'''Bojack''':[[spoiler: Sarah Lynn? ''({{beat}})'' Sarah Lynn? ''(Smash To Black)''...[[PleaseWakeUp Sarah Lynn?]]]]
158	[[/folder]]
159
160	[[folder:Real Life]]
161	* This is how UsefulNotes/{{NASA}}'s Ranger probes ended their transmissions, {{c\|rashIntoHello}}ulminating their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-s5lSHWaug observations]].
162	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SmashToBlack