History Main / PlayedForHorror

* Characters InUniverse bringing up the FridgeHorror of the trope.

* ''Manga/HaremRoyaleWhenTheGameEnds'' takes the concept of the HaremGenre and turns it into a DeadlyGame where the girls must win the heart of the male lead, and the losers will be killed. This turns the romantic tension of most series and turns it into a thriller where the girls have not just their love, but their lives on the line, all while the male lead is oblivious to the fact that his eventual decision will doom several innocent lives.

* ''Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau'' depicts the BeastMan and UpliftedAnimal tropes this way, and is an {{Unbuilt|Trope}} version of the same. The titular doctor has used anesthetic-free vivisections to mold animals into human-like forms, and the main character is disturbed by how much the beast people hit Uncanny Valley for him.

* {{Cloudcuckooland}} is a trope that is often PlayedForLaughs, specially in media aimed at children. However, in ''Literature/TheNeverendingStory'' this trope is played for pure horror with the City Of Old Emperors, a place where Former humans are trapped in Fantasia with no memories of who they are, or what they are, engaging in endless, nonsensical tasks over and over forever, showing how ending in a place like that would be a FateWorseThanDeath.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' uses FlatCharacter to make its villain the Lich even more horrifying. His backstory is vague, he doesn't speak much, and his entire character revolves around [[VileVillainSaccharineShow destroying the normally whimsical land of Ooo]]. The Lich is an absolute force of destruction, and at the end of the day that's all he wants to be.

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' uses BreakingTheFourthWall to dark effect, by revealing that [[spoiler:the various fourth wall breaks of Monokuma are actually because the series have been turned into a reality TV show. When the characters discover this, they suffered a [[DrivenToSuicide nightmarish]] [[HeroicBSOD mental breakdown]] as they realize all of their memories and emotions were fiction. This reveal [[DespairEventHorizon psychologically devastates the surviving members]], until Shuichi comes to the realization that even if everything is fictional, their experiences and pain are real. The [[TheDogBitesBack final battle]] is against the embodiment of the TV audience itself.]]

* ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony'' uses BreakingTheFourthWall to dark effect, by revealing that [[spoiler:the various fourth wall breaks of Monokuma are actually because the series have been turned into a reality TV show. When the characters discover this, they are utterly shocked as they realize all of their memories and emotions were fiction. This reveal psychologically devastates the surviving members, until Shuichi comes to the realization that even if everything is fictional, their experiences and pain are real. The final battle is against the embodiment of the TV audience itself.]]

* ''LetsPlay/EmpiresSMP'' Season 1 plays SitcomArchNemesis and AnimalJingoism for Horror. Jimmy and fWhip initially appeared to be rivals/enemies to each other due to the two's conflicts of [[AnimalJingoism cod versus salmon]], but this "species rivalry" later proves to be much more dangerous and sinister--when [[RivalsTeamUp the two teamed up]] to try to create a new Codfather head, a prophecy rears its ugly head, and... well, here's what the prophecy said:
-->''The resolution of a neverending feud brings unimaginable chaos that will [[spoiler:[[ApocalypseHow destroy the world]]]].''

* ''LetsPlay/EmpiresSMP'' Season 1 plays SitcomArchNemesis for Horror. Jimmy and fWhip initially appeared to be rivals/enemies to each other due to the two's conflicts of cod versus salmon, but this "species rivalry" later proves to be much more dangerous and sinister--when [[RivalsTeamUp the two teamed up]] to try to create a new Codfather head, a prophecy rears its ugly head, and... well, here's what the prophecy said:

* ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' takes the SuperPoweredEvilSide trope to [[BodyHorror utterly horrifying]] and [[KillThemAll tragic]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt extremes]]. In many ways, it feels like it would happen in a teenage superhero story (like ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' ) if absolutely everything went horribly wrong.

* ''[[Theatre/{{Heathers}} Heathers: The Musical]]'' does this with love songs during "Our Love is God", where JD continues to lovingly sing his worship to Veronica after he just [[spoiler:murdered Kurt and Ram in cold blood]]. Veronica is clearly terrified. What starts as a romantic ballad quickly turns into J.D. and Veronica's DescentIntoDarknessSong.

* [[https://youtu.be/RR2dlAnP0-I This]] episode of WebAnimation/SomethingAbout is a legitimately tense short with an engineer being pursued by horrifying, [[VideoGame/DeadSpace Necromorph-like]] ghosts...then you get a glimpse of the engineer and realise it’s a sci-fi horror take on VideoGame/PacMan. It even has a human version of Ms. Pac-Man, who happens to be a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Ripley-esque]] ActionGirl.

* The mini-adaptation of ''Literature/TheMysteriousStranger'' included in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfMarkTwain'' does this for the source material: While the dark elements were also present in the book, there was also a major MoodDissonance in the way in which the story was told, making it closer to a whimsical fairy tale than a CosmicHorrorStory. Satan himself was often described as attractive and charming, but in the animated film he is given a creepy, sinister appearance, and the adapted passage (Which is actually one of the most ''light-hearted moments'' from the original book) is given an eerie, nightmarish atmosphere which sharply contrasts with the the rest of the movie.

* ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'' is based around horrific things involving spirals, so some of the stories are about the various ways that SpectacularSpinning is not spectacular at all, including how a spiral-shaped scar spins into a black hole.

** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-3512 SCP-3512]] ("The More You Know") is [[TakeThat a satirical take]] on pick-up artists and their misogyny. Through body-mutilation rituals (like [[{{Fingore}} cutting off their own fingers]]) and creating a sentient doll-like construct from human fat and bones to take control of the person one desires, instances of the SCP turn women they want to fuck into living sex dolls. The affected victims undergo complete personality changes that leave them eager to please their brainwashers, and are [[AndIMustScream completely aware of this outside force taking them over, but can only express it in bouts of screaming that eventually fade away as it takes complete control]]. The process is detailed in a book written by a pickup artist, excerpts of which are in the report, and advises readers to stop thinking of hot women as people and think of them as instruments to be controlled.

* Despite its innocent beginning, ''Manga/ShadowStar'' plays the whole {{Mon}} genre for horror (and tragedy), showing everything that could possibly go wrong by giving real-life kids OlympusMons. [[spoiler: By the end of the series, almost every character is dead and humanity is wiped out from the face of earth.]]
* ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'' is based around horrific things involving spirals, so some of the stories are about the various ways that SpectacularSpinning is not spectacular at all, including how a spiral-shaped scar spins into a black hole.

* [[https://youtu.be/RR2dlAnP0-I This]] episode of WebAnimation/SomethingAbout is a legitimately tense short with an engineer being pursued by horrifying, [[VideoGame/DeadSpace Necromorph-like]] ghosts...then you get a glimpse of the engineer and realise it’s a sci-fi horror take on VideoGame/PacMan. It even has a human version of Ms. Pac-Man, who happens to be a [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Ripley-esque]] ActionGirl.

* ''WebOriginal/ImATherapistAndMyPatientIsGoingToBeTheNextSchoolShooter''
** The Influencer Files story line uses InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube to gruesome effect. The Chicken live-streams himself torturing someone in the most painful and humiliating way possible.
** AssholeVictim is used for horror. Someone with a history of making bigoted and otherwise offensive comments online is kidnapped and tortured in internet videos. While some of the comments hope the victim will be saved, others believe her past awful behavior means she deserves it. Some people outright express pleasure that she's suffering, one calling it the best stream of the year and another asking if [[NightmareFetishist anyone else was getting a boner]].
* ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'': AndThereWasMuchRejoicing is PlayedForDrama and Horror in the aftermath of [[spoiler:Tommy's death]], as the Eggpire throw a party in the victim's house - and after getting kicked out, rent a room in the victim's hotel to continue their revelries. Do bear in mind that the leader of the Eggpire, [=BadBoyHalo=], confirmed by WordOfGod that his character would be horrified and in mourning if he weren't BrainwashedAndCrazy.

* ''WebVideo/SmileTapes has a devastating FantasticDrug called SMILE. It is made from an unknown fungus, is distributed through the black market and has utterly horrific effects on the human body.

* {{Trainstopping}} is used to [[{{Gorn}} gory]] and horrifying effect in the 'WesternAnimation/Invincible2021'' episode "[[Recap/Invincible2021S01E08WhereIReallyComeFrom Where I Really Come From]]". [[spoiler:Omni-Man]] picks up a battered Mark and holds him in front of an oncoming subway train, causing Mark's invulnerable body to tear through the train—and its hundreds of passengers—like a bullet through Styrofoam. By the time it ends, Mark is covered in blood and thoroughly traumatized.

* ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'': AndThereWasMuchRejoicing is PlayedForDrama and horror in the aftermath of [[spoiler:[[DeathOfAChild Tommy's death]]]], as the Eggpire throw a party in the victim's house - and after getting kicked out, rent a room in the victim's hotel to continue their revelries.

* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' episode [[Recap/GravityFallsS2E18Weirdmageddon "Weirdmageddon"]] does this with ClothingAppendage. An off-center shot from Ford's WaveMotionGun hits Bill Cipher's "hat", [[TorsoWithAView creating a gaping hole]] that exposes a mess of fleshy innards [[GoodThingYouCanHeal before regenerating]].

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' uses FlatCharacter to make its villain the Lich even more horrifying. His backstory is vague, he doesn't speak much, and his entire character revolves around [[VileVillainSaccharineShow destroying the normally whimsical land of Ooo]]. The Lich is an absolute force of destruction, and at the end of the day that's all he wants to be.

* What happens if you take the basic plot of ''Film/RioBravo'', in which a group of lawmen are besieged by a heavily armed gang, and give it a SettingUpdate to contemporary (1970s) Los Angeles and present the gangsters like a human version of the zombies from ''Film/{{Night of the Living Dead|1968}}''? You get ''Film/{{Assault on Precinct 13|1975}}'', the ActionHorror film that put Creator/JohnCarpenter on the map as a filmmaker.

* ''WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment'': Spoony had a FauxHorrific reaction to the WTHCastingAgency of the ''Film/WingCommander'' movie.