Best thriller movie stupidity of all time

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F/X (1986)

F/X picture

Stupidity: After the Defranco "assassination" Rollie learns he is a target and survives two attempts on his life. But instead of leaving town or finding somewhere else to hide for the night, he spends the night in his own apartment (even though he was well aware the killers knew where he lived). As a result, his girlfriend is killed and he barely escapes alive.

Gavin Jackson

More F/X stupidity
Mortal Kombat picture

Stupidity: Right before the movie's final battle, Sub-Zero taunts Cole with his wife's necklace and makes him chase him into a portal. Sonya was right next to Cole, and she did not come along with him. They had previously planned to take on Sub-Zero together, but apparently she just left him to chase Sub-Zero alone to an unknown location.

More Mortal Kombat stupidity
Resident Evil: Extinction picture

Stupidity: When Mikey is being attacked, the woman constantly shoots the 3 zombies in the body and back. Despite knowing that headshots are the only way to stop the infected. (01:01:40)

Ssiscool

More Resident Evil: Extinction stupidity
Bird on a Wire picture

Stupidity: The system prompts a message for the bank clerk saying that the subject trying to withdraw cash is armed and dangerous and to alert the local authorities. It also alerts the 'subjects' themselves though, since it beeps a persistent alarm tone! Seems a rather poorly designed system that would endanger the staff. (00:50:10)

Sammo

More Bird on a Wire stupidity
Unstoppable picture

Stupidity: Frank's train could have waited for the runaway, then accelerated to sit in front of it and brake it with its whole mass. Frank's train had working brakes on every freight car, giving it dozens of times the stopping power of a locomotive.

More Unstoppable stupidity
All Eyes picture

Stupidity: Don told Allen he'd have to wear a blindfold to his house because he didn't want Allen to know where he lived. Instead of having Allen ride in the cab where he could monitor him to make sure he didn't remove the blindfold, Don made Allen ride in the truck's bed (where Allen did lower the blindfold to use his cell phone). (00:14:24 - 00:17:00)

KeyZOid

More All Eyes stupidity
XXX: State of the Union picture

Stupidity: The bad guy's henchman has a plan to stop XXX from reaching the wagon with the President. He hides in the kitchen compartment, which is in a separate area that XXX has to decide to look up and get inside of for no reason (guess that looking at Ice Cube he guessed he'd be going for a snack at some point), leaves his automatic weapon on the floor and just waits there in a ceiling compartment with a knife. If he just shot him through the wall or the door, I guess it would have been too easy. (01:26:20)

Sammo

More XXX: State of the Union stupidity
Scream picture

Stupidity: Judy Hicks, a trained cop and sheriff with over a decade of experience, does not carry a back-up holstered gun on her when she is off-duty, one day after her son's close friend is stabbed seven times near to death. A trained police officer/sheriff would also question why the killer would tell her they are about to kill her son, before they do it, if not to bait them and lure them into a trap. (00:45:58 - 00:46:30)

AdventurePlace

More Scream stupidity
The Mauritanian picture

Stupidity: While awaiting their flight home, Nancy told Teri, "Think I miscalculated the tea. I'm not gonna last three-and-a-half hours [on the non-stop flight with no restroom facility]." Nancy then went into the gift shop where Stuart Couch introduced himself, asked if he could get her a drink, and bought her a bottle of beer. Nancy drank at least some of the beer on screen, even though she was already concerned about drinking tea before her flight. (00:59:28 - 01:00:30)

KeyZOid

More The Mauritanian stupidity
Agent Game picture

Stupidity: As soon as Bundy got into the building (instead of when he was still outside), Kaminsky asked him for a "camera check." Bundy had a yellow button with a big star in the center pinned to his jacket's right lapel. Bundy put some fingers next to the button and raised his lapel with the others, making it obvious he was wearing a camera. When Manson got into the lobby (area likely to be under video surveillance), Reese (who saw Bundy and Manson outside) came into the building to give them weapons. (00:03:50)

KeyZOid

More Agent Game stupidity
Panic Room picture

Stupidity: When the police turn up the first time the mother lies to them to get them to go away but the burglars can't hear the conversation. She could have told them exactly what was happening and that she had to make it look like she'd got rid of them. She could have then smashed all the cameras and just let them in.

