History Main / DeadlyRoadTrip

* A ''Series/{{CSINY}}'' example ("She's Not There") involves a girl who befriends other girls out of state (pretending to be a few years younger than she actually is) and convinces them to come on a trip to New York with her, where they're drugged and forced into prostitution.

!!'''As a DeathTrope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''

!!Examples

Cue the ClosedCircle trapping them in danger and keeping help away, once the trap is sprung any of a hundred {{Drama}}tic and {{Horr|or}}ific developments can pounce on these unwary tourists.

* There's a mutant zombie hillbilly [[CannibalClan cannibal family in the foothills]] waiting to eat them.

* ''Series/DoomPatrol'': Cliff, Rita, Vic, and Jane go on vacation to a past-its-prime rural resort with the intention of healing from recent troubles. Unfortunately for them, the only other lodgers at the resort are a pair of aliens tasked with murdering Rita. The leader starts to have a change of heart, only for his [[TheStarscream assistant]] to [[spoiler:kill his boss and all four Doom Patrol members.]]

* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] (hey, but on the a plus side, [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies homemade meat pies are really inexpensive in this town!]]...).

* Maybe they arrive in a poor region in a new car and wearing fancy, new clothes and thieves or [[TheCon con artists]] mark them as easy targets for exploitation and want to steal their stuff, kidnap them, or sell them into slavery.

* Maybe there's a monster or predatory animal in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]].
* There's mutant zombie hillbilly [[CannibalClan cannibal family in the foothills]] waiting to eat them.

* Maybe they arrive in a poor region in a new car and wearing fancy, new clothes and thieves or [[TheCon con artists]] mark them as easy targets for exploitation and want to steal their stif, kidnap them, or sell them into slavery.
* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] (hey, but on the a plus side, [[ImAHumanitarian homemade meat pies are really inexpensive in this town!]]...).
* Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly [[CannibalClan cannibal family in the foothills]] waiting to eat them.

* Maybe they arrive in a poor region in a new car and wearing fancy, new clothes and thieves or [[TheCon con artists]] mark them as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, kidnapping, or selling them into slavery.
* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] (hey, but on the a plus side, [[ImAHumanitarian meat pies are really inexpensive in this town]]...).

* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] (hey, but as a plus, [[ImAHumanitarian meat pies are really inexpensive here]]...

* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]] (hey, but as a plus, [[Humanitarian meat pies are really inexpensive here]]...

* Maybe that nice stranger is actually part of a terrorist group and [[MistakenForTerrorist implicates the tourists]]. *Or they're marked as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, get kidnapped, or sold into slavery.
* Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]].

Cue the ClosedCircle trapping them in danger and keeping help away, once the trap is sprung any of a hundred {{Drama}}tic and {{Horr|or}}ific developments can pounce on these unwary tourists. Maybe that nice stranger is actually part of a terrorist group and [[MistakenForTerrorist implicates the tourists]]. Or they're marked as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, get kidnapped, or sold into slavery. Maybe the small town they're stranded in has a [[TownWithADarkSecret dark secret]].

Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly [[CannibalClan cannibal family in the foothills]] waiting to eat them. Point is, they're a long way from home, and because they don't know the area or aren't as cautious as they should be, it leads to horrible things happening.

Start with a RoadTripPlot; it could be for work, play, study or research. Add a traveler, maybe a couple or a group of friends, or for extra trope points [[CastCalculus a group of friends who are couples.]] They're driving far from home to someplace remote and rural, a foreign country, or ''both'' for quadruple trope points. So now they're someplace new and exciting and different... where they will be off guard; where they don't know the roads and can easily get lost; no one knows them or will notice if they disappear; they have [[LanguageBarrier trouble communicating with the locals]] or it's in the WildWilderness, so there ''are'' no locals with whom to invoke SafetyInMuggles; and no cellular coverage, so and there will be no help from home if they get stranded, have a car breakdown, get robbed, kidnapped or killed. [[GoneHorriblyWrong And so they are.]]

