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It appears that many Nightmare Fuel pages have problems, including:
1. Listing non-scary things that made the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable at worst.
2. Having spoiler tags on them (which is against the page's guidelines).
3. Listing Fridge Horror and fan theories.
And much more!
On a few occasions, people from outside the site's community have pointed out our overly lax usage of Nightmare Fuel to make fun of us, meaning that it can legitimately harm our reputation to let this go unchecked.
The TRS thread
meant for redefining Nightmare Fuel started to become a place for cleaning up Nightmare Fuel pages in general, so we may as well move these discussions to Long Term Projects where they belong.
Here are the guidelines to determine whether something is Nightmare Fuel or not.
- This is a page whose name is intended to be taken more literally than most. It's not enough for material to be scary; to truly qualify, it has to be frightening enough to legitimately unnerve/disturb the viewer, with actually being nightmare-inducing as the ultimate endpoint.
- Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
- It left you feeling shaken even after the credits had rolled, you turned the last page, or are otherwise done with the work.
- You have a hard time falling asleep if you think about it at night, or have a literal nightmare about it.
- You dread that episode, scene, level, chapter, or song during re-watches, and consider skipping it.
- With that said, don't add something just because it happens to be your personal phobia. For example, spiders can be scary and many people have arachnophobia, but just because a spider happens to be in the work, it does not make a Nightmare Fuel entry. It needs to reasonably be scary to someone without the phobia.
- Don't confuse tension with fear. If the hero is in trouble, but you know he'll make it out okay at the end, it's probably not Nightmare Fuel unless the threat is especially disturbing.
- Good signs that something IS Nightmare Fuel include if:
- Explain WHY the entry scared you. Try to convey your sense of fear to your readers. Avoid putting up Zero-Context Examples.
- Remember that Weblinks Are Not Examples, and neither are quotes on their own. You should explain the horror in your own words, rather than rely on others to do so.
- Don't add things that might have scared someone. If it didn't scare you, and you don't personally know anyone else who was scared, you shouldn't be adding it to Nightmare Fuel.
- Nightmare Fuel should stick to you even after you're done with the work.
- If something is initially presented as scary but turns out to be harmless, it's most likely not Nightmare Fuel since The Reveal makes the scariness vanish.
- Jump Scares are a good source of Nightmare Fuel, but not all of them automatically qualify: being startled is not the same as being scared.
- Hypotheticals are not Nightmare Fuel:
- Remember that Trailers Always Lie: a scene that is presented as scary in the trailer could very well turn out to be inoffensive in the finished work. Only add examples from unreleased works if they were especially terrifying in the previews.
- Fan theories do not belong on the Nightmare Fuel page under any circumstance. No matter how much evidence they have to support them, don't add them until they've been officially confirmed. In the meanwhile, take them to Wild Mass Guessing.
- Fridge Horror goes on the Fridge page, not Nightmare Fuel. Don't add it unless it's Ascended Fridge Horror.
- Keep in mind the work's intended audience when considering whether or not something is Nightmare Fuel.
- If something is normal or expected in the genre, it does not automatically qualify. Violence in a Fighting Series or gore in a horror movie must be especially disturbing or gruesome by the work's standards to be Nightmare Fuel.
- Remember that Kids Shouldn't Watch Horror Films. If a work is rated PG-13 or higher but would only be scary to young children, it's not Nightmare Fuel.
- The standards on what qualifies as Nightmare Fuel are especially stringent on works aimed at children and pre-teens: kids have hyperactive imaginations, so even something benign can give them nightmares.
- Spoiler tags do not belong on Nightmare Fuel pages. Much of what scares us comes from inherently spoilery stuff such as death and the unknown, so finding spoilers on these pages should be expected.
- Nightmare Fuel is an Audience Reaction, so it needs to be scary for the audience. Describing how the characters react to something scary isn't needed. Just because something scares them, that doesn't mean it scares us as well.
- Nightmare Fuel is a No Real Life Examples, Please! page. Meta-examples involving the actors, production, or behind-the-scenes incidents are not allowed.
Guidelines when proposing cleanup of a page:
- Some rules are pretty objective. If you see a Zero-Context Example, Fridge Horror, Real Life example, speculation, In-Universe reaction that isn't scary to the viewers, examples that explicitly describe themselves as not being very scary (including "mildly creepy", "somewhat unnerving", and other synonymous phrases), or examples that are just scene summaries without going into detail about why it's so scary, you can (and should) remove them immediately without coming here to ask.
- You should also strip all spoiler tags from the page. Itty Bitty Wiki Tools has a tool for that, but it can cause problems, so if you use it be sure to preview the page and thoroughly look it over.
- Once you've fixed the objective issues with the page, bring it here so we can look at the more subjective problems, such as examples that may not be scary enough to qualify. If a consensus is reached that a certain entry does not qualify, it can be removed.
Edited by Zuxtron on Aug 1st 2020 at 9:40:30 AM
Super Mario Maker is a short page with all of its examples not being convincing to me. To be fair, I guess it's a little better than last time because the original page had an example of one of the icons being Satan and it seems much shorter than what I remember it.
- Waluigi's Unbearable Existence.
It uses the sound effects mentioned above, while using text written in coins about self worthlessness and existential crisis.
Fan-Made material. I mean, it is made in the engine so I guess it's not too bad. It's the best example so far. Otherwise, I wouldn't miss it by cut. Is it possible to put SMM1 examples to Fanworks?
- ????? ????? ????. 2
is a remix based on the first stage from Super Mario Bros. 2 with parts of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels thrown in... Except everything is completely black and lifeless. There's skeletons and bones laying about everywhere, no enemies nor music, Spikes of Doom littered everywhere, and every ? block contains nothing but bones that get thrown out. At the end of the level, instead of finding Birdo, you just get a very demonic message written in blocks before finding a pipe leading to the goal... Upon which Mario is then flung into the spiky abyss with a scream that is drowned out by the level completion music.
"HE NEVER WOKE UP"
Same problem with the above. I do agree though, these Mario Maker levels are plain creepy. The problem is that these aren't created by Nintendo but rather, fans.
- The very rare, extremely uncanny sound effects that sometimes play when you fall in a pit.
Zero-Context Example. Even knowing these, I thought most of these were hilarious rather than creepy. Uncanny isn't convincing.
I want to be polite here as I don't want to come off as an angry critc. I'm not going to name the people who wrote these examples since I'm sure their nice people and the page is slightly better than when I last time took a peek at it. What do you guys think?
Yes, I am using a modded version of Lego Indy 1 for my avatar.Looking at Avengers: Infinity War now, and I'm thinking I can just delete the entirety of the Trailers/Meta section outright. Looking at the main page, I'm thinking it's worth keeping the ones about 9/11, Nebula's torture, and the final entry about the movie's higher level of gruesome violence, but everything else is delete-worthy.
About to request deletion for the Black Panther Nightmare Fuel page after transporting the handful of viable entries elsewhere, any protests before I do so?
Edited by AlleyOop on Jan 15th 2020 at 9:30:20 AM
The page is blank, so I can't give any feedback.
I was about to look through the page to see if there was stuff worth keeping, but it's all deleted. Nobody else approved of the page blanking.
And yeah, I could check through the page history, but still. I'd wait for people to give some feedback before doing something like that.
Looking through what was cut, I'd say some of Killmonger's actions like poisoning the museum guide, burning the Heart-Shaped herbs, choking a Wakandan priest, and killing his girlfriend can stay. I think some of them are a bit more intense than most MCU villains. I think Klau's cybernetic hand may count as well, but that might be me being generous.
