Startled By The Cat

This Cliché is old, tired, and generally predictable; it can also never truly scare you, but because of its suddenness, it can at least manage to startle you. The basic rundown is as follows: A character is walking through a spooky area, generally dark, sometimes foggy, and always by themselves. Either it has already been established that some sort of horrible monster or deranged murderer is on the loose, or the audience knows this in advance because, well, they picked the movie. Either way, the character is on edge, and makes their way almost all the way through the scary area when suddenly something loud and terrifying screams and jumps out at them - only for the character, and the audience, to realize that it's just a cat, a child, or other harmless creature.

About 50% of the time, this ridiculous scene is followed up with the character, relieved and feeling sheepish for being startled by the cat, turning around and immediately coming face-to-face with the monster/serial killer. Depending on whether or not this is a protagonist, they will then either die horribly, or start a chase sequence.

Add a movie to this list, then add notes.
	2012	Gone
	2011	Horrible Bosses
	2007	The Invasion
	2004	Alien vs. Predator
	2003	X2: X-Men United
	2002	Killing Me Softly
	2000	The 6th Day
	2000	Scary Movie
	1999	End of Days
	1997	Event Horizon
	1996	Scream
	1993	Fatal Instinct
	1989	Stepfather II
	1989	Pet Sematary
	1989	The House of Clocks
	1987	Predator
	1986	April Fool's Day
	1985	A View to a Kill
	1984	A Nightmare on Elm Street
	1984	Romancing the Stone

Add a show to this list, then add notes.
	Supernatural
	One Piece
	Buffy the Vampire Slayer
	The X-Files

Startled By The Cat

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