History Main / ActionHorror

* ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'': The show is an action series like all previous entries. However, ''Ghost Game'' also plays the concept of Digimon attacking humans for horror, with all manner of terrifying imagery and situations.

* ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'', a series of novels in which [[HunterOfMonsters monster hunters]] battle vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness with [[GunPorn the biggest guns and explosives they can get their hands on]]. Creator/LarryCorreia's stated goal with the series was to do an homage to classic [[BMovie B-movies]] in which the protagonists weren't complete idiots.

* ''Film/PitchBlack'', at first glance, is a simple ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' riff, but with one key difference: the protagonist Richard B. Riddick, a ProudWarriorRaceGuy with superhuman night vision played by Creator/VinDiesel at the height of his early '00s ActionHero fame. The sequel ''Film/TheChroniclesOfRiddick'' was a full-blown SpaceOpera, though the subsequent film, titled simply ''Film/{{Riddick}}'', returned to this one's action-horror roots.

* ''VideoGame/DeadRising''. The start of the first game leans more into SurvivalHorror with the protagonist Frank West outmatched by the hundreds of zombies around him, but the moment he starts to [[CharacterLevel level up]], the zombies become about as dangerous as the individual mooks in a ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' game. The sequels, which provide players access to [[SequelEscalation increasingly powerful]] [[MacGyvering combo weapons]], are basically [[HackAndSlash Hack-and-Slashes]] with a ZombieApocalypse theme. That said, while zombies in this series exist to get splattered in increasingly outlandish ways, [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the human enemies are far more dangerous]], and the [[EscortMission human survivors you escort]] are not nearly as capable of kicking zombie ass as the games' protagonists.
* ''VideoGame/DeadSpace'': The [[VideoGame/DeadSpace1 first game]] in the series focused more on horror, albeit with some action shooter touches like upgradable weapons and a more fluid, over-the-shoulder combat system. The [[VideoGame/DeadSpace2 second game]], however, featured a greater mix of action and horror sequences, while the [[VideoGame/DeadSpace3 third game]] was almost a straight-up action game.

* ''Film/{{Malignant}}'' goes from a supernatural horror film to this in the second half once the villain Gabriel's true nature is revealed. A scene set in a police station has Gabriel [[CurbStompBattle singlehandedly demolish the entire force]], shot in such a manner that makes it clear that director Creator/JamesWan was putting his experience making blockbuster action flicks to use even as he returned to the horror genre.

* ''Film/LittleDeadRottingHood'': The movie is about the people of a small town dealing with constant wolf attacks. There's also guns[[spoiler:, and an epic battle at the end against the Denmother]].

* In the ''Franchise/{{Predator}}'' series, the titular aliens are a {{Proud Warrior Race|Guy}} of {{Egomaniac Hunter}}s who specifically target humanity's elite warriors to fight. The result: mercenaries in Central America in [[Film/{{Predator}} the first film]], LAPD cops and gangsters in [[Film/Predator2 the second]], a motley crew of soldiers and criminals in [[Film/{{Predators}} the third]], the US military in [[Film/ThePredator the fourth]], and a group of Comanche warriors in [[Film/Prey2022 the fifth]] all thrust into a HuntingTheMostDangerousGame scenario against aliens who hunt like SlasherMovie killers, saving the laser blasters for emergencies in favor of blades that make the fight more fair and interesting.

'''''Hell''' no.'' You run to the gun rack and fight back with everything you've got.

''Hell no.'' You run to the gun rack and fight back with everything you've got.

* ''Videogame/TheSuffering'' runs on this trope. Protagonist Torque begins the game by being imprisoned in Carnate Prison, a maximum security facility for monsters like him. It turns out that the other murderers and violent criminals are the least of Torque's problems, as an earthquake sends hundreds of strange, violent creatures based on forms of execution to descend on the island. Sound like a SurvivalHorror game? Nope. Torque starts the game with nothing but prison shiv and spends the game using revolvers, tommy guns, and even an improvised flamethrower to send the misbegotten creatures back to hell. Oh, and that bit about Torque being a monster? It's literal. He fills up a meter when he attacks, and when it's full, he can turn on his SuperpoweredEvilSide to rip enemies apart with his bare hands.

