History Main / DeerInTheHeadlights

* In the intro for ''VideoGame/MarioSuperSluggers'', Diddy Kong [[OhCrap freezes and screams in terror as he almost gets run over by a large barrel. Fortunately, [[PapaWolf DK]] rescues him, much to Diddy's relief.

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* Happens in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' when [[spoiler: Mami thinks she's gotten Charlotte (who takes the form of a tiny plushie) beat, when suddenly Charlotte pukes out a giant carnivorous worm towards Mami. Mami freezes, and [[OffWithHisHead loses her head]].]]

* Happens on separate occasions in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and its sequels ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' with Taichi Yagami. First he froze up when found out he could die in the Digital World. Then in 02 he freezes up again when he is attacked by his own partner who was being controlled by the Digimon Kaiser. Finally in tri. [[spoiler: he freezes up during the fight against Alphamon]].

* In ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'', Tsuzuri Tessou does this when she is attacked by the AIM Burst. Mikoto pulls her out of the way and berates her for freezing up.

* ''Manga/{{Arachnid}}'' begins with heroine Alice finding her abusive uncle being hanged by a assassin, who then moves to kill her. She freezes at the sight, but concludes that [[KillingIntent she must kill to survive]] and jumps at his neck. She later becomes feared for being able to remain concentrated even in such dire situations.
** One flashback shows antagonist Dinoponera in a similar situation [[ChildSoldiers during her childhood]], cornered by a bunch of mercenaries and without the [[DisabilitySuperpower concentration disorder]] Alice was born with. She miraculously develops a form of HyperAwareness to kill them all and breaks down crying with relief.
* Happens a few times to various characters in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', such as [[spoiler:Petra just before she is crushed underfoot by the Female Titan.]] Honestly if this trope happens to someone in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', you can be sure that someone's about to die.
* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Thor shows off his newly acquired TeleportSpam ability and beats the shit out of Touma, with the hero helpless to fight him. Eventually, Touma gets an idea and stands in a certain spot. Thor appears behind him to deal the final blow... then finds that he's materialized in the path of a train. He becomes so shocked that he just stands there and gets run over (though this doesn't kill him).
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Maka freezes in this way after Soul [[TakingTheBullet takes an attack]] meant for her. Only a well-timed BigDamnHeroes moment saves her from Crona.
** Both heroes and villains froze in horror at [[BigBad Asura's]] resurrection and Eruka was completely paralyzed as he stepped closer and closer to her. Thankfully, [[spoiler:Asura was just as afraid of her as she was of him.]]
* In ''Manga/MagiLabyrinthOfMagic'', Alibaba has this response on a very regular basis. Usually after an ObviouslyEvil character has revealed that they're doing something evil. It typically falls to Aladdin or Margiana to snap him out of it.

* In the ''Literature/WarriorCats'' manga ''Warrior's Refuge'', Millie freezes when crossing a road. Graystripe has to grab her by her scruff and drag her out of the way of an oncoming car.

* When Izuku finally recognizes Aizawa in ''Fanfic/WaitingIsWorthIt'', he becomes paralyzed with terror. He knows that Aizawa's quirk is to be able to rob others of their quirks, and as someone who relies on his quirk to maintain a slim facade of normalcy (like going anywhere without his wheelchair or telekinetically cooking and cleaning around the house), this horrifying possibility nearly reduces Izuku to tears.

--> ''"[Archie] became motionless as a statue, still leaning forward, his expressive face frozen with his wide eyes staring uncomprehendingly at Horatio."''
* ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'': At the climax of "The Apokolips Agenda", a group of heroes freeze up as ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} approaches them and fires [[EyeBeams the Omega Effect]] at them.
* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' fanfic ''Fanfic/TheProgenitorChronicles'' has an instance where a Hunter catches up to the MC and Jay. It [[spoiler:decapitates Jay in one swipe]]. The MC falls back in shock and completely freezes with the Hunter right in front of his face, about to kill him.

* In the infamous 1977 PIF ''Film/{{Apaches}}'', Danny, the [[spoiler:posthumous]] narrator, just stands there with a dumb look on his face each time one of his friends falls victim to another completely avoidable farm-equipment-related accident. Mocked mercilessly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_n4k4Do3D8 here]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qedOIQLPHkA&feature=relmfu here.]]