Start with a RoadTripPlot; it could be for work, play, study or research. Add a traveler, maybe a couple or a group of friends, or for extra trope points [[CastCalculus a group of friends who are couples.]] They're driving far from home to someplace remote and rural, a foreign country, or ''both'' for quadruple trope points. So now they're someplace new and exciting and different... where they will be off guard; where they don't know the roads and can easily get lost; no one knows them or will notice if they disappear; they have trouble communicating with the locals or there ''are'' no locals with whom to invoke SafetyInMuggles; and there will be no help from home if they get stranded, have a car breakdown, get robbed, kidnapped or killed. [[GoneHorriblyWrong And so they are.]]

Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly cannibals in the foothills waiting to eat them. Point is, they're a long way from home, and because they don't know the area or aren't as cautious as they should be, it leads to horrible things happening.

Cue the ClosedCircle trapping them in danger and keeping help away, once the trap is sprung any of a hundred {{Drama}}tic and {{Horr|or}}ific developments can pounce on these unwary tourists. Maybe that nice stranger is actually part of a terrorist group and [[MistakenForTerrorist implicates the tourists]]. Or they're marked as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, get kidnapped, or sold into slavery. Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly cannibals in the foothills waiting to eat them. Point is, they're a long way from home, and because they don't know the area or aren't as cautious as they should be, it leads to horrible things happening.

Start with a trip; it could be for work, play, study or research. Add a traveler, maybe a couple or a group of friends, or for extra trope points [[CastCalculus a group of friends who are couples.]] They're traveling far from home to someplace remote and rural, a foreign country, or ''both'' for quadruple trope points. So now they're someplace new and exciting and different... where they will be off guard; no one knows them or will notice if they disappear; they have trouble communicating with the locals or there ''are'' no locals with whom to invoke SafetyInMuggles; and there will be no help from home if they get stranded, have a car breakdown, get robbed, kidnapped or killed. [[GoneHorriblyWrong And so they are.]]

Cue the ClosedCircle trapping them and keeping help away, once the trap is sprung any of a hundred {{Drama}}tic and {{Horr|or}}ific developments can pounce on these unwary tourists. Maybe that nice stranger is actually part of a terrorist group and [[MistakenForTerrorist implicates the tourists]]. Or they're marked as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, get kidnapped, or sold into slavery. Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly cannibals in the foothills waiting to eat them. Point is, they're a long way from home, and because they don't know the area or aren't as cautious as they should be, it leads to horrible things happening.

Start with a trip; it could be for work, play, study or research. Add a traveler, maybe a couple or a group of friends, or for extra trope points [[CastCalculus a group of friends who are couples.]] They're traveling far from home to someplace remote and rural, a foreign country, or ''both'' for quadruple trope points. So now they're someplace new and exciting and different... where they will be off guard; no one knows them or will notice if they disappear; they have trouble communicating with the locals or there ''are'' no locals with whom to invoke SafetyInMuggles; and there will be no help from home if they get stranded, robbed, kidnapped or killed. [[GoneHorriblyWrong And so they are.]]

Cue the ClosedCircle trapping them and keeping help away, once the trap is sprung any of a hundred {{Drama}}tic and {{Horr|or}}ific developments can pounce on these unwary tourists. Maybe that nice stranger is actually part of a terrorist group and [[MistakenForTerrorist implicates the tourists]]. Or they're marked as easy targets for exploitation and have their stuff stolen, get kidnapped, or sold into slavery. Maybe there's a monster in the cave they're exploring that [[DwindlingParty starts to pick them off one by one]], or there's mutant zombie hillbilly cannibals in the foothills waiting to eat them. Point is, they're a long way from home, and because they don't know the area or aren't as cautious as they should be, it leads to some horrible things happening.

This sort of thing can happen on a VacationEpisode and in DontGoInTheWoods, and when a space ship answers a DistressCall or people simply take a WrongTurnAtAlbuquerque. This is one of the reasons why ShortCutsMakeLongDelays. Also comparable with HellHotel. If the danger the vacationers get into is similar to their "day job", this scenario can be a form of BusmansHoliday.

* ''Film/{{Unknown 2011}}'': Another Liam Nelson, this time pretty much losing everything in his life on a trip to Berlin.

* In ''Literature/TheRiseAndFallOfTheSkyValleyCult'' the protagonists take one, and wind up in the mist-enshrouded town of child cultists. Which leads to them trying to escape, and having to take ''another'' deadly road trip out of the eponymous valley.