Edited by chasemaddigan on Jan 15th 2020 at 10:00:04 AM
Here's my NightmareFuel.Donkey Kong Country analysis:
- The first three Donkey Kong Country games for SNES had shockingly depressing Game Over screens. The first one
shows an injured Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong standing in a dark background, with a deranged wooden font and depressing music playing (as you can see from the page image), the second one
shows Diddy and Dixie locked up while depressing music plays and the Game Over message hovers down to taunt you (with the whole screen slowly turning blood red), and finally, the third one,
shows Kiddy and Dixie with sad expression in a baby crib, while a creepy Music Box plays depressing music (Button Mashing allows you to play along) until you hear someone slam a door. Yeah, keep.
- To make things worse, the first game's game over screen does not stop until you press a button on your controller. Even when the music ends, it will stay there to haunt you forever until you mash the "A" button so that you can be relieved to see the opening again. Keep.
- The game over screen from the GBC version can be even worse thanks to color limitation
, as well as the music being changed to a quite depressing version of the Jungle Hijinxs theme that can give the SNES' 16-bit theme a run on its money. Keep.
- Thankfully, the GBA port reduces the scary factor by replacing the dark void with jungle background. But still creepy, though. Remove.
- The NES pirate of the first game has the duo in a scary reddish tint, as if they were covered in blood. The music being Funeral March, of all things, makes it worse. Unofficial, remove.
- As if the screens as they were created were not shocking enough, this person whom should be questioned for their own sanity, decided it would be a neat idea to multiply the nightmares by adding the "G-Major" effect to the first
, second
, third
, and the first game on the Game Boy Color
. Fan-made, remove.
- Someone thought it was a great idea to get the Game Over screen of the first game inked onto their arm as a tattoo
◊. Remove.
- The death music
from the second game is pretty scary, too. Eh, remove.
- The Game Over screen in the second game is deliberately ambiguous, depending on your interpretation of the fade-to-red: it either represents the young Kongs being simply screwed, or implies their "prison" is actually an oven. Speculation, remove.
- Donkey Kong Country Returns continues the tradition. This time, Donkey and Diddy land in a spotlight amid pitch darkness, first expressing frustration, then hanging their heads in shame. The music
is the same as in the original game, except it's followed immediately by dark ambience similar to a tribal funeral march. Keep.
- Someone decided to combine the GBC game over
with the game over theme from Sonic CD. Remove, unofficial.
- After you "beat" King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country, he summons fake credits and then he gets back up to fight once more, relying a lot on the element of surprise. More startling and unexpected than scary.
- K. Rool worsens by the end of DKC2, where he is actually shown beating Donkey Kong and shooting him with his gun; he also shoots gas from his gun which either freeze, slow down, or reverse the control of your characters. But it doesn't directly harm them.
- Donkey Kong Land III - after beating the game with the normal ending (but not yet getting 100% Completion) attempting to enter the Lost World will result in suddenly being hit with the "You Need However Many Coins To Enter" screen, which is a digitized render of Baron K. Roolenstein against a black background while the super-happy credits music plays. Can't find footage of this but it sounds scary.
- DKC1's cave music
can make several kids want to get cave stages over with soon. Specifically, before the music hits the 1:38 mark. This actually did scare me; I always rushed through cave levels so I wouldn't have to listen to the music. Keep.
- That's nothing compared to Misty Menace
and its invincible zombie Kremlings
. Keep.
- The "Stop & Go Station" stage from DKC1 and "Haunted Hall" from DKC2, essentially acting as Nintendo's response to the Kiddy Gaming Age Ghetto, especially "Haunted Hall", the Kackle enemy found inside it, and its Evil Laugh. As for "Stop & Go Station", did you ever crap your pants after seeing a green light? Keep, but expand.
- Let's not forget Lockjaw's Saga
from DKC 2, though it has some touches of possible epicness. Not scary.
- That's nothing compared to Misty Menace
- The snow level theme
for the first game starts soothing and quickly becomes very suspenseful and ominous-sounding. It gives off the uneasy feeling of being actually trapped on the mountains, maybe even stalked by some ice-based Eldritch Abomination... Eh, remove.
- In the level "Rambi Rumble" in Donkey Kong Country 2, you were transformed into Rambi the Rhino and had to make your way through a level inside a Zingers' nest. Near the end of the level, you had to jump over a red Zinger and fall down a short tunnel. The second your feet hit the ground, the music switched from the mellow "I'm in a Zinger nest" music
to "Run, Rambi, Run!"
and King Zing (who was a giant, currently invincible Zinger) slowly bears down on you while you have to run away. I don't think this'd scare you unless you're scared of bees.
- Zingers in general can do it if you're horrified of bees and wasps. They aren't just your normal wasps/bees, though. They're covered in spikes, and have to be killed with either an animal helper or some kind of object ... as long as they're yellow zingers. The red zingers can't be killed with anything short of a barrel filled with TNT, which can spell doom for you in a lot of situations. Specific fear.
- Not to mention their visuals are taken to more emphasized levels in the second Country game, where they are arguably more realistic looking in both sprite and artwork....have fun with nightmares of them; arguably they are less intimidating in later 3D games however since they're more cartoonish and less fuzzy. I didn't notice a different.
- In the Zinger hive stages, you can see baby Zingers sitting in the honeycombs. You are also killing Zingers, so these babies are essentially watching you kill their families. Thank you, Mr. Fridge.
- Zingers in general can do it if you're horrified of bees and wasps. They aren't just your normal wasps/bees, though. They're covered in spikes, and have to be killed with either an animal helper or some kind of object ... as long as they're yellow zingers. The red zingers can't be killed with anything short of a barrel filled with TNT, which can spell doom for you in a lot of situations. Specific fear.
- Thorn-fearing kids had a lot of trouble with the bramble stages, which are literally covered in them; anyone else should fear the Platform Hell. And what about people who aren't scared of thorns? The thorn background is mildly unsettling to me, but eh... remove.
- DKC3 features the "Ripsaw Rage" stage, a forest stage involving a giant ripsaw cutting through the level with creepy music (save for the GBA verion, where the soundtrack is replaced with lighter and softer tone) playing. Keep.
- Soundtrack Dissonance at its best.
Weblinks != Examples.
- Barrel Shield Bust-Up features the same eerie BGM and those annoying Minkeys that can't be defeated and keep throwing acorns at you, not to mention their voices can easily get on your nerves. Meh, not scary.
- Soundtrack Dissonance at its best.
- The factory stages in DKC, especially the Trope Namer for Blackout Basement: as per the trope, you can barely see what you're doing in there. Meh, not scary, remove.
- You don't need to be an environmentalist to be afraid of a sentient toxic waste drum
with glowing red eyes, especially when it tries to crush you to death
. (Though many players also found this boss fun for its easiness.) Not scary, just lame.
- DKC2 and DKL2 have a castle with acid rising up to kill players, aptly named "Toxic Tower". ZCE.
- Any stage with "Hot Pursuit" playing in DKC3. Everybody remembers them as the sled stages where touching anything means death. ZCE, not scary.
- In the GBA remake of DKC2, Rare fans may notice that when Kloak dies, he makes the same laugh as Baron Samedi from GoldenEye (1997). ZCE, what's scary about this?
- DKC example: "Millstone Mayhem" has evil Gnawties in giant stone wheels trying to run you over, with lonely-sounding ominous music playing, and the sound of the millstones' clacking. To make the music even more ominous, it's titled "Voices of the Temple". Not sure about this one.
- In Temple Tempest, said millstones actually chase players. Merge.
- Even worse: if, on the off chance that you manage to find a "safe spot" out of the way of the millstones or jump over them, they will freeze and wait for you to start moving forward again. What's scary about this?
- Kerozene in the remake of DKC2: you arrive in Stronghold Showdown expecting to simply walk out like the original, only to find a new boss named Kerozene, who is That One Boss to those not expecting it. Kerozene isn't really scary.