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', Indy freezes in shock once he realizes the German tank he's standing on is about to roll off a cliff (the driver and all other passengers having been killed). We see a close-up of his bugging eyes (and his trademark fedora blowing off for some reason) and then a shot of him tumbling over the side of the tank. Indy's father, Marcus Brody and Sallah think he's died, but Indy manages to grab onto the rocky cliff face and laboriously make his way back up (though [[ClothingDamage his clothes get shredded]] in the process). His hat also magically reappears.
* In ''Film/{{The Thing|1982}}'', Windows freezes in horror when the [[spoiler:Palmer]]-Thing drops off the ceiling in front of him. The Thing uses his moment of indecision to maul him to death.
* [[HoldYourHippogriffs As it's set in Africa,]] ''Film/{{Black Panther|2018}}'' uses "antelope in the headlights" instead, referring to T'Challa's sudden brain freeze on encountering his ex-girlfriend after he'd singlehandedly beaten up a human trafficking ring. Just as his head bodyguard warned him about moments before. Judging by his little sister's response, this has happened previously. A ''lot''.
* In ''Film/WarOfTheWorlds'', when the Tripods appear at the ferry, Ray and family freeze and stare. The other people around them have a similarly delayed reaction, taking at least a few seconds to start running. And earlier, when Rachel runs off to find a place to use the bathroom, she comes across a river with countless bodies floating downstream. At the sight of this, she seems to completely forget what she was doing and just ''stares''.
* ''Film/PulpFiction'': In an ImagineSpot joke, Jules and Vincent adapt this look after Bonnie comes home to find them dragging Marvin's bloody corpse through her house.
* Discussed in ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', with the LemonyNarrator remarking on the tendency of people to do this in the face of danger, offering the example of someone who accidentally steps in front of speeding car and freezes out of surprise while [[OhCrap pulling a stupid face]] instead of trying to jump to safety. [[spoiler:Moments after this is described, the BigBad ends up having a shotgun pointed right in his face and [[BrickJoke promptly freezes in shock while pulling a stupid face]] just before his head gets blown off.]]
* ''Film/{{Angst}}'': When the young woman is being attacked and tied up by the killer, her elderly mother ''stands there watching'' instead of trying to intervene, escape, or try to protect her infirm son.

* In ''Literature/WatershipDown'', the rabbits have a term in their {{Fictionary}} for this: ''tharn''.
** A literal version occurs when the rabbits are pinned by carlights while raiding Nuthanger Farm. They get out of it by closing their eyes and running blind, which gets them out of the immediate area.
* ''Literature/TheStand'' by Creator/StephenKing: A character was in a quarantine with one particular guard who, he somehow sensed, would be the one to kill him if things went bad. The character had read ''Watership Down'' and was so scared of this guard he compared it to the "tharn" concept.
* Naturally played with in Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/GuardsGuards''. While Vimes is being shot at, his mind goes into this state. His legs act of their own volition and throw him out of danger.

* ''Literature/SisterhoodSeries'' by Creator/FernMichaels: This trope pops up a few times. ''Sweet Revenge'' has Isabelle Flanders freeze up when reporter Ted Robinson asks her questions about Rosemary Hershey and apparently is getting too close to finding out Isabelle's intentions towards Rosemary. ''Razor Sharp'' has lawyer Cosmo Cricket meet a client who has this sort of reaction upon seeing him, but that could be because she is afraid for her life.

* In ''Literature/{{Blindsight}}'', it's claimed that to look into the eyes of [[OurVampiresAreDifferent a vampire]] triggers evolutionary ingrained responses to predation in humans that causes them to freak out and stand paralysed. This is why [[TheCaptain Jukka Sarasti]] wears sunglasses at all times when interacting with his crew.
* In the ''Literature/TheMysteriousBenedictSociety'' books, Mr. Nicholas Benedict has narcolepsy. In the second book, ''The Perilous Journey'', it's revealed that his spells of sleeping caused by his narcolepsy are also often accompanied by frightening hallucinations, such as the Old Hag, a terrifying woman who appears before him. Unfortunately, ''this'' particular hallucination is also often accompanied by cataplexy, a form of paralysis. In the same book, Reynie falls into a deep sleep while in an abandoned village and awakes to see a woman standing before his bed. Unable to move, he thinks he's having the same hallucination until the woman herself lunges and he realizes it's his old nemesis Martina Crowe.

* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Sparks and Recreation", a boy stares at a lamppost falling at him, until Audrey pulls him out of the way.

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Stolen Earth", Jack Harkness just stands there shaking and holding his (remaining) team members tight when he first hears the Daleks' EX-TER-MIN-ATE. It takes a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan from an authority figure to snap him out of it. Sarah Jane Smith isn't much better off.
* Creator/MichaelEmerson is very good at this, the most prominent examples of this are during his roles of [[Series/{{Lost}} Ben Linus]] and [[Series/PersonOfInterest Harold Finch]] (especially when Locke or another character surprises Ben or when Finch sees [[DoesntLikeGuns a gun]]).
* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' mini-series:
** "The Even Chance": Midshipman Archie Kennedy is alone, grabbing his hat and preparing for a night raid, when his tormentor Simpson comes in, and says ominously and sleazily: "Jack's missed you, boy." Archie just freezes and goes pale, unable to move or talk. The menace is palpable, and this scene is frequently cited as a proof of {{implied}} sexual abuse.
** In "Mutiny", Mr Midshipman Wellard got [[ATasteOfTheLash beaten]] unjustly as [[InsaneAdmiral Crazy Captain]] Sawyer simply didn't appreciate Wellard's doing his duty. Sawyer later concludes that Wellard is conspiring against him and orders to have Wellard beaten once again. Poor Wellard has a pure Deer in the Headlights stare when he hears it as the beatings hurt like hell.
* ''Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel'': Midge has a moment of this during her gig in "Midnight at the Concord" when she spots her father in the audience:
-->'''Midge:''' ...the first time I ever let a boy [[PersonAsVerb go Christopher Columbus]] on my nether-regions, it was in the Catskills. And this boy, he was my ''[spots her father]'' [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption papa]].\\
''[she freezes up, staring at her father for several seconds]''\\
'''Midge:''' ''[stammering]'' I...I...''[remembers she's performing and continues her performance]''
* In ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'', when the titular character gets really scared about something, he'll become paralyzed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Z93tLpCTY in a ridiculous pose]], known as "La Garrotera". He is not aware of his surroundings when he's in that pose, and only returns to normal when someone splashes water on his face. In fact, it's so iconic that [[https://codigoespagueti.com/noticias/cultura/chanfle-asi-luce-la-figura-de-accion-oficial-de-el-chavo-del-8/ an official figurine was made of him in that pose]], and it reproduces the real deal's expression ''perfectly''!
* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'': [[CoolOldLady Sophia]] figures out that a teenage neighbor is pregnant because she had this expression, citing her experience with Dorothy. She thought it was unique to pregnant teenagers [[TakeThat until she saw Dan Quayle on TV]].

* This happens to Samus in ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' when she encounters [[spoiler: Ridley]].

* In a somewhat unusual example resulting from ArtificialStupidity, we have ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'', in which enemies will typically end their turns without taking any actions when [[PinnedDown Suppressed]], which is a near guaranteed death sentence if said enemy is flanked or out of cover, compared to the possibility of taking damage from the reaction shot attempting to move under suppression triggers. This is particularly bad with enemies who have abilities that can be used without penalty under suppression–such as Mutons' grenades or blood call, thin men's poison spit, or any of a sectoid commander's psionic abilities–but don't bother to use them. However, the expansion quickly corrected this behavior, as they'll now always relocate if flanked.
* In ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' and ''[[VideoGame/YoshisIsland Yoshi's New Island]]'', the stork, tasked with delivering Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, stops in midair when Kamek finds and ambushes him.

