“Digging Graves In Wooded Areas”: 50 Fake Things That Happen In Films That Annoy Audiences
According to Hollywood, we can all survive a crazy car crash and walk away with just a scratch on us. In fact, we might even be able to take a bullet and avoid going to the hospital at all. But having a 5 minute long conversation that could easily resolve a misunderstanding and allow us to skip the rest of the film’s plot? Nope, we can’t have that!
Cinephiles on Reddit have been discussing unrealistic things that happen in films that they’re tired of, so you’ll find their most spot-on thoughts below. Enjoy reading through these moments that always require suspension of disbelief, and be sure to upvote the ones you’ve seen enough of too!
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Whenever some idiot is running on foot while being chased by a car that's trying to run them down, they without fail ALWAYS run straight down the middle of the street, when all they have to do is simply run off to the side where there's trees and lamp-posts and plenty of other s**t to block them from getting hit.
In that case, I always root for whoever's driving.
That everyone in a Tom Cruise movie is the same height or shorter than him...
When someone is "driving" and they look away from the road by looking at the person in the passenger seat for a prolonged amount of time, or when they're constantly turning the wheel and the car doesn't move, things like that bother me too much.
Digging graves in wooded areas.
There are f*****g roots everywhere. You can't dig a 6 foot grave with a pair of shovels in an hour; that s**t takes time.
Setting off Fire Alarm / Fire Sprinklers.
1. Pulling a fire alarm will not activate fire sprinklers
2. Setting off a single sprinkler head will not set off the entire system. Each fire sprinkler has either a glass bulb with heat sensitive liquid or a metal fusible link. You need to essentially break the bulk/link on each individual sprinkler to allow the water to flow.
3. The water leaving the sprinkler system will be black from the years of corrosion that occurs inside due to the stagnant water, you do not want to be around this water when it comes out.
I design these systems, I know how this s**t works.
When getting shot, stabbed, bones broken and beaten seems to have no physical detriment on a character. Get shot in the leg? Still able to run. Stabbed in the back? Still able to finish a fight. Ridiculous.
Men surviving in the wilderness: Unrecognisable, overgrown hair and beards.
Women surviving in the wilderness: Perfect hair, no need to shave at all.
When there's a big fight scene and all the bad guys attack the protagonist one at a time whilst the rest just stand at the side. If you wanna win, all attack at once!!
Women's hair is always perfect after a crazy action sequence. They're also wearing heels ALL THE TIME. No matter what crazy stunts they're doing.
One of my favorite scenes is in a film called Romancing the Stone starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner. Turner's character is lost in Columbia and has to rely on Douglas for help. The first thing he does is take his machete to the heels of her shoes, cuts the heels off and hands them back to her and says "Follow me".
When the brilliant detective can solve the case—but only if someone is willing to repeat the random thing they just said.
>Friend: I just had diarrhea, so I think I'm going to head out
>
>Detective: Wait! Say that again.
>
>Friend: Huh?
>
>Detective: What you just said, I need you to say it again.
>
>Friend:...uh. OK...I just had diarrhea, so I'm going to head out?
>
>Detective: That's it! Her diary! That's what's going to lead us straight to Mrs. Hamisham's missing head!
>
>Friend:...so I'm gonna go...
LMAO! "Mrs. Hamisham's missing head!" That's a hilarious random scenario. I love it!
Hackers in movies:
*enters a few keystrokes*
*"I'm in!"*
Yeah...let's have a movie sequence that lasts 4-5 hours showing just a team of hackers bashing keyboards...what a great movie that would be
How people in NYC/LA/SF and so on work jobs that really don't pay much, yet live in these giant, nice, well-located apartments.
College professors being shown living in giant Victorian houses with massive libraries. I used to be a professor, and can confirm that the pay isn’t that good.
I just assumed they lived in a inherited place and did the job for fun.
Turning on the TV at the exact moment a relevant news report starts.
Sometimes they play with the formula and the TV is already on. The hero says something like "Hold on, turn that up".
Firing guns in enclosed spaces not deafening anyone.
The Doorbell rings and someone answers almost immediately.
There is a delicious breakfast on the table,but everyone grabs a piece of bread and runs off to work!