- The really bad pirated NES DKC2 which featured the Game Over screen from the SNES version for an ending. Unofficial.
- K.Rool Duel: the final boss (well, the first final boss, anyway). For starters, the overmap of the final world is a giant crocodile-shaped helicopter. Second, when you go to face him for the first time, he's torturing a tied-up Donkey Kong by pelting him with cannonballs. Additionally, K. Rool is now wearing pirate gear (including a red overcoat), which actually makes him look badass and menacing. Then, there's his badass theme
and the lack of death music, given that, as mentioned, the original death music was likely cut for being too scary due to its Last Note Nightmare (hear it here
, if you dare). Not scary to me but I could see how it would be.
- DKC 2 also has Kleever, a living sword wielded by a creepy red hand coming out of the lava. When hit three times, Kleever slowly falls down, only to rise back up again with nothing gripping its hilt shortly afterwards. Ever wanted to meet whoever could withstand drowning in lava while wielding a 10 foot tall sword? In the GBA port you fight Kerozene, who summons several Kleevers and breathes tons of fire. I've heard this scaring people, keep.
- Krow, the first boss of DKC2, is sacrificing his own young in the fight, as he uses his eggs to attack you; the same ammo must be used against him. The later boss fight with Kreepy Krow implies the ghost birds are the souls of the ones who died as eggs in the first fight. FH.
- The fact that you actually killed him in his first boss fight is really disturbing. In the remakes, you actually get to see his soul leaving his body. It's done in kind of a cartoony way.
- DKC3s underwater music
is one of the scariest tunes in the series. It sounds like you're one breath away from drowning. Keep.'
- It becomes more jarring in the level Floodlit Fish. Whenever you hit a Gleamin' Bream, a creepy sound effect (like moaning monks) accompanies the music. No, it really doesn't. Remove.
- In DKC 2, when you exit Glimmer's Galleon, the only level to be completely underwater (as in, there's no surface areas at all) in the main body of the stage, you get launched onto a ship deck while the contrastingly cheerful track "Snakey Chantey"
plays, as if giving you a chance to bring yourself back into good spirits before hitting the goal target. But in DKC 3, exiting a "deep sea" level takes you instead to a similarly-gloomy cave while the eerie underwater music continues to play. Unnerving but not scary.
- In DKC 2, there's a set of Kremling enemies called Klobbers that dash at you in barrels bumping into you: Not scary.
- The green ones bump you around, not even damaging you, and can even be jumped on to be thrown as weapons.
- Yellow ones cause you to drop bananas when they bump into you, more annoying and a bit startling at first, but if you don't pick them back up it isn't a huge loss.
- Red ones in TNT barrels (called Kabooms) are a bit annoying, blowing up on contact.
- The rare black Klobbers are the worst: they do the same thing as the yellow ones do... except instead of making you drop bananas, you drop lives. Not even K. Rool can do more than make you lose one life at a time. It's even possible to go below zero lives with the black Klobbers.
- The official artwork
◊ of Banana Birds. ZCE.
- Lockjaw and Snapjaw in the second game. If you get too close to Lockjaw, it swims really fast towards you and tries to bite you. However, Snapjaw follows you on the surface of the water, and if you so much as put one toe in its jaw grows three times in size and it bites you. Meh, more tense than scary.
- DKC2's infamous Castle Crush glitch:
a Game-Breaking Bug that can also wipe save files and potentially brick the cartridge or worse, the entire console. Thankfully the glitch no longer destroys the game in the Virtual Console re-release. Remove, glitch.
- While Dummied Out, DKC2 was originally supposed to have sprites for Diddy
◊ and Dixie
◊ mourning.
- It may have been a losing stance for when a bonus challenge was lost, so Subverted to a degree. You can't subvert YMMV. If that's the case, remove them.
- Take a gander at Mr. X
◊ who was Dummied Out from DKC2. All that is known about him is that he was the one who should hunt you down at Haunted Hall instead of Kackle. Maybe he's not any more horrifying, considering he's not withered to a skeleton, but he's right up there. ZCE.
- Screech's Sprint.
K. Rool's parrot whose race, if lost, costs players a life, and the accompanying music has a spooky moaning noise. It is also another bramble level, thankfully the final one in the game. Not scary.
- Thankfully, there's a way to avoid having to race it. You just need to have Squawks fly over it at its starting position, and you can explore the level calmly, taking time to go for the DK Coin there in and such. The thing is, you need both Kongs to do it, as you will end up hitting your head on the brambles while flying around the parrot-from-hell. Thank you for the strategy guide writing.
- Pretty much all of DKC2 was much Darker and Edgier than the original. DKC was colorful and upbeat with (mostly) pleasant ambient music, while in the sequel you're all alone in a completely hostile environment where everything is against you, and the music is (with one or two exceptions) wistful at best, flat-out depressing at worst. Justified, however: the first game was set in the Donkey Kong Island, the second in the Kremlings' native country. General.
- DKC3 takes this even further at times. Although it's frequently even more upbeat and happy than the original, the more industrial, atmospheric areas and soundtracks are dark. The underwater music, factory music and final boss music in particular wouldn't be out of place in a steampunk-themed horror game. ZCE.
- The aforementioned "game over" screens were also used as error screens, which doubled as the anti-piracy screens: in some SNES games, a screen would show if the cartridge detected some kind of anti-piracy measure. Whilst DKC 1's error message was merely placed on a generic blue screen, the "game over" screens would be used for both DKC 2
and DKC 3
. More than anything else, it makes you feel like the game is watching you. Keep.
- DKC 2 featured the truly terrifying Haunted Hall level - a mine cart race. Except this time, you're running from Kackle, the ghostly crocodile from Hell, who laughs when he catches you. Not to mention the panicking music and the time limit. For the latter case, there are two kinds of barrels along the path that let you handle this limit: the green plus barrel (which increase your time) and the red minus barrel (which decrease). The thing about these are two segments: in one halfway past the stage, the time limit is rather generous (over 30 seconds), but there are only minus barrels, which means too many wrong jumps... and it's over. And in the last segment, often the plus and minus barrels are nestled together, which makes it very easy for the average player to mistime and hit minus barrels by mistake, cleaving your time limit and allowing Kackle to edge... ever closer... to you. Keep.
- DKC 2's Glimmer's Galleon: The entire stage is underwater. It's also very dark, only illuminated by a cone of light from your animal buddy Glimmer. ZCE. Underwater is not inherently scary.
- Another example of hydrophobia fuel: DKC 1's Poison Pond, in which the water also happens to be clouded by what is presumably the waste produced by the nearby Kremkrok Industries. Thankfully, the water turns out to be harmless and the Kongs' Super Not-Drowning Skills are still in effect, but the whiteness of the water is still quite unsettling. Who's scared of non-dangerous water?
- The Game Boy Advance port of DKC 3 adds a new boss to Razor Ridge, the Kroctopus. It's supposed to be a play on "Krockodile" and "Octopus", but instead it's blob-like entity with appendages that lives in green water and has an art style that clashes against the rest of the game's visuals and goes straight into Uncanny Valley. ZCE, but it is kinda scary.
- Barbos from DKC 3 is a giant sea urchin, fought in an underwater coral area with a menacing red color scheme. ZCE. Sea urchins aren't inherently scary.
- At the end of DKC 2, K. Rool falls off of Crocodile Isle and gets chewed up by piranhas, complete with sound effects, before he's later seen in the Lost World. The GBA version changes this to him falling into the Lost World instead, presumably because it was too horrific. The Golden Ending is also changed too — K. Rool originally rides away from Crocodile Isle in nothing but a fit of Evil Laughter, making it somewhat of a Bittersweet Ending, but in the GBA version, the extra dialogue acts as Nightmare Retardant and Funky drops a bomb on him before he floats away. Remove, GBA version makes it not scary.
