r/TopCharacterTropes • u/MammothPenguin69 • 16d ago

Hated Tropes Stupid Contrived Survival Stories

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  1. 12 Feet Deep - Two idiots decide they absolutely positively MUST go swimming in a pool after it's closed. An incredibly contrived sequence of events happens so they get stuck in a pool. So the movie can happen.

  2. Frozen (not that one) - Three idiots decide they absolutely positively MUST get on a ski-lift after it's closed. To the point of bribing the operator who for some stupid reason doesn't say anything. Do the movie can happen. Also, Wolves are not that aggressive. They are typically shy and avoid humans.

  3. 47 Meters Down- Arguably the most believable scenario on this list. It's still really stupid.

  4. Fall- Two idiots decide to climb an abandoned radio tower without proper equipment that would make escaping their predicament trivially easy. Stop me if you've heard this one before

so the movie can happen.

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154

u/RamJamR 16d ago

There's that whale movie coming out now where the guy gets swallowed by a sperm whale. I think it's funny how in one ad they repeat him yelling that he's "in a fucking whale!" a few times, which is an odd thing for a character to shout to nobody in particular but the audience for some reason.

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u/Nearonius 16d ago

Dont forget they are already toting it as the, "best survival movie of 2026!"

1

u/MahoneyBear 15d ago

How many other survival movies are there this year?

0

u/miner1512 15d ago

fall 2 

39

u/SolasLunas 16d ago

I've heard (no real source) that studios are making some films with the expectation of then being for the "second screen" So you're gonna hear a lot more of characters repeated themselves and stating what's visibly obvious

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u/Moonchilde616 16d ago

I guess Nick Cage screaming: "ARGH! NOT THE BEEEESSS! NOT THE BEEEEESS! THEY'RE IN MY EYES!!!" was just 20 years ahead of its time.

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u/IronEgo 16d ago

Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Whoa! We do NOT question Nic Cages acting decisions. Ever.

3

u/SolasLunas 16d ago

Listen that's classic cinema 😆

12

u/-thecheesus- 16d ago

Netflix is confirmed to be doing this. But movies slated for theater?

10

u/SolasLunas 16d ago

It's a "executives" type decision. Not a "directors" one. They made hair brained idiot decisions all the time, so i wouldn't put it past em

5

u/-S-P-E-C-T-R-E- 16d ago

I’ve been to several screenings(?) where people near me, always young gen-z / alphas are brain rotting on their phones. No idea why they to to the cinema really…

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u/semajolis267 16d ago

I mean if I was in a fucking whale id be ranting to myself about it... 

3

u/Original-War8655 16d ago

hopefully not because the whole plot revolves around him having VERY limited oxygen in there

cuz yk he's inside a whale and underwater simultaneously

6

u/Worried_Tangelo_3220 15d ago

The last season of stranger things was absolutely RIDDLED with that shit. Everything was explained and restated at least twice, and everything including a fucking tower needed to be explained through detailed visual examples. God it was bad.

2

u/UncommittedBow 16d ago

Wait, as in they're making films with the brainrot "watching something else in the backround" people in mind?

1

u/smedsterwho 16d ago

"I'M STILL IN THE WHALE, MOVIE GOER!!"

1

u/Guilty_Rain3864 13d ago

You're probably thinking of a netflix mandate that characters frequently repeat or recap the plot so people who have it on in the background can still enjoy it

I've always imagined there's *some* truth to that, but not as much as people think. That kind of just sounds like a regular studio note that someone added some additional context to and someone else extrapolated out a little too far.

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u/No-Advice-6040 16d ago

Reminds me of... I want to say... Buried? Ryan Reynolds is filed in a coffin underground for 90 mins.

7

u/zerozerozero12 16d ago

You’re talking about whalefall and to be fair to the main character he was minding his own business. The squid the whale was eating pulled him into the whale’s mouth.

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u/Kolyin 16d ago

Third-leading cause of whale-related deaths involving squids, to be fair.

5

u/-thecheesus- 16d ago

Can a full ass human even fit in a sperm whales's throat? Squids are not the same.. consistency 

2

u/Nestmind 15d ago

Yes, an adult one, especially a bull can be big enough to fit a human, if barely

But only Sperm Whales, even Blue Whales have throats too small

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u/Maelstrom_Witch 16d ago

Also whales can't swallow anything as large as a human. Dude would have been spat out instantly

6

u/RamJamR 16d ago

To the dismay of creationists everywhere.

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u/Maelstrom_Witch 16d ago

Shhh don’t tell them.

