History Main / DangerousWindows

In the horror genre, windows are not the safest thing. They're mostly [[SoftGlass thin breakable glass]], often big enough to let monsters and crazed madmen use it as an improvised entrance and make for a nice spot to grab unsuspecting victims to their doom. Barricading windows can be hard work if there are too many of them and more often than not whatever is trying to get through, will.

* In ''Film/{{Abominable}}'', Tracy is yanked through the bathroom window by the Yeti after she's gotten done taking a shower. It's too small for her, so she bends in half backwards and snaps in two, becoming [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Half the Woman She Used to Be]].
* In ''Film/FiendWithoutAFace'', after Sergeant Kasper is killed by one of the "fiends" breaking in through the patio windows during TheSiege, the other survivors hurriedly board the windows up. This holds them off for a while, allowing the armed Air Force officers to shoot at them through the gaps the boards, but eventually the fiends just use their prehensile spinal cord "tails" to pry enough of the boards loose so they can get in.
* DirtyCoward Halsey backs up against a window during TheSiege in ''Film/IslandOfTerror'', allowing some of the Silicates to smash through the glass with their CombatTentacles and grab him.

* ''SwatKats'':

* In ''Film/{{Abominable}}'', Tracy is yanked through the bathroom window by the Yeti after she's done gotten done taking a shower. It's too small for her, so she bends in half backwards and snaps in two, becoming [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Half the Woman She Used to Be]].

** In "The Deadly Pyramid," one of the giant mummies climbs up the side of City Hall and reaches in through the window to try and grab Manx, who does his best to hold it back with a [[ImprovisedWeapon golf cub]].

** In "The Metallikats," Mac gets inside of Mayor Manx's office by climbing in through the window (which was left open [[IdiotBall for some reason]]) and attacking Callie.

** In "The Deadly Pyramid," one of the giant mummies climbs up the side of City Hall and reaches in through the window to try and grab Mayor Manx, who does his best to hold it back with a [[ImprovisedWeapon golf cub]].

** In "The Giant Bacteria," Dr. Zyme boasts that the huge, floor-to-ceiling windows in Megakat Biochemical Labs are "[[TemptingFate practically indestructible]]." Cue one of the bacteria monsters to smash the glass and reach inside...

* In ''Film/{{Abominable}}, Tracy is yanked through the bathroom window by the Yeti after she's done gotten done taking a shower. It's too small for her, so she bends in half backwards and snaps in two, becoming [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Half the Woman She Used to Be]].

* In the original ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'', [[spoiler:the last scare of the movie has Freddy snag the heroine's mother through the front door window.]]
* In the original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', the hero is trying desperately to board them up while zombies reach through the broken glass for him. Great tension and suspense builder.

* ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. Most notably when [[spoiler:David]] foolishly stands with his back right against a window, and (predictably, [[AssholeVictim considering his recent actions]]) the zombies break through and pull him out to eat him.
%%* ''Film/{{Tremors}} 2'', several times.
* In the original ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'', [[spoiler:the last scare of the movie has Freddy snag the heroine's mother through the front door window.]]

* In ''Film/InTheMouthOfMadness'', a lunatic crashes through a cafe window with an axe in an attempt to kill Sam Neill's character.

* In ''Film/TheDescent'', Sarah gets impaled in the head by a steel beam crashing through the window. But don't worry, it was AllJustADream.

%%* ''Film/{{Feast}}''
%%* ''[[Film/FourteenOhEight 1408]]'' has way too much fun with this trope.
* ''Film/TheFog'' (1980). Zombies break through stained glass windows in a church to attack the protagonists.
* In the original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'', the hero is trying desperately to board them up while zombies reach through the broken glass for him. Great tension and suspense builder.
* ''Film/{{Dreamscape}}''. While Alex and the boy Buddy are in the house, the snake man breaks in through a window and attacks Buddy.
* Lampshaded in ''Film/TheMist''; everyone is inside a supermarket, and once they realize that there actually ''is'' something God-awfully horrible out there, someone points out that the entire front side of the building is a row of windows. The next few minutes consists of the hold-outs piling up everything they can to block the windows off, with only a relatively small bit of the tops exposed.
* The final act in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'' has a bait-and-chase plan to lure the xenomorph into a lead mould by having it chase the inmates, who then close doors behind them to corral it where they need it... until the xeno takes advantage of the glass windows set into the doors to smash through and pick off the unlucky prisoner. The next inmate to try this is understandably [[OhCrap rather nervous]].
* In ''TheCabinInTheWoods'', a zombie pulls [[spoiler:Marty]] through a window out of the cabin.