- DKC 3 has the Gimmick Level Fish Food Frenzy. First, it's a deep-sea underwater level, with all the hydrophobia fuel that entails. Second, this level features Nibbla, the fish that in two previous levels attacks you if you dare to go into the water, following you. The good news: it won't attack you...initially. The bad news: You have to keep feeding Kocos (the fish enemies) to it to keep it in a good mood, because over time or if you feed Lurchins (the sea urchin enemies) its mood will deteriorate, represented by its facial expression becoming less and less happy and its color gradually changing from blue to red. If its mood hits fully red, it will then attack you. It is possible to skip this gimmick by just speeding as fast as possible to the end of the level; this is not advised, because if you stall you are likely going to be greeted by an angry-enough-to-attack Nibbla coming at you at high speed from off the screen. Tense, not scary.
- Normally, the Kongs have Super Not-Drowning Skills, able to stay underwater for as long as they please. However, the water in the marsh levels of DKC 2 is instant-kill if either Kong gets submerged fully, likely because it's too disgustingly polluted to be safe. Or just because swamp water is different and you can't really swim in it?
- When you look at it a certain way, the Golden Ending of DKC 2 becomes this, in spite of the Visual Effects of Awesome- Crocodile Isle explodes and sinks below the waves, taking with it all those awesome and beautiful levels the player made their way through and bringing about an Inferred Holocaust with who knows how many casualties, and the only survivor we can see is K. Rool sailing away on a raft, uttering the same creepy laugh that Kackle made in Haunted Hall. The lack of music only makes it all the more creepy. FH.
- In DKC 3, if you beat Brash's time in Riverside Race and then talk to him in his cabin, he gets so angry that he starts slamming his desk while furiously grunting each time, and his tantrum is so strong that it shakes the entire map (all while you can still hear his roars of anger while outside) and dislodges a tree stump. Not scary.
Examples from Diddy Kong Racing
- While Diddy Kong Racing seems to have a lighthearted feel, it (like any other great game by Rare and Nintendo) still wasn't free of things that frightened many young gaming children back in the day: one example is when you collect all the pieces of the Wizpig Amulet the next time you go into the main hub (after leaving one of the mini hubs on the last of the four worlds you earned it on or if you quit the game and get back on after having earned the last part of it) the statue of him lets out an Evil Laugh and then fades away. It can be seen here
. The DS version of this game is more like a Nightmare Retardant to most people, since in the DS version, Wizpig simply yawns and the camera has a lack of zooming in for menacing effect. Keep.
Examples for Donkey Kong Country Returns
- It's been said that Retro Studios dedicated themselves to doing the series justice. They were right: as mentioned above, the Game Over screen has kept the original music from DKC1
, but after the twenty-second mark, it just keeps playing its sad drum beat, like a tribal funeral procession. Also, a Tear Jerker. Keep.
- Tidal Terror. It's got ominous music, dark clouds overhead, ambient noises, and a colossal tidal wave that swallows everything in its path and kills the Kongs in one hit. Keep.
- Stage 4-5 in the Cave world is called "Crowded Cavern" for a reason, what with all the bats that chase after you in the cavernous dark. Their freakish screeches of terror, along with their unnatural faces, and with a few of the big bats breaking out of the floor or ceiling attempting to bite you non-stop. Doesn't sound scary.
- At the end of the level, you get a lovely close up of the largest bat, unconscious, with its limbs twitching, with the same demented expression. Eh, remove.
- The music played in the world map of the Cave World. It has parts which suggest that something may be lurking in the shadows and there's a general ominous feel throughout. Remove.
- Stage 5-8 in the Forest world. "Muncher Marathon". Players afraid of spiders shouldn't even try it. Remove.
- If it's any consolation, the spiders are far less threatening when viewed up close.
Nightmare Retardant.
- If it's any consolation, the spiders are far less threatening when viewed up close.
- "Stormy Shore". It has the same atmosphere as the aforementioned "Tidal Terror", but instead of tidal waves, it features a vicious kraken that attacks you from the background for most of the stage. ZCE, doesn't explain why it's scare.
- The kraken comes back (and is more of a menace) in Tropical Freeze, where you have to swim up to avoid its tentacles and spreading black ink. ZCE.
- However, you can defeat it at the end, ending the nightmare. Okay, so?
- The kraken comes back (and is more of a menace) in Tropical Freeze, where you have to swim up to avoid its tentacles and spreading black ink. ZCE.
- In the final boss fight, Tiki Tong transfigures all the Tikis you fight in bosses throughout the game into huge wooden hands. After destroying these, they explode in a burst of light, to reveal bananas:they've been formed into inanimate bananas, with no way to move or do anything ever again. The only thing they can look forward to now is getting eaten, and that's without getting into the unpleasantness of being turned into hands to begin with. FH.
Examples from Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
- In the aptly named "Twillight Terror" level, not only do you have giant prehistoric sharks leaping up at you, but at the end, one of these sharks is seen lying (presumably) dead at the bottom of the ocean. In a children's game. Doesn't sound scary.
- The new "Bramble Scramble" not only brings back thorny vines en masse, this time they move, as if being controlled by some sort of malevolent botanical force, and there are huge brambles in the background that coil and slither around the rocky formations. Meh, remove.
- "Frantic Fields," which brings back the frustration and fear of "Lightning Lookout" (from ''DKC3) and has Donkey Kong get caught in a tornado. So?
- "Scorch 'n Torch" has you running through a brush fire as it ravages the African savannah. Special mention goes to the shrieking statues that try to topple you from the background, making a return appearance just for this level. They were small time obstacles in Returns, but they more easily get in your way in this level, and the atmosphere makes them look more ghastly. Remove, doesn't sound scary.
- More horrifying if you're a fan of the environment. Remove.
- "Frozen Frenzy" has you exploring the factory area from Returns, but frozen over. The Factory, despite being an industrial area, was actually a very bright and cheery area in the last game. It's now much darker, rusted (the more realistic rust visuals of the Wii U make it worse), frozen, taken over by the snowmads. But what really seals it is the music
, which begins with a menacing drumbeat and eventually segues into an offkey Dark Reprise of "Fear Factory", one of the most beloved music tracks in the previous game and the series. Keep.
- In general, it's a little unsettling going across essentially the entire previous game and seeing it as a frozen, barren wasteland. "A little unsettling."
- The final level before the final boss is scary enough, but then you hear creepy laughter. You then realize said laughter is in fact the Big Bad of the last game, Tiki Tong. Remove.
- "Sawmill Thrill," has you come dangerously close to being sliced by a giant buzzsaw. The urgent music really doesn't help matters. I'm willing to bet this is a shoehorn.
Examples from the CGI cartoon
- Because of how poorly the animation has aged, the characters suffer a fair share of Uncanny Valley moments. ZCE.
- DK's description of the bog monster. ZCE.
- Also at the end of that episode, that terrifying roar that was heard by the Kremlings. Maybe the bog monster is real after all... FH?
- Krusha's true colors when his brain got knocked back into place in the episode "Speed." He was a deadly and genre savvy villain, willing to kill Diddy and Dixie with a bomb to get the crystal coconut, and without even batting an eye at the prospect of K. Rool accidentally being killed in the crossfire. Keep.