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u/Immediate-Salt5893 16d ago

To be fair, the bible said a big fish, which would honestly be more ludicrous, but in my opinion even in the context of the bible, it's more of a parable with a moral more than a historical event

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u/needleknight 16d ago

Baleen whale? Yes Toothed whale? No But even though Sperm Whales are huge, the only reason squids are going down is cus they are super squishy

1

u/Nestmind 15d ago

Sperm whales CAN be big enough to in theory swallow a human, especially large bulls, that are massive.

But barely

Theoretically possible, but so unlikely to border the absurd

1

u/ZeroiaSD 10d ago

I’m under the impression the whale’s a metaphor.

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u/needleknight 16d ago

I love the book. It is a contrivance set up, but theres a good reason for him to be screaming that i assure you

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u/HereToTalkAboutThis 16d ago

Saw the book, read the back of the jacket, decided it probably wasn't my thing. But isn't the whale mostly supposed to be a metaphor? Sure in the text it's probably a literal whale but it feels kind of like complaining about Ahab's quest to kill the white whale being unrealistic or something

1

u/needleknight 14d ago

I keep seeing this metaphor thing and yeah, its a metaphor on some level.

But he is still literally trapped in a whale. Stomach juices and digested squids and all. So when i say theres a good reason for him to be screaming it, there are sequences that make his situation more and less hopeful and those events are going to be interesting to see adapted. I feel like im going to love it simply because of the set up and situation.

1

u/EndlessEagle 15d ago

Sperm whales can, and that's the type in the movie. They eat giant squids which are much bigger than humans. 

1

u/needleknight 14d ago

Whilst big, they also have no bones and they get squished in the oesophagus pretty well.

For the record, im 100% a fan of the setup. I loved the first trailer so much i got the book and in doing so read everything i could find discourse wise on the accuracy.

I believe consensus is that its probably not going to happen but is it possible ? Highly improbable, but possible nonetheless.

3

u/Hunterofshadows 16d ago

Didn’t some guy actually get briefly stuck in a whales mouth last year?

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u/Successful_Ebb_7402 16d ago

Yup. Kayaking and got eaten by a humpback coming up to eat at the surface, which promptly spat him out quick as it could

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u/Pixelbuttzz 15d ago

He's not shouting it to nobody if you watch the whole trailer he is shouting as the whale breaches near a ship, he is yelling in hopes that the ship can hear him even though it is futile. What makes the movie stupid is that the whale would spit him up

2

u/Borigh 16d ago

It's stupid, but as a biblical allusion I'm not really worried that it breaks suspension of disbelief. That would be like complaining about the presence of angels in "It's a Wonderful Life"

2

u/GeorgeStark520 16d ago

The book is based on is pretty good

2

u/SplitGlass7878 15d ago

If I were in a whale, I can assure you that I'd be screaming about it to no one in particular. 

2

u/mediumreginald43 15d ago

I would not stop saying “fuck I’m in a whale”

1

u/RamJamR 15d ago

I mean, anyone might scream, but if I was in the middle of the ocean where clearly nobody could hear me, I don't think I'd feel a need to scream the obvious, if I felt a need to scream.

1

u/SplitGlass7878 15d ago

I narrate what's happening to me in non-emergency situations already. 

1

u/Alcohorse 16d ago

That wouldn't have been necessary if they'd had some fucking sense and just named it Swallowed by a Whale

1

u/DanfromCalgary 16d ago

Yeah and than Thanos is there to talk him through it

1

u/plisken64 16d ago

I heard he keeps running until he pooped himself out.

1

u/Street_Bluejay_1465 16d ago

Which is actually based on a true story. A guy got munched on and after a few moments the whale spit him back out, cause the whale obviously didn't wanna eat the guy.

1

u/anactualrealaccount 16d ago

I had absolutely 0 interest in this film whatsoever and it looks terrible…. However I learned Austin Abrams from Weapons and Resident Evil is the guy in the whale and now I’ll definitely watch it cause I can’t get enough of this dude.

I hope it’s just some continuation of he RE character and he gets into more insane and unlucky situations along his whale eaten journey.

1

u/Dauntless_Lasagna 15d ago

If I were inside a whale you bet I'd shout at least a couple of times "IM INSIDE A FUCKING WHALE" like when else are you gonna get the chance?

1

u/PainStorm14 15d ago

sperm whale

I'm feeling disappointed already

1

u/EchoAquarium 15d ago

Totally rad Pinnochio reboot on deck

1

u/Hopeful-Occasion2299 15d ago

So, pinnochio?

1

u/Abract-pile721 13d ago

Moby dick?

1

u/CharlieZopa 11d ago

Yeah, I watched it. Pinocchio got the guy out in the end.

1

u/briambo 10d ago

Is the man called Gepetto and was he looking for his son Pinocchio?