* The film adaptation of ''Film/WorldWarZ'' used this to showcase the global scale of the ZombieApocalypse, with zombies overrunning Philadelphia, New York, the DMZ in South Korea, and Jerusalem. The original ending was supposed to feature a battle between the Russian military and the zombie hordes that had overrun Moscow, but this was removed from the final edit in favor of a smaller-scale, more horror-focused third act at a lab in Cardiff.

* ''Videogame/TheSuffering'' runs on this trope. Protagonist Torque begins the game by being imprisoned in Carnate Prison, a maximum security facility for monsters like him. It turns out that the other murderers and violent criminals are the least of Torque's problems, as an earthquake sends hundreds of strange, violent creatures based on forms of execution to descend on the island. Sound like a SurvivalHorror game? Nope. Torque starts the game with nothing but prison shiv and spends the game using revolvers, tommy guns, and even an improvised flamethrower to send the misbegotten creatures back to hell. Oh, and that bit about Torque being a monster? It's literal. He fills up a meter when he attacks, and when it's full, he can turns on his SuperpoweredEvilSide to rip enemies apart with his bare hands.

* ''Film/TheTerminator'' was a SlasherMovie in which the killer was a robot who used guns as his [[WeaponOfChoice Weapons of Choice]]. The sequels, however, were straightforward action films.

** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry5 The fifth game]] gives the demons a more photorealistic, grotesque and disturbing appearance, similar to the monsters from the ''RE'' games that utilize Capcom's RE Engine.

** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry1 The first game]] was a DivorcedInstallment of the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series that was made its own game because the developers thought it was too action-heavy to be a mainline ''RE'' title, and it takes place in a dark, scary castle that at times feels claustrophobic, with the looming presence of [[BigBad Mundus]] felt in every hallway and area.
** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry5 The fifth game]] gives the demons a more grotesque and disturbing appearance, similar to the monsters from the ''RE'' games.

* ''Film/ArmyOfTheDead'' is about a group of armed mercenaries infiltrating a zombie-infested UsefulNotes/LasVegas to break into a safe in a hotel. Their enemies also include [[EliteZombie Alpha Zombies]] who are smarter, faster, stronger and more brutal than the common variety.

* ''Film/DayShift'' follows vampire hunters in LA tracking down vampires while they sleep.

** ''Half-Life 1'': The opening segments of the game especially pit you, an underequipped scientist with little experience in combat, against hordes of alien monsters that have overrun the Black Mesa research facility after an experiment GoneHorriblyWrong. Later portions of the game shift more towards action, though, especially after the CavalryBetrayal.

Compare and contrast with SurvivalHorror. It's important to note that while some survival horror works include combat, there's rarely an emphasis on action sequences and the protagonist will usually be better off running and hiding (in some cases they can't fight back at all). The Survival Horror page has some detailed guidelines on the distinction between that subgenre and this one.

* ''Film/ArmyOfTheDead'' is about a group of armed mercenaries infiltrating a zombie-infested UsefulNotes/LasVegas to break into a safe in a hotel. Their enemies also include [[EliteZombie Alpha Zombies]] who are smarter and more brutal than the common variety.

* The ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games in the '00s and early '10s veered in this direction. ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' started the trend by having Leon Kennedy [[TookALevelInBadass graduate]] from an outgunned rookie cop to a Secret Service agent, then ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil5 RE5]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil6 RE6]]'' put players in the role of soldiers, mercenaries, and government agents in combat zones where assorted zombies and mutants are running loose, all while moving to an over-the-shoulder camera and aiming system that proved hugely influential on the ThirdPersonShooter genre. Starting with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', however, the series started to back away from the genre and return to the SurvivalHorror of the earlier entries.