I've just decided to wander around on movie sets to eat all the breakfasts.
Standing under the shower head when you turn on the shower. Dat s**t way to cold.
TIL people stand under the shower and turn on the water instead of warming it up first before stepping in...
Only if you're in a building where the hot water is constantly there (like a hotel) OR you're a future serial killer.
Load More Replies...I want to see a movie where the killer is hiding behind the bath curtain, and the would-be victim reaches in and turns on the shower to let it warm up and the villain goes "GAH! COLD!" and gives themselves away.
The most disturbing part of the movie Psycho is when Marion Crane turns the shower on directly in her face.
I have a hand towel hanging over my shower curtain to keep drying my face with. I don't understand how people can have the shower hitting their face all the time. I'd freak out. And be blind, putting bodywash in my hair and conditioner on my skin.
Load More Replies...And can I ask who tf steps out of the shower sopping wet, wraps a towel around them, and then walks around their apartment with water dripping all over the place??? Idk about you, but I actually dry myself before walking all over the place!
I usually start off with cold water just to jolt me awake so not totally unrealistic
...and i typically end my hot shower with an icy freeze to shock my lymphatic system!
Load More Replies...Unless you live in AZ, NM, or South FL during peak Summer, then you need to hang a colander full of ice on the shower head unless you want to take a sweaty shower...
I actually do this, but it's because of my cold therapy routine. It has a lot of health benefits but it's not very pleasant.
Guys who get rejected and then stalk the girl and win her over at the end of the movie.
A woman on the run with dark brown/black hair goes into the bathroom for 30 minutes and emerges with perfect light blonde hair using box color.
The phone rings and the actor picks up the handset, listens for two seconds:
"Oh really?"
one second later:
"When"?
one second later:
"I'll be right there"
Hangs up without saying goodbye.
The actor turns around and relays a 30 seconds of details that he just learned in only four seconds.
Gift wrapping the box and the lid separately. I mean, I get why they do it (multiple takes), but it always sticks out to me. Also, every bag of groceries has french bread.
A relatively small woman beats 5 large guys in hand to hand combat.
“I grew I up with 5 brothers. Had to learn to be tough.”
People giving insulin to a diabetic who is crashing.
This pisses me off because it's the wrong thing to do and it perpetuates a dangerous way of thinking in people that aren't familiar with diabetes.
As a type 1 diabetic myself, this has got to be the worst thing shown on TV, I even complained to the BBC once when they showed this exact thing on an episode of Causalty, the person who they showed as having a Hypo was given an insulin shot and miraculously recovered, no checks on Blood Glucose were done to check what the issue was, just immediate insulin shot. In reality if someone is presenting ANY diabetic symptoms it is far better to give them something with sugar in it, and call for an ambulance, if they're already going Hyperglycaemic then the extra sugar will not make much difference and the paramedics/hospital will be able to get them back where they should be, if they're going low (Hypoglycaemia) then the sugar will bring their blood glucose levels back up and save their life. Unless you are the one responsible for giving someone their insulin doses, NEVER give them a shot, you do not know how they will react, just leave it to the professionals.
Are people shooting at you? Take cover behind... anything! Car doors, drywall, couches, tables, cardboard boxes, it doesn’t matter! EVERYTHING is bulletproof!
Movie depictions of childbirth are often ridiculously wrong. They make it look so easy, quick, and clean. This is not the case.
After a hit to the head or being knocked unconscious, people are fine after a minute. Concussions don’t seem to exist in movies.
Not to mention (this from my husband, Vietnam Vet, Special Forces, who also had his share of fist fights back in the day), that the fights, and number of punches landed, would be more than an average human could take. He said that even a couple fist punches solidly landed to the head would definitely knock a person out and possibly kill them. In movies it’s repeated punches to head and stomach and they jump right up and go on to save the day!
People sneaking-around inside air ducts. Don't get me wrong, in big buildings you absolutely can walk around in there, i've done it a lot, but: 1) they're dirty as sin, not gleaming metal 2) There are screws poking in there and sharp edges everywhere 3) There are lots of barriers to movement, fans, filters, humidifiers, dampers and fire dampers. all of those would stop your progress 4) it's not a quiet process, that metal bongs and klunks like crazy under your weight
If I stuck my nose anywhere NEAR that thing, my seasonal allergies would go haywire. And those people always come out spotlessly clean!
