5 Haunted House Movie Cliches That Need To Go

gamerant.com:

While every horror subgenre tends to have some cliches, films that are set in haunted houses tend to use more tropes than others. The movie often begins with the same plotline: a family relocates to a new home, whether because the couple has been fighting or because the teenager needs a brand new start. Before long, the house seems to be full of spirits or at least something weird, and yet the couple insists that nothing is going on at all. The movie's climax features what is supposed to be a terrifying scene as the parents can't ignore the sinister elements in the home anymore.

There are several haunted house movie cliches that horror fans would love to see disappear, as stories will always be much stronger when they have fresher elements that aren't used all the time.

Haunted House Movies Need To Stop Doing This

Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O'Rouke) is a strong part of Poltergeist, one of the most timeless '80s horror movies, as she notices the ghosts that no one else can see and they talk to her through the TV. But besides this classic film, the trope of kids noticing that something supernatural is going on in their new house isn't exciting.

By now, horror fans have seen too many movies where a family relocates, often to the countryside, and moves their belongings and furniture into an old, dusty house. The little kid is often excited and runs to claim their new bedroom while the teenager is bored, sullen, and pissed off at having to move. By the time that the child character sees a ghost and freaks out in the middle of the night, audiences want something more interesting, as the parents never think that the kid is on the right track.

While Sinister (2012) is one of the most frightening horror movies, it does have a trope