- "Speak No Evil, Dude" was probably the darkest episode of the series. The extremely deadly Kongo Bongo Gone Wrongo disease is going around, and Diddy catches it. The only cure is a single purple banana, of which there is only one. If he isn't cured, he'll die. It goes From Bad to Worse when K. Rool gets the disease due to a misunderstanding, and his minions plan to blow up Kongo Bongo. DK is left with a Sadistic Choice: Save his best friend and let Kongo Bongo be destroyed, or cure K. Rool so he can call off the attack. Fortunately, in the end, things turned out all right as both Diddy and K. Rool are both cured and the attack is called off, but it's still an extremely dark episode for a kid's show. Keep.
- Also, K. Rool has a stockpile of explosives big enough to destroy Kongo Bongo for some reason. In another episode ("Buried Treasure"), he seeks out a possible doomsday device. Basically, the king is deranged and corrupt enough to consider carpetbombing. Hmm, not sure.
Alright then. I'm going to contest the poisoning section, because while harsh it's not particularly scary, especially not with how the entry is currently written. Meanwhile Klaue's hand is more unnerving than scary, which I think makes a better case for a more general Uncanny Valley entry on the YMMV page. If we're going to keep the burning of the flowers, it's not going to be enough to justify an entire page.
Edited by AlleyOop on Jan 15th 2020 at 10:25:25 AM
Here are the rest of the entries that were edited out of the Black Panther page, for reference:
- According to Klaue, he's the only one who has seen the true face of Wakanda and has made it out alive. It would mean Wakandans are not above killing intruders who see too much, or at least killing intruders who have malevolent intentions. It also implies that even well-meaning or accidental intruders are never allowed to leave. Mitigated in the final film, where he specifically is talking about Wakanda's vibranium mines, which are understandably a state secret.
- Klaue looks at the one-way mirror and begins to giggle, muttering "I can see you!". T'Challa, the guy who fought half the Avengers and who's standing on the other side of the mirror, is concerned by this.
- Klaue's general attitude throughout the film is unnerving, to say the least. A primary example is in the museum heist, where he tells one of the curators he can leave if he doesn't tell anyone... and then shoots him in the head as he reaches the door. Why? To make the bodies more spread out and make it seem like somebody less competent pulled off the heist.
- Klaue's artificial hand falls into Uncanny Valley territory, and not just on his character poster
◊. The creepy way it opens itself to reveal a Plasma Cannon also renders Klaue less "human".
- Anything involving Black Panther is essentially Mook Horror Show. For the armed poachers in the jungle at night, spotting Black Panther in a tree must be enough to make them crap their pants. Then the next second he swoops on them out of nowhere and tears through them, implacable and Immune to Bullets, like a predator would with his hapless prey. You don't mess with Wakanda.
- Let's put it this way: Black Panther is basically Marvel's Batman... without the famous no-killing rule. Let that sink in.
- With the jungle environment, you could also think of him as the Predator.
- Human beings also have an inherent fear of leopards and other big cats, which naturally he invokes.
- Remember: This is what happens when you invade Wakanda
◊. Black Panther is this warning personified. When T'Challa swore to W'Kabi he would bring in Klaue dead or alive he meant it, and would have killed him where he stood had Nakia not warned him about the large crowd watching. His stance before he tries to kill Klaue is pictured.
- Killmonger poisoning a museum guide's drink and then leaving her to die. His girlfriend impersonated a barista and poisoned her drink. She was dying from the moment she took the first sip of her coffee.
- Killmonger's speech on all the amoral things he’s done and the lives he has taken just to get the chance to kill T’Challa is quite chilling.
Erik: I lived my entire life waiting for this moment. I trained, I lied, I killed just to get here. I killed in America, Afghanistan, Iraq. I took life from my own brother and sisters right here on this continent! And all this death just so I could kill you.
- In particular, he makes no bones about killing his "brothers and sisters" in Africa. He even shot his girlfriend dead without remorse or hesitation when Klaue used her as a human shield. Soon enough it becomes clear that whatever his pretensions that he's out to fight for racial justice and avenge the wrongs done to his people, he's really just there to avenge himself on the regime that killed his father, and then make the world share in the pain he's felt for so many years. His goal is simply to have everyone suffer, no matter who, and he's prepared for the whole world to burn.
- Killmonger ordering all the Heart-Shaped herbs in the sacred chamber be burned. He just stands in the room while everything around him burns, giving the audience a second-hand look at how his reign as king will not be a kind one. Also doubles as Tear Jerker.
- What's more, he isn't just burning plants, he's essentially burning a sacred place. What does that tell you about a man?
- And if that doesn't establish it enough, when he gives the order, a priest woman objects, and he grabs her by the throat and raises her in the air.
Erik: When I tell you to do something, I mean that shit. (Puts her down when she nods in fear) Burn it all! - Seeing Killmonger standing over a helpless Shuri, whose prototype tech was pushed past its limits and who has no real combat training...because she is sixteen years old.
- Just before it, Killmonger's reaction to seeing Shuri and Nakia on the battlefield is to give them a grin dripping with pure menace and point at them with his blade, clearly marking them both out as his next targets.
- This is even an in-universe reaction; T'Challa loses his mind when he sees it.
- Nakia's first instinct when she realizes the love of her life is about to die is not to mourn or stare in horror, but rather to get Shuri and her mother the hell out of there. Being challenged and losing the kingship in honorable combat is one thing; it would have been horrifying, heartbreaking, but not an atrocity. It never occurs to anyone that the royal family could be in danger, because no one in Wakanda would ever murder a defeated king's entire family after taking his place. But Nakia is a spy; unlike Ramonda and Shuri, she knows from the moment Erik makes his claim that this is not a challenge, it's a coup. Alone of anyone in Wakanda, she understands what that will mean...
- Everett Ross gets pulled out of his remote controlling the aircraft... only to find out there's a goddamn carrier firing directly at the window that sits in front of him, weakening its integrity. Thankfully he survives, but holy shit.
- Picture this: you're the leader of a nation who has successfully lived in hiding and is extremely technologically advanced. Then not only does some glorified hired muscle steal Vibranium and use some mooks to sell it and sneak into Wakanda, but waltzes right into Wakanda, challenges you to the throne out of revenge, wins said duel and throws you over the edge of a fucking waterfall and takes the throne. And that's not all: his first goal, however well intentioned it may seem, is to take the vibranium and sell it to countries and use weapons created by your country. Just what on earth would he make? Imagine all the weapons he could create with it and wars he could declare. It's good that T'Challa (for the most part) has an Angst? What Angst? attitude.
- A small one, but M'Baku's gorilla mask is chilling to look at.
- Killmonger's visit to the spirit world. The purple sky is beautiful in an African setting, but it's just creepy and out of place when juxtaposed with the inside of his family's apartment. Killmonger unexpectedly swapping between his current self and the child we see in the opening sequence doesn't help.
Some of the entries are ZCE and some are Fridge Horror. As such, which entries should we keep/delete?
Edited by gjjones on Jan 15th 2020 at 11:08:23 AM
He/His/Him. No matter who you are, always Be Yourself.- Most of the Klaue stuff is Fridge Horror. Only the hand stuff is remotely scary and it's more of a case for the regular Uncanny Valley than nightmareish.
- Mook Horror Show is definitely Fridge Horror. Cut.
- The woman getting poisoned was unpleasant but not particularly gruesome IMO, and the way the entry is written doesn't do it any favors in explaining why it's scary.
- Killmonger's speech is just a speech, and thus Fridge Horror.
- The burning scene was more upsetting than scary per se, but I guess maybe some younger people in the audience might find it creepy. The second point can go though, as it's Fridge Horror.
- Killmonger vs. Shuri is a mess. Two of the points are Fridge Horror, one of them is an in-universe Oh Shit reaction, the remaining one about his grin is what I like to call "nightmare porn", aka the kinds of Purple Prose to overhype how scary otherwise-tepid scenes are that plagues these kinds of pages.
- The Ross one can be deleted.