Bad. Trigger. Discipline.
If you (the character) know enough about guns to be a movie badass, you know to keep your booger hook off the bang switch.
"booker hook off the bang switch" this is a fantastic way to put it. Kudos
Fire, Lava, etc. has no heat- people can be suspended over a volcano, or in the case of The Hobbit, SURF ON MOLTEN METAL and no one gets so much as a blister.
Ask Anakin Skywalker lol. He was fried after Obi-Wan took him down 🤣
EMTs / doctors / random hero person using a defibrillator on a person that has flat-lined. That is NOT how it works. You shock a flat line and all you do is make the patient even more dead. Flat-liners get drugs to get their hearts beating, and THEN get shocked if that beat is abnormal.
Also, paddles exist but are rarely used nowadays. I've been in several CPR situations and I've NEVER seen anyone use the paddles. We have sticky pads now that hook up to the defibrillator. Much more portable and easy to use.
Drowning revivals. Victim is pulled, blue, from the water. Couple of chest compressions, hero through gritted teeth says "don't you die on me godammit", small arc of water shoots from the mouth of the victim as they cough twice and immediately regain consciousness, sit up and ask what happened.
Alright.
Yeah that ain’t happening… source: was nearly pulled under by panicking and drowning kid in a swimming pool. It doesn’t show as flailing on the surface of the water, but panicking people are surprisingly strong and will grab onto anything they can. The kid was ok because the lifeguard was on duty.
Candles. Who lit all those candles and who goes and puts them out? Same for torches in an abandoned cave.
Shooting the monitor as a way of stopping the computer....
I have seen this happen a 100 times and never thought how ridiculous this was until right now. Good point.
Horses constantly making noise, neighing etc. horses rarely make any noise, due to being a prey animal. yet in movies, the f*****s have full blown horseconversations with themselfs. constantly. source, own 7 horses.
When an actor clearly has no idea how to play the instrument they're holding. They don't have to be an expert, but Christ someone show them where their fingers are supposed to go, or stop focusing the shot on their fingers.
They should always have the actor play the bagpipes. There's no wrong way to play the bagpipes. Because there's no right way either.
‘ Zoom in on that. Can you make it clearer? ‘ ‘ Sure, no problem ‘. Two MP CCTV screen grab.
People order food or drink in a restaurant, get the food, never touch it and decide it's time to go.
Simultaneous orgasms EVERY SINGLE TIME.
The fresh out of college student scoring a great apartment in a swanky part of town while working minimum wage job for themselves. In reality, you'd have 4 roommates for such a place, or you're living in a dump in a bad part of town.
IRL you'd have 4 roommates and still live in a dump in the bad part of town.
Every time a car drives off/stops there’s a sound of tires screeching. Even if on a dirt road.
Or the sound of crickets chirping. I've heard this several illogical times on shows/films. Really, it's Valentine's Day in Wisconsin and crickets are chirping outside? Valentine's Day is February 14th and it's too cold for crickets in Wisconsin during the month of February. Or, a couple is outside on a porch swing. Heavy coats, scarves and you can see their breath when they speak. Yet, there are crickets chirping. Are these professional crickets that are hired and kept warm just for the scene?
That a sample can be DNA processed in 2 mins so you know who your killer is.
A court-ordered DNA paternity testing can take from 2 to 10 business days . Whole genome sequencing - another type of DNA testing that tests the entire genome - can take up to 3-7 business days for processing
In action movies, the hero, often alone faces an army of elite trained veterans armed to the teeth but they can't seem to know how to shoot, take cover, use tactics or fight.
And they are always polite enough to attack the character one at a time and slowly get beaten up.
The way movies and TV shows handle the childbirth process kills me. It's always a pregnant woman going about her day before suddenly she either feels a very painful contraction or her water just simply breaks out of no where. In reality, contractions are a slower process. You have them for a long while before they actually get to the painful level. I know plenty of women who were in labor for days, some of them didnt even realize it was labor and thought they had the flu.