Danhit

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: This was a character decision, and a completely understandable one. Her daughter was being held hostage in the panic room. She decided to cooperate with their demands for the safety of her daughter. Your idea is a solid one, but she simply did not think of it in her state of mind. She opted to get rid of the police, and her decision is not a movie mistake.

jshy7979

More Panic Room stupidity
Antidote picture

Stupidity: The location of the small hole near the bottom of the wood-trimmed wall where Everette passed Sharyn a note and pencil would have taken much more time and effort to accomplish compared to merely penetrating the wall a little higher (where there would not have been wood trimming/baseboard on both sides). (00:10:00)

KeyZOid

More Antidote stupidity
Ten Little Indians picture

Stupidity: Martino's plan involves walking across the desert for 200 miles, in a raincoat, dress shoes, and nothing to cover his head. That's just silly and probably needed no sabotage from the killer at all, but he realises his compass was broken and his canteen emptied when it's already too late to go back.That's no subtle sabotage, in particular the compass being shattered, glass included. He didn't even perform a rudimentary check on his survival kit. (00:50:00)

Sammo

More Ten Little Indians stupidity
Hunter Killer picture

Stupidity: While running "silently", the SONAR keeps beeping. Active SONAR is akin to yelling "Polo" in a pool.

More Hunter Killer stupidity
The Untouchables picture

Stupidity: There is no logical reason for a bookkeeper to be present at the liquor deal on the Canadian border and even less of a reason for him to bring the primary ledger with him. This is compounded by the fact this is merely a secondary bookkeeper and the main bookkeeper is subsequently subpoenaed by the district attorney.

BaconIsMyBFF

More The Untouchables stupidity

Stupidity: In the first murder, the victim is strangled, frontally and bare-handed, by a woman his size, and his only reaction throughout his agony and protests is to put his hands on hers. You gotta have no instinct of self-preservation whatsoever. (00:02:00)

Sammo

More Plot of Fear stupidity
Alien picture

Stupidity: The Nostromo essentially is a detachable ship attached to a mining platform. After it returns and docks with the platform, much of the movie occurs in the platform section and not the Nostromo itself. The supposed reason they can't just blow up the ship is that the shuttle can't fit everyone. Why couldn't they just lure the alien into the platform, seal the ship, and then use the ship itself to escape? They could then blow up the platform to kill the alien.

More Alien stupidity
Fatal Attraction picture

Stupidity: After Dan confesses his affair to his wife, he never thinks about bringing the tape Alex had sent him to the police. This would have been proof beyond a reasonable doubt of her mental instability and harassment of him, and she would have been immediately sought out and likely committed to an institution, and both of the film's endings wouldn't had to happen.

Movielover1996

More Fatal Attraction stupidity
Doom: Annihilation picture

Stupidity: When Joan and Winslow are walking through Level 2 after the monsters begin attacking them, at one point Joan turns around and shoots at a monster, but she misses and the monster is able to hide. After this she turns back around and continues to walk down the corridor. The monster she shot at isn't dead, it's just hiding, but instead of going to inspect where it ran off too, she decides to walk in the opposite direction, putting herself at risk of the monster sneaking up behind and attacking her.

Casual Person

More Doom: Annihilation stupidity
The Hunt picture

Stupidity: Crystal knows she is being hunted and in a very dangerous life-threatening situation yet, after she kills "Ma and Pops" in their Main Street Market, she grabs only a few shotgun shells out of the open box instead of taking all of them or as many as she could find. Also, she walks some distance to the store but did not take anything to drink or eat. (00:27:00 - 00:27:55)

KeyZOid

More The Hunt stupidity

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