** Similarly, Ellegaard freezes in shock when she sees [[spoiler: the Wither Storm]] for the first time. Jesse and Olivia had already described it to her, but she hadn't fully understood how big the threat was until then, so all she can do is stare at it and stutter out a terrified apology to Jesse.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': When Lev Lainur was killing Olga Marie Animusphere, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Marie Kyrielight were so shocked that they froze and watched her die. [[MyGreatestFailure They never forgave themselves for not saving her]]. Later, when Goredolf Musik is about to be killed, they freeze again, but when Goredolf begins to unknowingly echo Olga Marie's last words, they snap out of it and save him, determined not to let history repeat itself.

* WebVideo/TheAngryGrandpa gives us an epic one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErrI_9lU3Ho here]].

* Parodied in an issue of ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Radioactive Man]]'' with the innocent bystander saying, "That wall is falling towards me! No time to get out of the way, only to [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talk about it]]!"
* Happens regularly to [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Wile E. Coyote]], who is often too flabbergasted or exhausted to move out of the way when his plans backfire on him badly. That little umbrella he often pulls out as a shield doesn't help things at all.

* ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse'': In "Mickey vs. Shelby", Baby Shelby is stricken with stage fright when out on stage, and he just stares blankly into the audience.
-->'''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}:''' Gosh, he looks like a deer in the headlights.\\
'''[[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Benny the Cab]]:''' ''[shines his lights on him]'' You said it!
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Bad Kaeloo gets mad at Mr. Cat and tries to jump onto him to beat him up. Mr. Cat sees her, but is too frozen in shock to move out of her way.
* Hunter from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' occasionally does this when one of his {{Trauma Button}}s is pressed.
** In "Labyrinth Runners", [[spoiler: Hunter is caught by two coven scouts, and fights back heavily as they try to restrain him. One of the scouts yells to the other to "Put him-", which the other scout interprets as "[[WouldHurtAChild Put him out of his misery]]". When said scout starts reading a killing spell, Hunter ''completely'' freezes, staring dead ahead with a wide-eyed look of shock on his face, even when the first scout clarifies to his buddy that he wanted him to put Hunter to ''sleep''. The sigh he lets out when the sleep spell takes effect implies that he wasn't ''breathing'' that entire time either.]]
** In "King's Tide", [[spoiler:Hunter makes no moves to get out of the way when Belos charges him, instead just clings to his staff and stares up at him in terror. Fortunately for him, Belos doesn't actually attack him, instead stops right in front of him to pull a ShapeshifterGuiltTrip.]]

Actual deer exhibit this behavior because of the internal defense mechanism they've developed to deal with predators. Imagine two circles, one inside the other, around a deer in the woods; if a deer picks up on an unknown approaching into its outer zone, it will focus on it with eyes and ears as it approaches. If said entity gets within the inner defensive radius of the deer, ''then'' it will flee. Most predators try to sneak up as close as possible to potential prey, saving their energy for that last bit of distance to overpower it and chow down -- contrary to what the SuperPersistentPredator trope suggests, most do not have the stamina or desire to chase prey over long distances. Most predators who notice the deer noticing them will back off at that point and slink away, which saves both predator and prey energy. In essence, a deer staring down a predator is saying, "I know you're there -- go bother someone else and save both of us the trouble."

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': When someone tries to carjack Ives he stomps on the gas and completely freezes up, forcing Tim Drake to shove his foot off the petal and swerve the car to the curb from the passenger seat before they end up in an car crash.

** ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'': [[Characters/MonsterVerseHumans Madison]] at first freezes up when Skullcrawler Number Ten is being released from its paddock, and she doesn't run in the same direction as Bernie and Josh. The {{novelization}} suggests this is the result of PTSD from her experiences in [[Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019 the previous film]] triggering.

* In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Gohan is frozen with fear when Freeza {{No Sell}}s his vicious attack. Vegeta yells, "Don't just stand there kid! Look out!" Too late, Freeza beats the shit out of him.

* In Anime/YuYuHakusho, Yusuke does this after Toguro first showed him sixty percent of his power. Thankfully, Toguro wasn't going to kill him there just yet but sent an invitation to a Dark Tournament where Yusuke will need to confront such power for real.

* Happens to Diego in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge2TheMeltdown'', when a carnivorous water creature approaches him and Sid while they are in an ice floe. Due to his aquaphobia he freezes in panic until Sid is able to snap him out of this state.

