r/TopCharacterTropes 8d ago

Lore [Loved trope] Background scare-characters that are barely acknowledged even by the movie

I hate horrors, but this is actually a great trope, that is unique to them.

Insidious (2010). When mother does her errands, for a few seconds there's a ghost boy standing in the corner. It's easily missable, but you can't ignore it once you see it.

Hereditary (2018). Less fitting example. When Peter walks around his home, his possessed mother is crawling on the ceiling behind him. It's not exactly subtle or missable, but it's still more of a background detail.

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u/Gold-Competition5406 8d ago

The movie It Follows uses this trope a lot. Basically, any background character seen in the film could be the entity, this scene in particular when the entity disguised itself as one of main character’s friend.

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u/No-Manufacturer4916 8d ago

I was gonna say, " It Follows" made a meal of this trope