You can't be a college student without having been exposed to the horror genre. Honestly, in this day and age it's hard to go anywhere on the web without seeing something related to horror.
Sure, some of the stuff can be legitimately frightening, but it mostly employs cheap, overused tactics to startle audiences. These cliches can turn what was meant to be a terrifying film, book, or collection of YouTube videos into a laughing stock.
1. Dumb Teenagers
I'm sorry, but this is probably the funniest. You have a group of entitled teenagers at a party or their parents' fancy wooden cabin that make a series of stupid decisions that leave them all dead. I'm not saying them being dead is funny. It's more like the ridiculous ideas -- or lack of any ideas -- that lead them to their demise is comical. I mean, seriously, these kids usually have ample time to get themselves out of whatever situation they're in and they just don't.
2. Weird Costumes
Now, I realize this is for effect and makes movies feel scarier, but some of these killers' costumes are downright hilarious. Not going to lie, but the only reason why Pennywise is anywhere near the word "scary" is because his actor was good and a lot of people are afraid of clowns. It could just be me, but the villains who dress up in some weird costume (ie. Jason, Freddy Kruger, etc.) just aren't that scary.
3. Comical Deaths
I'm sure we've all seen horror movies that just can't get this whole "serious death" thing down right. Either the actor's screaming sounds more like they're being approached by an older version of Mickey Mouse or they just sound bored. There have been very few cases where the fear of an imminent and painful death has translated to me. That and it seems like at this point movies, books, and other forms of media are just playing a game with human anatomy and finding new ways to brutally murder someone.
4. Awful Characters
Between YouTube series and movies, I usually find myself rooting for the villain(s) by the end of it. The characters who are supposed to be the protagonists are typically awful people. Now, there are rare occasions where the characters are solid and I'll feel for them, but they're usually insufferable. When you make a character that's horrible to everyone but their own reflection, I'm not going to feel bad when they die.
5. Jelly Legs
No one in this genre has ever taken a gym class in their life. I mean, what the heck. If you're running for your life and you actually want to live, you're going to get back up if you fall. You're not going to sit there and scream as the killer approaches you from a mile away. The fall is usually pretty dramatic and comedic in and of itself, and I'm betting the killer of the movie/book/videos would be laughing at their victim too.
6. "Hello?"
Really? You're going to do that? No one is ever going to answer in a way you'd like and it annoys most people I know when this trope is used. I, for one, find it to be funny. Nobody is dumb enough to yell "hello" in a dark house when they know a psycho is around.
7. Bad Backstories
Whenever a killer's backstory is revealed, it's usually terrible and completely ridiculous. From some disturbed demon to a creature created from the trees, it's always outlandish. So, you're telling me that this guy killed hundreds of people because no one liked him as a kid? I guess now no one can like him, so maybe writers see this as a solution for their killer? I'm not sure, but it's honestly funny.
This isn't to take away from good horror movies/books/videos. Sometimes they're pretty interesting, but these tend to be some ugly cliches that I find comical.