Also the way movies and TV shows portray newborn babies is hilarious. I've seen them use a literal six month old in place of a newborn and lemme tell you, those are two completely different stages.
When someone throws a grenade into a building and the whole building blows up.
Explosives in general. Most of the time they're using propane or other flammable gasses to make those big Hollywood fireballs.
Lawyers walking up to the witness or the jury.
You are not allowed anywhere near either of those things. You stay behind the desk, the bailiff moves evidence around. The only time you go towards anyone is the judge if they approve a sidebar.
Everybody being conventionally attractive and just waking up like this even in a war zone.
Enemy at the Gates. Seriously a romance plot set against freaking Stalingrad. When I realized that was what was going on I turned it off.
When people fall in love and decide to spend together the rest of their lives after spending 5 minutes together.
My fav is in adventure movies that are just balls to the walls tense with c**p coming down on them when the main couple, who never knew one another before this, suddenly find time to make out and even find a place to “do the dirty deed”, whilst being wounded, with filthy and ripped up bloody clothes with a couple dozen bad guys two minutes away! Realistic? I like “sexy time” but I doubt I’d even be in the mood at a time like that!
Neck breaking for an easy or quick kill. Im getting sick of it.
I get it. I do. But I've been told the 'willing suspension of disbelief' is essential to truly enjoy theater, movies, television and books. I like that. Gives you permission to ignore the the b******t stuff.
Yeah, if these were all shot to be 100% accurate then it'd take a 3 hour epic for the character just to get up and go to work in the morning. Sure, some of it is just plain dumb, but the rest? Jus t accept some shortcuts that illustrate bigger concepts and just let the story move on.
Load More Replies...This doesn't annoy me ... [TRIGGER WARNING: blood, death and violence] but people might be surprised how little blood there can be in a very sudden death, even a very traumatic death. Living people bleed a lot, so do dying people. Dead people, not so much. It's sometimes surprisingly ... clean's not the right word, but you get the idea. Likewise, horror movies etc go to a lot of trouble making the corpse look real. In my experience, real corpses look surprisingly fake to me. It could just be that my mind rejects reality for a bit, but I've found that bodies and body parts just look really fake somehow. And before you ask, I used to be on a team that investigated industrial accidents.
There are some films that are extremely realistic but are not popular because people found them boring. Fast and Furious is very popular but has little to no reality or physics in it. The producers follow what the audience likes.
Fast and Furious reminds me of how I played with my toys when I was a kid. Can a car turn in mid air while making an impossible jump? Oh you bet it can!
Load More Replies..."Listen to me. Don't. Trust. ANYBODY." *person who said this turns out to be the bad guy* "I told you not to trust anybody."
For me lately it’s how everyone, protagonist and antagonist alike, always seem to know how to 1) Ride a motorcycle 2) Drive a speedboat and/or jet ski 3) Fly a military jet or helicopter. Sure, it’s to be expected for a James Bond or Jason Bourne type character. But so many times there is no reasonable explanation as to how a character is able to just hop on and use the equipment like an expert. (Edited for punctuation.)
They don't pay pretty actors to hide their faces. We all know who I'm talking about.
Load More Replies...I was surprised not to see the most enjoying thing mentioned: when people are chased in a movie, they always turn around and trip 🤬 and it is often a women…
“I found a shotgun!” TCHIK-TCHIK! “Here come the bad guys!” TCHIK-TCHIK! “Let’s do this!” TCHIK-TCHIK!
One of the many reasons The Walking Dead started to get on my nerves - I'll just grab this gun that's been sitting outside for a couple of years and start firing - in reality it takes very little for a gun or ammunition to misfire and really hurt you
Load More Replies...Always an open parking space right in front of where they need to be.
Yes! Hell, in most action movies a skateboard would probably explode on impact.
Load More Replies...When a character has a cup of coffee (or any drink) and is drinking from it, but, in reality the cup is empty. Its so obvious once you spot it and I look for it every time its part of a scene and it annoys me beyond what is rational. I should probably get out more 🤔x
That is one of my major pet peeves. The character gets a to-go cup and just waves it around like it's empty, which it obviously is. They should put water in the cup so it looks realistic. It's such a small thing; I don't know why they don't catch this.
