History Main / DeathByLookingUp

* ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead'': As Flora and Lindsay leave the campus, Lindsay sees the chapel's heavy doors are ajar (left thus by Norman in his "escape" from the eagle), and insists on securing them despite Flora's protests. As she waits for him, she hears a noise and looks up and the eagle statue falls from the roof and kills her.

** In "[[Recap/MidsomerMurdersS24E1The Devil's Work]]", after being poisoned by the DeadlyGas, Jordana Linsbury staggers out of her her yurt and claws the guy wires supporting a large totem pole; ending up pulling the pole down on top of herself.

** In "[[ Recap/MidsomerMurdersS24E1The Devil's Work]]", after being poisoned by the DeadlyGas, Jordana Linsbury staggers out of her her yurt and claws the guy wires supporting a large totem pole; ending up pulling the pole down on top of herself.

** In "[[ The Devil's Work]]", after being poisoned by the DeadlyGas, Jordana Linsbury staggers out of her her yurt and claws the guy wires supporting a large totem pole; ending up pulling the pole down on top of herself.

* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': In "The Dark Rider", one victim is lured outside his ancestral home and looks up just in time to see a gargoyle toppling on top of him.

* Giro and his henchwolves are all killed in an avalanche at the end of ''Anime/OneStormyNight''.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' has one moment at the start of a mission where you'll see some Orks standing in the middle of the desert, one of them looks up and remarks, "What's that up in the sky?" moments before your {{drop pod}} turns the whole group into paste.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/ThePebbleAndThePenguin'', [[Creator/TimCurry Drake]] is crushed to death by the very boulder he was attempting to kill Hubie with

* ''VideoGame/{{Asylum}}'': This is a text-with-maze-graphics adventure game for the UsefulNotes/TRS80. The plot of the adventure ''requires'' the use of this trope. At one point in the game, you find [[ShmuckBait a written note that says "look up"]]. If you do, a piano immediately falls on your head and kills you, implying that there's a concert grand hovering over your head for the ''entire game'' just ''daring'' you to look at it. To kill an inmate who would otherwise murder you, you have to show the note to him, causing ''him'' to look up and get a piano dropped on his head.

* A VictimOfTheWeek on ''Series/{{Castle}}'' looked up to see a gargoyle's head dropping down upon him.

* This happens in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' to General Lionwhyte, though somewhat averted; he looks up in time to see a giant mirror falling towards him, and reacts in time by [[MakeMeWannaShout shattering it with his voice]]... [[KarmicDeath resulting in his death by multiple shards of broken mirror]].

* TheDragon from ''Film/LethalWeapon2'' got a face full of shipping container.

* ''Anime/Cyborg009'' has an example in the form of Apollo, a Cyborg who along with a slew of others sincerely believed he was a God of the Grecian Pantheon destined to pass judgement on humanity. Shortly before [[DiedInYourArmsTonight her own death]], Artemis tries telling him that this was not true and that they were once humans before Doctor Gaia turned them into cyborgs and brainwashed them . [[IRejectYourReality He has trouble accepting it]] and enters an existential crisis [[CollapsingLair just as the temple starts collapsing around him.]] Despite the pleas of the heroes to flee with them before the Temple crushes them, he merely looks up and says "Artemis" before being crushed by a collapsing pillar.

* ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'': Invoked by Hobbes in one strip, where he's sitting in a tree with a bucket of snowballs. When Calvin walks underneath, he drops one snowball next to Calvin so that he will look up and have just enough time [[OhCrap to realize what's about to happen]], and then dumps the whole bucket right on his face.

** ''[(Film/MissionImpossible1996 Mission: Impossible]]'': In the first mission, Jack, the hacker on Ethan Hunt's team, is killed in this way, sitting on top of a rising elevator that drives his face into a spike.

* ''Film/MissionImpossible'': In the opening, the Hacker-type on Tom Cruise's team is killed in this way. However, he was sitting on top of a rising elevator at the time: it rose upwards and drove his face into some spikes ([[NoKillLikeOverkill not to mention being crushed as well]]).
** ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout'' has the bad guy killed this way, looking up and getting hit by a helicopter's cargo hook.

* ''Anime/Cyborg009'' has an example in the form of Apollo, a Cyborg who along with a slew of others sincerely believed he was a God of the Grecian Pantheon destined to pass judgement on humanity. Shortly before [[DiedInYourArmsTonight her own death]], Artemis tries telling him that this was not true and that they were once humans before Doctor Gaia turned them into cyborgs and brainwashed them . [[IRejectYourReality He has trouble accepting it]] and enters an existential crisis [[CollapsingLair just as the temple starts collapsing around him.]] Despite the pleas of the heroes to flee with them before the Temple crushes them, he merely looks up and says "Artemis" before being crushed by a collapsing pillar.

* Happens to mountain lion Sharptooth in ''Literature/WarriorCats'' when Feathertail knocks a stalactite off the ceiling of the cave.

* In the climax of Creator/TadWilliams' ''Literature/{{Otherland}}'', the BigBad and his minions don't notice the satellite that is [[DeathFromAbove about to crash into their headquarters]] until far too late to do anything about it. They then play out several variations of fleeing ineffectually before being spectacularly blown up.
* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' has Mkoll, the titular regiment's Chief Scout, inflict this on a Dark Eldar warrior after outwitting him in what amounted to a hunter's duel.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilCodeVeronica'', Wesker, having just opened a can of whoop-ass on Chris, does a leaping punch to finish him, but Chris uses his last ounce of strength to fling himself out of the way out of Wesker's attack and straight at a lever. Cue loud noises, and Wesker looking up just in time to catch an I-beam with his face right before an entire pile lands on him. Subverted into a HopeSpot, however, considering what said character's [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat already had happen to him]].

* This happens in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' to General Lionwhyte, though somewhat averted; he looks up in time to see a giant mirror falling towards him, and reacts in time by [[MakeMeWannaShout shattering it with his voice]]... [[KarmicDeath resulting in his death by multiple shards of broken mirror]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Asylum}}'': This is a text-with-maze-graphics adventure game for the UsefulNotes/TRS80. The plot of the adventure ''requires'' the use of this trope. At one point in the game, you find [[ShmuckBait a written note that says "look up"]]. If you do, a piano immediately falls on your head and kills you, implying that there's a concert grand hovering over your head for the ''entire game'' just ''daring'' you to look at it. To kill an inmate who would otherwise murder you, you have to show the note to him, causing ''him'' to look up and get a piano dropped on his head.
* Averted in the ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' trailer, in which the fellow looks up and then proceeds to unleash his fury on the offending dragon.
* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' has one moment at the start of a mission where you'll see some Orks standing in the middle of the desert, one of them looks up and remarks, "What's that up in the sky?" moments before your {{drop pod}} turns the whole group into paste.

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner played this trope up, down and sideways with all the various things that fell on Wile E. Coyote's head over the years. He's looked up and then opened a comically tiny umbrella to protect him; looked up, [[AsideGlance looked to the camera]], pointed up and gulped; looked up, seen the rock, stepped just out of the shadow on the ground and been hit anyway... you name it.
* Happened to [[CreatorCameo 45]] in the unaired version of the ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim [[ChristmasSpecial Most Horrible X-Mas Ever]]''. Since this took place after the regular series, it can be assumed he was KilledOffForReal. In the edited version, the scene cuts away just as he notices the ShadowOfImpendingDoom.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[ShadowOfImpendingDoom The shadow was the first clue.]]-] ]]

'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''