- More Fridge Horror, and basically a repeat of the problems with the Mook Horror Show entry.
- M'Baku is ZCCE.
- The spirit world is Uncanny Valley at worst but makes a poor case for it, and besides I've never seen anyone react this way.
I thought we decided to keep fan-made Super Mario Maker levels since they're the whole point of the game.
Keet cleanupSeriously guys, don't blank pages before they're cut. If they need to be cut, just cutlist them.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper Wall![]()
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I was thinking about that page lately funny enough. Good job on finding all of the problems. You guys are a good team.
Do you guys think we should cut Super Mario Maker and move all the entries to YMMV?. I say that because it's a way too short of a page. I'm not familiar with how many entries it takes for a page to be created.
Edited by legorunnerkid on Jan 16th 2020 at 4:19:39 AM
Yes, I am using a modded version of Lego Indy 1 for my avatar.
I say you should. Just put them on NightmareFuel.Video Games as well.
NightmareFuel.Shrek The Third doesn't look very good. I suspect a good amount of Fridge Horror is in here.
Contains 20% less fat than the leading value brand!
Yeah, especially the whole "Prince Charming could have won" entry
Speaking of Video Games, there's this entry:
- DoDonPachi, one of the craziest scrolling shooters known to exist in the video game history, has its trademark True Final Boss, Hibachi, who will always give you nightmares and endless frustration, especially in DaiOuJou and DaiFukkatsu! Just listening to the music is enough
to
creep you
out
, too!!
This entry doesn't look very good, it sounds more like it's talking about a boss being hard, and the music links don't work
"It was the best of times, it was the BLURST of times?"![]()
They could be put in Super Mario Bros. instead.
Having a look over Avengers: Endgame. The quality of the prose is a little more formal and less horrendous than the one for Infinity War, but there's still a lot of entries that I don't think fit the spirit of the trope:
- The beginning of the film takes place during the Decimation in Clint's POV. He's just spending an ordinary day with his wife and children when they suddenly disappear without explanation while he isn't looking. Adult Fear can't describe how he must've felt during that moment. What really hits it home is that we see wisps of dust billowing away, but it's such a minuscule amount that it's only because we know what happened in the previous film that we recognize it. To those without that knowledge, like Clint, it's a literal Blink-and-You-Miss-It; his family disappeared without a trace. Tear Jerker, not scary. Delete.
- And that's before they even show the film's logos.
- Five years later, Clint becomes Ronin and turns to vigilantism, going on a one-man crusade ruthlessly murdering the criminal element that remained after the Snap in an attempt to cope with the deaths of his family, clearly bitter that they died while evil thrived. Not scary. Delete.
Akihiko: [in Japanese] Why are you doing this!?
Ronin: [in Japanese] You survived; half the world didn't. They got Thanos; you get me.- When Natasha and Rhodey are monitoring Clint's movements, Rhodey expresses horror over what Clint has done, even admitting to Natasha that a part of him doesn't want to find him, presumably because he'd have to bring him in. In-universe horror. Delete.
- The film also shows what places like NYC and San Francisco look like after the Decimation: Completely lifeless. The weather is murky and dark, showing how low the atmosphere has fallen with only half of life on Earth. Keep in mind that Thanos wanted to erase half of life in the universe to have resources last and reduce the risk of the Overpopulation Crisis that befell his home planet Titan. And this is the end result: Earth didn't thrive; it is utterly silenced and rotting. Possibly keep, but rewrite to remove the Fridge Horror.
- The confrontation with Thanos in the Garden features a few examples of Nightmare Fuel.
- Thanos' appearance since the events of Infinity War, who is shown to have most of the left half of his body singed, greatly resembling Two-Face in The Dark Knight. When the Avengers find no Stones in his Gauntlet, he explains that he used them to destroy each other, deeming them an unnecessary temptation upon his reaching his goal. The immediate realization is that the Decimation cannot be undone and the Avengers, this time, have failed permanently. Keep the part about his body being singed, delete the rest as it's not scary.
- Thor actually does decapitate Thanos with Stormbreaker upon this realization. His arm was only severed to take the Gauntlet off of him; this time, Thor is in a sufficient rage to truly "[go] for the head". What's worse is the buildup: Firstly, Thanos congratulates Nebula on noticing his honesty and even regrets his abusive treatment of her. Then, all of a sudden, the familiar sound of Stormbreaker activating, with its blade glowing blue and Thor's cry of rage, are all signs that warn viewers of Thanos' quick end. The violence of the decapitation is potentially scary, but this and the following need severe condensing to remove the Purple Prose.
Thor: ...I went for the head.
- Thor's movements during the scene are genuinely terrifying to watch, punctuating how pissed he is with the Mad Titan. He crashes straight into Thanos' hut and immediately severs his arm, causing Thanos to scream even louder than when Stormbreaker was shoved into his chest. He stands silently hearing his spiel about the Stones' destruction...and then finally, Thor, in absolute rage, slices Thanos's head clean off. See above.
- The shocking amount of Gorn there is in the scene, putting aside the aforementioned burns on Thanos' body. When Thor slices off his arm, for about a split second it shows the exact moment he chops it off, leaving behind a burnt stump that seems to be caked in his Alien Blood - if Thor had dismembered him just a bit slower, it could have easily led to the Titan bleeding out. And then, when Thor finally decapitates Thanos, in the midst of a burst of his blood, his jugular vein can be seen hanging from his neck, and a portion of his spinal cord visible from the bottom of his head - also for a second only. See above.
- Past Thanos viewing the same scene in Nebula's memories actually shows the cut where Thanos' head was for a split second, though its being seen through a hologram partially censors it. Keep as it's definitely pretty grotesque.
- Thanos himself doesn't even flinch at what is basically his own recorded death, making you wonder what deep shades of hell made him so cynical that he isn't disturbed by such. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Before the Avengers actually manage to find Thanos at the Garden, they spend the entire time looking for him via any means possible. Steve even presses Tony for any clues Thanos may have given him during their fight. If you think about it from the remaining Avengers' perspective (with the exception of Tony's because he absolutely wants nothing to do with Thanos anymore after nearly getting killed), the mere thought of a near-omnipotent madman just roaming around doing God-knows-what somewhere in the universe is frightening enough that they are willing to instantly jump at any info about Thanos' whereabouts. Even worse is the possibility of Thanos coming back to Earth with his entire army brought back using the Infinity Gauntlet and deciding to finish the job. Even with Captain Marvel on their side, the Avengers know that they lack too much manpower to mount a proper defense so they decide to ambush Thanos. This conversation between Natasha and Steve sums up the desperation everyone feels as they go to what they felt was a Suicide Mission: Fridge Horror. Delete.
Natasha: [Ambushing Thanos] is going to work, Steve.
