Nightmare Fuel / The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

• The opening scene during the Dark Days in which young Tigris and Coryo witness Nero Price cannibalizing a dead man for sustenance.

• The Peacekeepers treat the tributes as if they were sub-human, transporting them in cargo, starving them, dragging and beating them, and only giving them access to a veterinarian for medical care. This inhumane treatment invokes disturbingly real images of several real-life events throughout our history and even currently in the world.

• Arachne's death, while somewhat deserved, is still a shock because it happens so suddenly and is even more brutal than in the books. Arachne holds a soda bottle between the bars instead of a sandwich like in the books. Brandy gets fed up, snatches the bottle and smashes it against the bars before plunging the glass into Arachne's throat, killing her.

• Dr. Gaul tells Clemensia Dovecote to put her hand in a tank of scent-detecting snakes to test if she was lying about writing the proposal. Clemensia reaches inside nervously, only for the snake to sinks its' fangs into her. She thrashes violently and screams trying to get it off, and while in the books it is confirmed that Clemensia is alive (albeit experiencing symptoms), in the movie, she is never seen again, leaving her fate uncertain.

• Dr. Gaul in general. She's mad-scientist-meets-Willy-Wonka, managing to seem surreal but still scary. The sheer sadism Dr. Gaul demonstrates throughout the movie is one of the most terrifying aspects of personality. Her garish looks and dresses are also unsettling, especially one of her outfits which is stained red to give the illusion of bloodstains as a fashion statement. Almost as if saying she's got blood on her hands, and *enjoys it*

• Just like in the books, Coryo ends up pinned under flaming wreckage during the arena bombing, yelling for help. You'd be forgiven for thinking he was doomed until Lucy Gray comes to help him.

• The tributes entrance into the arena is more nightmarish than that of the 74th and 75th games. The fancy metal circles and technology are gone. The tributes are simply herded into the arena by Peacekeepers and told to stand on their assigned marks or be shot.
  • Worse, Lucy witnesses Teslee, the District 3 female tribute who can barely stand, being dragged onto her mark by the Peacekeepers, showing that they will force the tributes to compete in the arena, regardless of sickness or starvation.

• The amount of times Lucy Gray comes close to being killed within the first few minutes of the Games, including barely ducking from Reaper's ax in time, Coral nearly stabbing her with a trident and arrow nearly piercing her hand. It's sheer luck she makes it through the opening day.

• Lamina finding Marcus bloody, beaten and tied to the slab of rocks at the start of the Games. He's in so much pain that he begs for Lamina to kill him.

• The death of Sol, the District 5 female tribute, resembles something out of a horror movie. As Lucy Gray and Jessup escape the other tributes through the tunnels, they crawl through a small opening in one of the doors. As Jessup has just gotten through the opening, Sol grabs his leg, trying to pull him back with her. Suddenly, Sol lets go of him and starts screaming in anguish and pain before her body goes limp and she's slowly dragged back through the door. Even more terrifying is that we don't know what the other tributes did to her on the other side of the door.

• Coral, Tanner, Mizzen, and Treech corner Lucy Gray in the arena, surrounding threatening her, swinging their weapons and approaching her menacingly. Had it not been for Coryo sending the delivery drones to distract them, she would've been killed.

• Coryo kills Bobbin in self-defense by bludgeoning him to death with a piece of rebar. When he tells Tigris about it, he says that he felt powerful. Tigris is understandably worried for her cousin.

• Mizzen stalking Lucy Gray while she's hiding in an air duct. He approaches the vent, sinisterly calling out to her, before suddenly jabbing his spear through the duct, nearly stabbing her in the process.

• Coral nearly kills Lucy Gray again by thrusting her trident into the ceiling panels, causing her to fall out of her hiding spot.

• The remaining tributes die via the snake muttations that are released into the arena when Gaul decides to execute the remaining tributes, leaving no victor. Wovey, Mizzen and Reaper get engulfed in a wave of them and die instantly. Coral dies in pain, pleading with Lucy Gray, invoking Cato's brutal end in the 74th Hunger Games. The only comfort is that she died quickly rather than having to endure slow, painful torture like Cato did.

• Arlo, a man who allegedly sabotaged the mines, is hung for treason. Lil, his wife, rushes forward protesting that he's innocent, only to get beaten, dragged away and locked up by Peacekeepers. This is what would inspire the song 'The Hanging Tree'

• The ease with which Coryo shoots Mayfair after she threatens to have them all hung. Yes, Mayfair did arrange to have Lucy sent to the Games, but it doesn't make her death any less unsettling, especially since it shows that Coryo is sinking further into darkness.

• Sejanus is hung for treason, because his supposed best friend Snow betrayed him. Not knowing this, he calls out to Coryo for help, but Coryo simply stands there, stone-faced. Imagine telling your best friend, someone who you have a lot of trust in, something and they use it against you, not only to ruin your reputation, but to have you killed. Paranoia Fuel at its' finest.

• Coryo's breakdown later in the barracks can come off of this. Most people can view it as Coryo grieving over the death of Sejanus, but fans who read the books will know that Coryo's breakdown didn't happen because he felt genuinely sad for Sejanus, but because he was worried he would be next. This shows how little remorse he feels for Sejanus's death, marking the beginning of his transformation into the tyrant who would rule Panem with an iron fist.

• Coryo completely losing it at the end of the movie and rapidly shooting around the forest in an attempt to kill Lucy Gray, before trying to stalk her through the woods with his rifle when he thinks he's hit her. Somewhat mitigated as it is possible that Lucy Gray had simply escaped elsewhere or had been miles away before Coryo began to look for her, since her fate is left unknown.