* The basic reason for this trope stems from the response commonly called "fight or flight", which has an oft-unmentioned ThirdOption -- freeze. Freezing is meant for a scenario where you're confronted by something dangerous that will harm you if it notices you, but isn't aware of or interested in you ''specifically''. What's dangerous is ending up in a scenario where that's not true, but freezing anyway because your instincts have misjudged the situation -- if you're consciously aware that you need to override this response, but not actually able to, it becomes [[AndIMustScream terrifying]]. In fact, many animals (including humans) have the option of freezing in their panic responses. As with Deer vs. Cars, many humans have died from being completely paralysed by fear or awe in the face of natural disasters like Tsunamis or Volcanoes; in the case of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, hundreds of people on beaches were killed because they were staring straight at the wave as it bore down on them.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In the opening of ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', Yakul does this as the demon that curses Ashitaka rushes at him. Despite Ashitake shouting at him to run, he just stands there, staring and trembling slightly--finally running away when Ashitaka shoots an arrow in his direction.

* ''ComicBook/MightyAvengers2013'': James Lucas senior's response to winding up in the middle of a super-human brawl under the streets of Manhattan, which is when he decides he's got no part dealing with super-beings and swears it off forever.

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BambiII'': Bambi is lured out into the open by a deer call (which he mistakes for the voice of his deceased mother, after a dream in which he's reunited with her), and then freezes when a pack of hunting dogs charge out of the trees toward him. (The crows' sounding the alarm to Man's presence doesn't help matters.) It takes his father tossing him out of the way with his antlers to snap him out of it.

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

* In ''Film/TheThing1982'', Windows freezes in horror when the [[spoiler:Palmer]]-Thing drops off the ceiling in front of him. The Thing uses his moment of indecision to maul him to death.
* [[HoldYourHippogriffs As it's set in Africa,]] ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' uses "antelope in the headlights" instead, referring to T'Challa's sudden brain freeze on encountering his ex-girlfriend after he'd singlehandedly beaten up a human trafficking ring. Just as his head bodyguard warned him about moments before. Judging by his little sister's response, this has happened previously. A ''lot''.

* ''Film/PulpFiction:'' In an ImagineSpot joke, Jules and Vincent adapt this look after Bonnie comes home to find them dragging Marvin's bloody corpse through her house.

--> 'I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,' he [Voldemort] said quietly. 'You have irked me too often, for too long. ''AVADA KEDAVRA''!'
--> Harry had not even opened his mouth to resist. His mind was blank, his wand pointing uselessly at the floor.

-->''The sun of Kakrafoon loomed terrifyingly large on the vision screen, its blazing white inferno of fusing hydrogen nuclei growing moment by moment as the ship plunged onwards, unheeding the thumping and banging of Zaphod's hands on the control panel. Arthur and Trillian had the fixed expressions of rabbits on a night road who think that the best way of dealing with approaching headlights is to stare them out.''

* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The Stolen Earth," Jack Harkness just stands there shaking and holding his (remaining) team members tight when he first hears the Daleks' EX-TER-MIN-ATE. It takes a GetAHoldOfYourselfMan from an authority figure to snap him out of it. Sarah Jane Smith isn't much better off.

-->'''Midge:''' ...the first time I ever let a boy [[PersonAsVerb go Christopher Columbus]] on my nether-regions, it was in the Catskills. And this boy, he was my ''[spots her father]'' [[AstonishinglyAppropriateInterruption papa]].
-->''[She freezes up, staring at her father for several seconds]''
-->'''Midge:''' ''[stammering]'' I...I...''[remembers she's performing and continues her performance]''
* In ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'', when the titular character gets really scared about something, he'll become paralyzed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Z93tLpCTY in a ridiculous pose]], known as "La Garrotera". He is not aware of his surroundings when he's in that pose, and only returns to normal when someone splashes water on his face.
** In fact, it's so iconic that [[https://codigoespagueti.com/noticias/cultura/chanfle-asi-luce-la-figura-de-accion-oficial-de-el-chavo-del-8/ an official figurine was made of him in that pose]], and it reproduces the real deal's expression ''perfectly''!