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* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', and {{Capcom}} horror games in general have things breaking in from windows.
* This is the method used by the various enemies to enter in the Nazi Zombies mode of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World at War''. Barricading them (and their inevitable being broken down again shortly after) is an important game mechanic.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ib}}'', there are many rooms with windows, and one of them will break to allow an enemy to keep chasing you.
* The most common death in ''VideoGame/Die2Nite'' has zombies break into your house through a poorly barricated window and eat you alive.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Film/FridayThe13thPartVIIIJasonTakesManhattan http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/friday_the_13th_ny_through_the_window_4321.png]]]]

* In the ''{{Action 52}}'' game City of Doom, touching windows kills you instantly.
* In one level of the horror-shooter ''{{Metro 2033}}'', there is a incredibly tense sequence where you are walking through a ruined library on the surface and are ambushed and trapped within a small room by one of the strongest monsters in the game, the Librarian. When you try and break down a rotting door to get out, the thing attacks.

* The most common death in Die2Nite has zombies break into your house through a poorly barricated window and eat you alive.

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* In the original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead'' from 1968, the hero is trying desperately to board them up while zombies reach through the broken glass for him. Great tension and suspense builder.

* This is the method used by the various enemies to enter in the Nazi Zombies mode of CallOfDuty World at War. Barricading them (and their inevitable being broken down again shortly after) is an important game mechanic.

* In {{Ib}}, there are many rooms with windows, and one that will break to allow an enemy to keep chasing you.

* The final act in {{Alien 3}} has a bait-and-chase plan to lure the xenomorph into a lead mould by having it chase the inmates, who then close doors behind them to corral it where they need it... until the xeno takes advantage of the glass windows set into the doors to smash through and pick off the unlucky prisoner. The next inmate to try this is understandably [[OhCrap rather nervous]].

* ''Film/{{Tremors}} 2'', several times.
* In the original ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'', [[spoiler:the last scare of the movie as Freddy snags the heroine's mother through the front door window.]]
* The very last scare of ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'' was Jason busting through the window in slow motion in a hallucination the FinalGirl had.

* The killer in ''TheToolboxMurders'' gets to do this.

* ''[[Film/FourteenOhEight 1408]]'' has way too much fun with this trope.

* In the original Romero ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead'' the hero is trying desperately to board them up while zombies reach through the broken glass for him. Great tension and suspense builder.

* Subverted in ''Film/IndependenceDay'': the monster smashes into the window but it doesn't break.
** And then promptly Inverted.
-->'''Robert Loggia''': Is that glass bullet-proof?\\
'''Adam Baldwin''': No, sir!

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* ''{{Tremors}} 2'', several times.
* In the original ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'', [[spoiler: the last scare of the movie as Freddy snags the heroine's mother through the front door window.]]

-->'''Robert Loggia''': "Is that glass bullet-proof?"\\
'''Adam Baldwin''': "No, sir!"

* In the original Romero ''NightOfTheLivingDead'' the hero is trying desperately to board them up while zombies reach through the broken glass for him. Great tension and suspense builder.

* An early ''PennyArcade'' strip features the line "'Survival Horror' is a fancy way of saying 'Monsters will come through windows'."

* ''Film/{{Feast}}''

* Lampshaded in ''TheMist''; everyone is inside a supermarket, and once they realize that there actually ''is'' something God-awfully horrible out there, someone points out that the entire front side of the building is a row of windows. The next few minutes consists of the hold-outs piling up everything they can to block the windows off, with only a relatively small bit of the tops exposed.

** It also happens twice in [[FridayThe13thTheFinalChapter The Final Chapter]] when Jason tries it on Tommy. Trish decides to DropTheHammer on him as a result.