There are all kinds of traps in movies, some of them are literal and physical, and others are metaphorical and verbal. For the sake of everyone’s state of mind, I’ll stick to the physical traps for now, or at least those that have an observable effect that was placed on screen for everyone to see. One thing about traps is that they can be simple or complicated, and they can even be kind or vicious. That sounds odd, doesn’t it? How in the world can a trap be kind? Well, it can not kill you to start with, and it can be kind of funny as well if it’s done right. Otherwise, traps in the movies do serve a brutal purpose most times. Here are 10 of the best traps in the movies.
10. Tremors – The Graboids’ dig a trench
It’s kind of amusing when humans think of animals as dumb, but it’s at least a little bit forgivable since a lot of animals don’t bother to go after humans. The Graboids aren’t like a lot of animals though since they prove rather quickly that they’re a little more intelligent than the average creature when they dig a trench in the path without anyone seeing them.
9. Big Trouble in Little China – Elevator scene
It’s not exactly elaborate or even that well-planned since Wang and Jack simply walked into this particular trap in an attempt to rescue the kidnapped women. But being forced to swim through the ‘hell of the upside-down sinners’ was insanely creepy, and effective.
8. Ronin – Weapons exchange
Even without military or covert operations experience, one could have assumed that following a person you don’t know would be a bad idea. Without any guarantee of safety or even the ability to see every angle, it was a bad call from the start.
7. Blazing Saddles – Fake town
Now this is where things get funny since Mel Brooks is one of the only directors that could possibly make something like this work without making it appear too stupid to laugh. The whole idea of this movie is that all but one of the villains are blithering idiots, and to the movie’s credit, it worked like a charm.
6. The Cabin in the Woods – The title says it all
There are so many horror tropes in this movie that one can’t help but make a list and then tick off each one as it goes along. Plus, the fact that the house and the surrounding area are the trap is pretty cool since it’s both elaborate and over the top in a way that can’t be easily defeated.
5. Saw: The Final Chapter – The game is finally over
Personally, I think this franchise should have ended a while ago, but that’s not exactly a popular opinion since a lot of fans have been in love with this gore-fest for a while now. Hey, to each their own, but the classic ‘game over’ ending still has my vote as the best since, despite all of the diabolical and inventive traps that popped up along the way, this was still a return to one of the best and simplest traps of all time, in this franchise anyway.
4. Resident Evil – Fun with lasers
Quite a few people professed to love this trap since it was automated, to begin with, and it was devilishly clever since just hopping over the laser wasn’t enough. The trap did evolve over the course of a few movies since in Extinction it became even more interesting as Alice and Dr. Isaacs had it out in the corridor, with Alice being the only one that had to engage in acrobatics to survive.
3. Doctor Sleep – Mind trap
While it was technically a trap that Abra set in her mind for Rose the Hat, it had a very real effect back in the world since the tearing of flesh translated to Rose’s body without fail. It was a rather ghastly wound that Abra caused, but a lot of people would probably agree that Rose had that coming and that she got off light that time.
2. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – Battle of Endor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIuJUFZfi_U
Ah yes, one of the most classic traps ever laid in a movie, and also one of the most potentially effective if Emperor Palpatine hadn’t shown a desire to play with his enemies before destroying them. How many different times could the Empire have crushed the Rebels if they’d just stopped screwing around?
1. Home Alone 2 – The Can Drop
The can drop in the first movie was good, but the drop in the second movie was great since, despite Harry reminding Marv of what happened the previous year, Kevin had a little something up his sleeve once again. While the cans didn’t do anything, the steel pipe definitely did, as it not only knocked the guys back into the hole and into the basement, but it landed on them when Kevin cut the ropes as well. Now tell me that wasn’t epic.
A good trap is worth a laugh or a cringe, it’s all based on the individual.
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