Load More Replies...How about when goodguys/superheroes get powers, it takes them a long time to hone in on their skills/powers but bad guys are immediately proficient?
I understand that films cannot be realistic, it's fun to look out for these conventions and clichés though.
Morning pillow talk/make out scenes. Morning breath is awful no matter who you are and I can't suspend my disbelief when they are nose to nose talking to each other. Makes my stomach turn worse than a scene from a horror movie.
Here's one for you....why are Russians always villains? In every single movie any Russian,male or female,is a cold hearted,ruthless killer...every..single..time! Why is this deemed ok?
Makes a nice change from Brit's being the villains!
Load More Replies...Two for me: a) Nobody turns off laptops or other computers, they never go into sleep or standby mode, and even government or spy ones aren't password protected. People break into houses, offices or hotel rooms, and the computer is on, awake and able to be used instantly. 2) Umbrellas! Why do so many people stand or walk around outside without using umbrellas? Maybe it's location dependent, but I never go anywhere in the UK without one in my car or bag.
Here, across the pond, we have seasons where it rains and others where it doesn't. In California, it almost never rains in the summer.
Load More Replies...Sometimes a character will duck into the sewer for some reason. Let me tell ya, that manhole lid is heavy, usualy 80 to 150 pounds. Unless there's super strength involved, they aren't gonna just lift out, and often times they are stuck from years of dirt and grit compacted around the edge. Once they're in, there's a very real chance of dying from suffocation. Hydrogen sulfide, methane, and several other gasses will overcome a person, often before they realize its happening. They pass out from lack of oxygen and never make it out alive. There's a reason we use gas meters and rescue tripods when we have to go into the underground.
If a movie were to annoy me for breaking real life logic it would be the end of any movie watching for me. But I REALLY HATE when movies broke rules they set themselves. This is a moment when movie is done for me. "ant-man" is simple example. they said mass is kept. Well.. Tell it to keychain tank. Or suitcase building.
I'd totally watch a movie that includes all of these in satire format. Mel Brooks or Scary Story style (the first 2, not the shlop that came afterwards). That'd be freaking hilarious.
That’s probably the movie they were making in 'Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel', it’s just too dangerous man. :p
Load More Replies...Here's one more: every actress is 35 years old, including women playing mothers of teenagers and adults. Where are the middle-aged actresses? Older men can still get acting roles, but women all need to be young.
The one that gets me distracted from the plot are errors in military uniforms, decorations and insignia. And it's not that hard to get them right.
Someone taking a quick puff of asthma inhaler every 10 minutes. In reality, you can only use it (2 long puffs) every 4 hours.
I get it. I do. But I've been told the 'willing suspension of disbelief' is essential to truly enjoy theater, movies, television and books. I like that. Gives you permission to ignore the the b******t stuff.
Yeah, if these were all shot to be 100% accurate then it'd take a 3 hour epic for the character just to get up and go to work in the morning. Sure, some of it is just plain dumb, but the rest? Jus t accept some shortcuts that illustrate bigger concepts and just let the story move on.
Load More Replies...This doesn't annoy me ... [TRIGGER WARNING: blood, death and violence] but people might be surprised how little blood there can be in a very sudden death, even a very traumatic death. Living people bleed a lot, so do dying people. Dead people, not so much. It's sometimes surprisingly ... clean's not the right word, but you get the idea. Likewise, horror movies etc go to a lot of trouble making the corpse look real. In my experience, real corpses look surprisingly fake to me. It could just be that my mind rejects reality for a bit, but I've found that bodies and body parts just look really fake somehow. And before you ask, I used to be on a team that investigated industrial accidents.
There are some films that are extremely realistic but are not popular because people found them boring. Fast and Furious is very popular but has little to no reality or physics in it. The producers follow what the audience likes.
Fast and Furious reminds me of how I played with my toys when I was a kid. Can a car turn in mid air while making an impossible jump? Oh you bet it can!
Load More Replies..."Listen to me. Don't. Trust. ANYBODY." *person who said this turns out to be the bad guy* "I told you not to trust anybody."