Steve: I know it will... because I don't know what I will do if it doesn't.- Even given who the target was and what he had just accomplished, the whole assault against Thanos and his death is as brutal as it is cathartic. Once they find Thanos (albeit weaker than before), the Avengers sent there for the ambush proceed to effectively crush him in just a few minutes, highlighted by the fact that Thanos didn't try to throw a punch back. It really cemented that the remaining Avengers had practically nothing else to lose by that point and were willing to do anything to at least get something out of their loss, if not save everybody that Thanos snapped. Rhodey especially hits it home with his suggestion of killing Thanos as a baby when they figure out time travel (although Bruce's reactions to that suggestion helped frame it in a comically dark context). Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Think about Scott Lang for a moment. He gets pulled out of the Quantum Realm by a rat randomly hitting the button needed to pull him back. From his perception, he was gone for only five hours. When he gets back, he learns that five years have passed...and the world has lost half its population, including the Pyms and the Wombats. Scott Lang finds himself in a Bad Future that few can dream of. The fact that he didn't fall into a Heroic BSoD from sheer horror is phenomenal. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- He finds a memorial to "The Vanished" and frantically searches it while uttering a Rapid-Fire "No!", hoping not to see Cassie's name. Her name isn't there, but another one is: His own. His little girl thinks her father, her hero, has been dead for five years... and Scott has missed five years of his beloved daughter's life. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Cassie and Scott are both visibly shaken when they see each other again. It takes him a while to realize this strange teenage girl is Cassie, and she's doubting her eyes as she tries to fathom how her father's return is even possible. Look at her body language; you get the sense she's expecting this to be some cruel trick. It's basically a fulfillment of Hope's Adult Fear moment in Ant-Man and the Wasp; after all this time, would a parent and child even recognize each other? Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Everything about Nebula's terrible experience in the past. While everyone else (but Clint and Nat) get adventures in the past that are either lighthearted, fun, or heartwarming in some way or another, Nebula's takes a deep turn into misery when Thanos finds out what the Avengers are up to. It says a lot that Nebula, usually unflappable and emotionless, reacts with unbridled terror upon realizing that he's cottoning on. We once again see how he treats his so-called children: He tortures Past Nebula in order to figure out what appears to be nothing but a simple glitch. And her own past self, desperate for her father's recognition, brutalizes and nearly kills her in turn...and can't even break free even when it's clear on some level she wants to. As Nebula isn't one of the primary Avengers, the whole sequence comes with the very real fear that she's about to be killed at any moment, especially when Thanos decides to do what was very nearly a Kill and Replace to sabotage the Avengers' efforts. Exaggerated nightmare porn. Delete.
- The bookends of the segment really sell it. Nebula begins it by desperately trying to warn everyone that Thanos is aware of what's going on, but fails. It ends with her captured and her psychopathic past self heading to the future in her stead with her unable to do anything but beg Past Gamora to stop it from happening. Not scary. Delete.
- Think about the Battle of New York in the new timeline, from the point of view of the original Avengers of that period. The battle is won, Loki is in custody, and the Tesseract and the Scepter are being taken away. Then, suddenly, Tony has a heart attack and, in the confusion, Loki grabs the Tesseract and teleports away while, as far as they can tell, someone who may be Loki or an unknown third party impersonates Captain America and tricks S.H.I.E.L.D. into giving him the Scepter. Also keep in mind Loki's objective was to get the Tesseract to Thanos and he's probably going to go deliver it now, and the HYDRA agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D. briefly think Steve Rogers has joined them (though in after-action reports, they'll probably deduce it was Loki). Whatever is going to happen in the future of this timeline, it can't be good. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- The heart attack becomes worse when you remember that Tony already had a near-death experience just about an hour ago. The others might be worried if it's a side effect of whatever happened to him in space. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- The time for Scott and Tony between when Loki teleports and Tony figures out another time to take the Tesseract must have been a nightmare. Everything up to this moment said everyone had one shot at this and they missed. Even worse, Tony — the one who took the responsibility of protecting the Earth from Thanos the most personally — has now failed in what is most likely their last chance. It’s a worst case scenario made real. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Remember wincing at seeing Gamora's corpse at the bottom of Vormir after Thanos sacrifices her for the Soul Stone during Infinity War? Now you get to see that all over again...but with longtime Avenger Natasha/Black Widow instead. That also comes with the bonus of the blood spatter on the rocks around Natasha's head not being Alien Blood as it was with Gamora. All of this after seeing Natasha and Clint effectively having a skirmish of who would sacrifice themselves first so the other could leave with the stone. Winceworthy is not the same as Nightmare Fuel. Delete.
- Natasha's death also serves as a explicit confirmation about what is easily the most harrowing things about the Soul Stone: a sacrifice for the stone is a permanent exchange. Anyone whose soul is given up for the stone cannot be brought back, even with all of the Infinity Stones in tow. Banner intones with regret near the end of the film that when he used the stones to revive everyone Thanos erased, he tried bringing Natasha back as well, but to no avail. By the same token, the Gamora that now exists in the prime timeline is a different Gamora from the past that does not know any of the Guardians. The Gamora that previously existed in this timeline and was sacrificed by Thanos for the Soul Stone is still dead, and it's only through Past Thanos taking Past Gamora with him into the present that any Gamora exists in this timeline at all. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- The full extent of the damage that the Infinity Stones exert on its wearer, when used all at once, is shown. The initial surge of radiation upon the Stones ingratiating with the wielder causes Hulk to double over in pain. He survives activating due to the radiation already in his body, though it costs him the use of his hand; even at the end of the movie, his arm is shown in a sling, indicating that the damage caused might be permanent. Tony's use of it, while being a normal human, is what causes his death: After donning it, he only has enough strength to speak his Pre-Mortem One-Liner, while after activating it, he dies where he stands, with his final word being a barely-audible "Pepper". Mostly implied. Questionable.
- As Tony wields the Stones, you can actually see the energies tearing through his armor. After his snap, his body is so badly damaged, his ear has burned off. And Tony, one of the most notorious Motor Mouths in movie history, can't even speak to Rhodey or Peter when the two discover his damaged state. Mostly implied. Questionable.
- Thanos' Two-Face appearance as mentioned above. His final appearance is made all the more damning in that unlike the two human Avengers utilizing a high-tech gauntlet solution, he was a Titan with a gauntlet specifically forged to handle the use of the stones. Redundant and only adds Fridge Horror. Combine/delete.
- The Mood Whiplash after the successful snap back, Clint getting a call from his wife, Scott admiring some birds seemingly returned in one of the compound's gardens...and then a wounded Bruce looks up and sees the shadow of the ''Sanctuary II'' opening fire... Not scary. Delete.
- In the immediate aftermath of Thanos' bombardment of the compound, the explosion has trapped Banner (who's effectively down an arm due to using the Gauntlet), Rhodey (who is paraplegic and now stripped of his mechanical leg braces), and Rocket (who, despite his enhancements, is still a raccoon and physically pretty weak) under tons of rubble as water from the river pours in. For anyone suffering from claustrophobia and/or hydrophobia, it's a terrifying sequence. Rocket, in particular, is freaking out. He eventually reaches the point where he just stops talking and starts to cry out, sounding like a terrified animal or kid, made even worse by the fact Rocket almost never shows fear like this. In-universe. Debatable.
Rocket: [crushed under debris and straining to speak] I can't breathe, I can't breathe!
- In the immediate aftermath of Thanos' bombardment of the compound, the explosion has trapped Banner (who's effectively down an arm due to using the Gauntlet), Rhodey (who is paraplegic and now stripped of his mechanical leg braces), and Rocket (who, despite his enhancements, is still a raccoon and physically pretty weak) under tons of rubble as water from the river pours in. For anyone suffering from claustrophobia and/or hydrophobia, it's a terrifying sequence. Rocket, in particular, is freaking out. He eventually reaches the point where he just stops talking and starts to cry out, sounding like a terrified animal or kid, made even worse by the fact Rocket almost never shows fear like this. In-universe. Debatable.
- Immediately after this, Clint has been knocked somewhere into the ruined bowels of the Avengers' base along with the Infinity Gauntlet. He seems fine, picks up the Gauntlet, and prepares to find a way out. Then he fires a light arrow at the darkness behind him, revealing a pack of Thanos' Outriders charging him, out for blood. The cramped setting, red lighting, and snarling monsters evokes images of Aliens. Keep.