* In "Masters Of Destiny" by Music/{{Delain}}, the narrator is frozen in fear as she thinks [[YouCantFightFate she can't fight fate]].
-->And like a deer, still I stood on the road\\
As headlights approach

-->Here I am, a rabbit-hearted girl\\
Frozen in the headlights

-->If love was a beam, you'd be blind in both eyes\\
Put your sunglasses on 'cause you're a deer in the headlights.

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* PlayedForLaughs in the ''WebComic/ParadoxSpace'' "The Inaugural Death of Mister Seven;" Die is terrified into silence when Number Seven, Crowbar, walks in on his chickens. Crowbar remarks that Die does this constantly, and that he's "like a deer in the head-lights of a parked ass car."

* In ''WebVideo/DoctorHorriblesSingAlongBlog'', Penny freezes during "A Man's Gotta Do" as the out-of-control van bears down on her.
* WebVideo/TheAngryGrandpa gives us an epic one [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErrI_9lU3Ho here]].
* Lizzie Bennet from ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'' has a terrified look in her eyes when her sister Lydia sneaks up behind her with big scissors in hand. Cue arm with scissors being wrapped around Lizzie's neck, Lizzie giving this look and Lydia having a SlasherSmile on her face. It's from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqn9hj1FQnQ&feature=plcp Episode 17]].

-->'''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}:''' Gosh, he looks like a deer in the headlights.
-->'''[[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Benny the Cab]]:''' ''(shines his lights on him)'' You said it!

* The basic reason for this trope stems from the response commonly called "fight or flight", which has an oft-unmentioned ThirdOption -- freeze. Freezing is meant for a scenario where you're confronted by something dangerous that will harm you if it notices you, but isn't aware of or interested in you ''specifically''. What's dangerous is ending up in a scenario where that's not true, but freezing anyway because your instincts have misjudged the situation -- if you're consciously aware that you need to override this response, but not actually able to, it becomes [[AndIMustScream terrifying]]. In fact, many animals (including humans) have the option of freezing in their panic responses. As with Deer vs. Cars, many humans have died from being completely paralysed by fear or awe in the face of natural disasters like Tsunamis or Volcanoes; in the case of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, hundreds of people on beaches were killed because they were staring straight at the wave as it bore down on them

* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'': When Lev Lainur was killing Olga Marie Animusphere, Ritsuka Fujimaru and Marie Kyrielight were so shocked that they froze and watched her die. [[MyGreatestFailure They never forgave themselves for not saving her]]. Later, when Goredolf Musik is about to be killed, they freeze again, but when Goredolf begins to unknowingly echo Olga Marie's FamousLastWords, they snap out of it and save him, determined not to let history repeat itself.

* Happens to Diego in ''WesternAnimation/IceAge2TheMeltdown'', when a carnivorous water creature approaches him and Sid while they are in an ice floe. Due to his aquaphobia he freezes in panic until Sid is able to snap him out of this state.

* Parodied in ''Film/AustinPowers'' with the guard who gets run over by a steamroller, too terrified to get out the way even though the steamroller is coming at him veeeery slowly from a looong ways away. What makes it even better is a cut scene that can be played later on the DVD, where the {{Mook|s}} is shown to have friends who hear about the accident and mourn his death. They probably never realize that the guard's demise was, in a way, largely his fault!
* Occurs in the film ''Film/{{Gojira}}''. A crowd of humans can only watch as Franchise/{{Godzilla}} first shows up and looms over the hills before he starts to make his way towards Tokyo.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Part of Hodor's refusal to fight is his good nature but also that he is simply too scared to act coherently. When a wight jumps on him, he just didn't know what to do and when the mutineers picked on him, he can just scream Hodor and run left and right.

* [[HoldYourHippogriffs As it's set in Africa,]] ''Film/BlackPanther2018'' uses "antelope in the headlights" instead, referring to T'Challa's sudden brain freeze on encountering his ex-girlfriend after he'd singlehandedly beaten up a human trafficking ring.

* In ''Manga/{{Magi}}'', Alibaba has this response on a very regular basis. Usually after an ObviouslyEvil character has revealed that they're doing something evil. It typically falls to Aladdin or Margiana to snap him out of it.

* ''Film/Alien'':