For me lately it’s how everyone, protagonist and antagonist alike, always seem to know how to 1) Ride a motorcycle 2) Drive a speedboat and/or jet ski 3) Fly a military jet or helicopter. Sure, it’s to be expected for a James Bond or Jason Bourne type character. But so many times there is no reasonable explanation as to how a character is able to just hop on and use the equipment like an expert. (Edited for punctuation.)
They don't pay pretty actors to hide their faces. We all know who I'm talking about.
Load More Replies...I was surprised not to see the most enjoying thing mentioned: when people are chased in a movie, they always turn around and trip 🤬 and it is often a women…
“I found a shotgun!” TCHIK-TCHIK! “Here come the bad guys!” TCHIK-TCHIK! “Let’s do this!” TCHIK-TCHIK!
One of the many reasons The Walking Dead started to get on my nerves - I'll just grab this gun that's been sitting outside for a couple of years and start firing - in reality it takes very little for a gun or ammunition to misfire and really hurt you
Load More Replies...Always an open parking space right in front of where they need to be.
Yes! Hell, in most action movies a skateboard would probably explode on impact.
Load More Replies...When a character has a cup of coffee (or any drink) and is drinking from it, but, in reality the cup is empty. Its so obvious once you spot it and I look for it every time its part of a scene and it annoys me beyond what is rational. I should probably get out more 🤔x
That is one of my major pet peeves. The character gets a to-go cup and just waves it around like it's empty, which it obviously is. They should put water in the cup so it looks realistic. It's such a small thing; I don't know why they don't catch this.
Load More Replies...How about when goodguys/superheroes get powers, it takes them a long time to hone in on their skills/powers but bad guys are immediately proficient?
I understand that films cannot be realistic, it's fun to look out for these conventions and clichés though.
Morning pillow talk/make out scenes. Morning breath is awful no matter who you are and I can't suspend my disbelief when they are nose to nose talking to each other. Makes my stomach turn worse than a scene from a horror movie.
Here's one for you....why are Russians always villains? In every single movie any Russian,male or female,is a cold hearted,ruthless killer...every..single..time! Why is this deemed ok?
Makes a nice change from Brit's being the villains!
Load More Replies...Two for me: a) Nobody turns off laptops or other computers, they never go into sleep or standby mode, and even government or spy ones aren't password protected. People break into houses, offices or hotel rooms, and the computer is on, awake and able to be used instantly. 2) Umbrellas! Why do so many people stand or walk around outside without using umbrellas? Maybe it's location dependent, but I never go anywhere in the UK without one in my car or bag.
Here, across the pond, we have seasons where it rains and others where it doesn't. In California, it almost never rains in the summer.
Load More Replies...Sometimes a character will duck into the sewer for some reason. Let me tell ya, that manhole lid is heavy, usualy 80 to 150 pounds. Unless there's super strength involved, they aren't gonna just lift out, and often times they are stuck from years of dirt and grit compacted around the edge. Once they're in, there's a very real chance of dying from suffocation. Hydrogen sulfide, methane, and several other gasses will overcome a person, often before they realize its happening. They pass out from lack of oxygen and never make it out alive. There's a reason we use gas meters and rescue tripods when we have to go into the underground.
If a movie were to annoy me for breaking real life logic it would be the end of any movie watching for me. But I REALLY HATE when movies broke rules they set themselves. This is a moment when movie is done for me. "ant-man" is simple example. they said mass is kept. Well.. Tell it to keychain tank. Or suitcase building.
I'd totally watch a movie that includes all of these in satire format. Mel Brooks or Scary Story style (the first 2, not the shlop that came afterwards). That'd be freaking hilarious.
That’s probably the movie they were making in 'Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel', it’s just too dangerous man. :p
Load More Replies...Here's one more: every actress is 35 years old, including women playing mothers of teenagers and adults. Where are the middle-aged actresses? Older men can still get acting roles, but women all need to be young.
The one that gets me distracted from the plot are errors in military uniforms, decorations and insignia. And it's not that hard to get them right.
Someone taking a quick puff of asthma inhaler every 10 minutes. In reality, you can only use it (2 long puffs) every 4 hours.