- Spider-Man going all-out and activating Instant Kill Mode turns him into an eight-legged whirlwind of death, stabbing Outriders to death with his mechanical arms almost faster than the eye can see, complete with Glowing Eyes of Doom. One shudders to think what such a function could be used for if not facing an enemy as monstrous as Thanos and his armies... Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Moreover, one wonders what Tony was expecting Peter - sweet, well-meaning, innocent Peter - to wind up going up against someday, that he equipped the kid's suit to do something like that. You've gotta suspect Stark was still suffering those dream-flashbacks to battles past, against Chitauri and Ultron-drones and who-knows-what else, when he designed Kill Mode. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Doctor Strange being Creepy Good in the Marvel Universe has always been constant, but his role in Tony's death makes him a good bit scary. The shot of Tony staring at Strange just before he marches at Thanos to switch the Infinity Stones, especially the ominous image of him raising that finger, signaling to Tony about what he should do and the fact that he had seen this come to pass, makes him look like the Angel of Death stringing Tony along to his final fate. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Made even worse by his completely blank face at Tony's funeral. His 1/14,000,000+ odds of defeating Thanos depended on manipulating two good people into making Heroic Suicides, the latter of which played out right in front of him. This is almost definitely a reflection of the guilt that entails, but it doesn't make his stoicism look any more comforting. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- And remember his minor Heroic BSoD in his own film? "It's not Mister Strange, it's not Master Strange; it's Doctor Strange! I swore an oath to do no harm and I've just killed a man! I'm not doing that again." Strange may not have killed Tony or Natasha, but he arranged a situation where their fates were the only option. Fridge Horror. Delete.
- Thanos's ever-so-casual admission that, due to the Avengers refusing to accept the loss of half of all life in the universe, he has decided to do the facile act of destroying all of the universe and making it anew just so, that way, there will be no one left to remember the old one, and the new universe will believe that The Extremist Was Right all along. It goes to show that Thanos may bill himself as a Well-Intentioned Extremist, but in reality, he simply cannot accept that his methods are completely twisted and wrong and just doesn't really want to save the universe as much as he seeks admiration from, and control over, all life. Meta or Fridge Horror. Delete.
Thanos: You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you've shown me; that's impossible. And as long as there are those who remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.
Iron Man: Yep, we're all kinds of stubborn.
Thanos: I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do. I will... shred this universe down to its last atom. And then, with the stones you collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life, that knows not what it has lost, but only what it has been given. A grateful universe.
Captain America: Born out of blood.
Thanos: They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them.- He even also admits that he has grown to despise Earth simply because of the Avengers' efforts to stop him, going into Brutal Honesty mode and saying that he will take great pleasure in annihilating the planet. This is the true Mad Titan, folks. This is the beast hiding behind a well-meaning mask. He may not be lusting after Death herself like he does in the comics, but this is worse. He is lusting after Death not as a person, but as a concept. This is just Character Shilling disguised as Nightmare Fuel. Delete
Thanos: In all my years of conquest, violence, slaughter, it was never personal. But I'll tell you now, what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much. Alternate Character Interpretation. Delete.'''
- Cue Thanos summoning the entirety of his army to the present time, as they envelop the battlefield and all swarming over Cap alone. The scene seems so purely hopeless, it almost seems like the Devil himself and his demons are infesting the planet. It is also made to make viewers cry as there could be no heroes left. Sad and upsetting, but not scary. Delete
- He even also admits that he has grown to despise Earth simply because of the Avengers' efforts to stop him, going into Brutal Honesty mode and saying that he will take great pleasure in annihilating the planet. This is the true Mad Titan, folks. This is the beast hiding behind a well-meaning mask. He may not be lusting after Death herself like he does in the comics, but this is worse. He is lusting after Death not as a person, but as a concept. This is just Character Shilling disguised as Nightmare Fuel. Delete
- Something that's not often talked about is how Thanos switches to Berserker Rage when beating the Avengers. We're so used to seeing Thanos being Affably Evil that it's jarring to see him just wailing on Steve, managing to hack his iconic shield to pieces with his sword and previously throwing Tony in front of Mjolnir like a rag doll. If it wasn't for Doctor Strange and his sorcerer allies bringing in the cavalry, the Avengers would have been done for. It then happens again when he's up against Carol Danvers, where he manages to hold his own against her. Fridge Horror. Delete
- Coupled with his darkly calm threat to obliterate all of Earth, and his earlier No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the Avengers, it is very apparent that Thanos has forgone any means of just toying around with his enemies and is now entirely focused on mass genocide. Fridge Horror. Delete
- Keep this in mind, Carol's power comes from the Space Stone and it's how she's able to withstand a headbutt from the Mad Titan. Thanos manages to grab the Power Stone, which burns itself into his hand, and smack her halfway across the battlefield with one punch. Fridge Horror. Delete
- Carol's Death Glare when Thanos headbutts her is absolutely terrifying. It basically says, "You are going to die, and I'm going to enjoy it." Not really? Delete.
- It's also worth noting that Thanos was easily throttling Thor, who had both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker on hand this time around. Granted, Thor was significantly out of shape and out of practice over the preceding five years, but he was still easily the most powerful Avenger there until Doctor Strange and Carol returned. Had he been in a more pristine form and full of cold rage like he was during the battle at Wakanda and during the first ambush on Titan, it would had been a much more even fight. What-if, delete.
- Thanos gets to push Stormbreaker into Thors chest this time, where you can actually see the blade come very slowly, and very dangerously close to piercing his flesh. The Mad Titan wears an absolutely terrifying Slasher Smile during the act. Slasher Smile isn't particularly scary by the standards of this film.'
- Remember how nasty the hallucinations were that Wanda inflicted on the Avengers in Age of Ultron? Thanos may have been lucky that she was in such a white-hot fury when she went up against him, because if she'd taken her time, she could've probably dug up something really nasty to conjure up in his head... What-if, delete.
- Speaking of Wanda, on the verge of being overwhelmed by her, Thanos orders the Sanctuary II to open fire on the battlefield, heedless of the casualties it will wreak on his own forces if it buys him some breathing room. It says a lot that even Thanos's own lieutenants are stunned by their master's actions. Discard, it's about in-universe scares.
Thanos: Rain fire!
Corvus Glaive: [shocked] But sire, our troops—!
Thanos: JUST DO IT! - The Russo brothers revealed that they had originally planned on having 2014 Thanos go to his timeline's Earth, kill all the humans there, along with the Avengers, and then come to the present with 2014 Captain America’s severed head. It’s probably best that it wasn’t included, as it would have been horribly gruesome to see Cap’s decapitated head. Would be good if it wasn't cut from the actual movie so we have no idea how scary it'd actually be.
Edited by AlleyOop on Jan 16th 2020 at 1:13:11 PM
I'm fine with most of these changes. The only thing I'd contest is possibly keeping the opening with the Barton family (since it does use Adult Fear and just how quickly Clint loses his entire family while his back is turned). The bits describing the physical toll using the Infinity Gauntlet can have can probably be combined into a single example if we keep those as well.
Heck, I can even see arguments for the Barton family scene being Nothing Is Scarier, since there's just, well...nothing, and that's why it's so upsetting.
Working on: Author Appeal | Sandbox | Troper WallNightmareFuel.Chernobyl falls under the issue where it's a genuinely frightening series and that's been used as an excuse to shoehorn things in
HAPPY HALLOWEEN FOR MARIAMister Rogers' Neighborhood of all shows has nightmare fuel entries and they leave something to be desired, in the form of not describing how they're scary and one is described as just "unsettling". Someone should either expand or nuke them.
I was tempted to nuke but thought it would be better to bring them up here
My troper wall

Going to clear put Black Panther (2018). The only ones I see worth keeping are the trypophobia one and the last entry about the purple veins. Everything else is weaksauce, ZCE, or Fridge Horror. And most people just found the characters cool or funny rather than scary.
Edited by AlleyOop on Jan 15th 2020 at 12:12:48 PM