History Main / ExistentialHorror

*** In the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E11ShipInABottle Ship in a Bottle]]", this trope becomes a very uncomfortable reality for [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Professor James Moriarty]], as the crew locked him away in the ship's memory after he first become self-aware in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E3ElementaryDearData Elementary, Dear Data]]".

* A recurring theme in ''Series/BlackMirror'', as some episodes explore the idea of artificial intelligences that are capable of ([[UncannyValley more or less perfectly]]) simulating human minds. The idea is taken further at times with a more sinister variation upon the theme; namely artificial intelligences that are capable of simulating human minds but are also [[TomatoInTheMirror unaware of their true nature as simulations]]. These episodes also tend to ask an even more disturbing question: For what kind of purpose would someone go actually through all the trouble of creating a realistic simulation of a human mind? The answer, of course, is rarely ever something pleasant.

Compare with {{Angst}}, which while originally referring to "existential angst", has broadened its meaning to refer to a more general form of anguish or unease with oneself. Compare also with ContemplateOurNavels, which is simply in-universe philosophical contemplation, and doesn't necessarily involve horror or existential questions. See also {{Absurdism}}, which plays woes over the meaningless of one's existence for comedy, rather than horror (though there can be overlap). See CloneAngst for when clones go through this crisis and IdentityBreakdown, which is frequently included in such stories. The StrawNihilist and TheAntiNihilist are related opposite character types.

May overlap with CosmicHorrorStory; the horror on those relies more on the perceived vulnerability of reality as a whole, rather than the pointlessness of life on an individual scale. A ShaggyDogStory might induce this kind of feeling. Compare with {{Angst}}, which while originally referring to "existential angst", has broadened its meaning to refer to a more general form of anguish or unease with oneself. Compare also with ContemplateOurNavels, which is simply in-universe philosophical contemplation, and doesn't necessarily involve horror or existential questions. Compare with {{Absurdism}} which plays woes over the meaningless of one's existence for comedy, rather than horror (though there can be overlap). See CloneAngst for when clones go through this crisis. The StrawNihilist and TheAntiNihilist are related opposite character types.

May overlap with CosmicHorrorStory; the horror on those relies more on the perceived vulnerability of reality as a whole, rather than the pointlessness of life on an individual scale. A ShaggyDogStory might induce this kind of feeling. Compare with {{Angst}}, which while originally referring to "existential angst", has broadened its meaning to refer to a more general form of anguish or unease with oneself. Compare also with ContemplateOurNavels, which is simply in-universe philosophical contemplation, and doesn't necessarily involve horror or existential questions. Compare with {{Absurdism}} which plays woes over the meaningless of one's existence for comedy, rather than horror (though there can be overlap). See CloningBlues for when clones go through this crisis. The StrawNihilist and TheAntiNihilist are related opposite character types.

** "Rick Potion #9" has Morty ask Rick to concoct a love potion to administer to Jessica before the school prom, which in fact is more a hyper-aphrodisiac that causes Jessica to go crazy for him, ''really crazy'' for him. Unfortunately Jessica has a cold and the effect spreads virulently. As a solution Rick creates an antidote from praying mantis [=DNA=]... [[EpicFail which only causes]] the entire human race to transform into hideous {{Half Human Hybrid}}s that still want to get into Morty's pants. Then Rick engineers another antidote that results in everyone turning back... for a few moments before they all turn into horrifying [[Creator/DavidCronenberg "Cronenburged"]] mutants. [[spoiler:At this point Rick gives up trying to fix the world and takes Morty to an alternate dimension where the two managed to fix their version of the crisis but shortly died afterwards in a laboratory accident; Rick and Morty have to bury the dead bodies of their alternate selves and assume their place. Morty is left mortified that he has to live every day with the knowledge he doomed the entire human race for asking for a glorified roofie cocktail, that his own rotting corpse is buried a few metres away from his house, and that he'll spend the rest of his existence living a life that was never really his.]]
** There are a few skits in "Rixty Minutes" and "Interdimensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate" dedicated to the characters watching cable television from other dimensions, and several featured are so surreal that it's terrifying to think what kind of universes these tidbits could be considered entertaining. Highlights include a hit TV show where a man wrestles with a sentient car [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath with predictable results]], a show where a man is so obsessed with his personal space that he tears his own skin off without indication of pain or discomfort (even more unnerving is the ident after the show suggests this is from Creator/TheBBC), and an advert for a Lucky Charms-style cereal where a cheerful leprechaun is pinned down and disemboweled by [[EnfantTerrible evil, emotionless children]] who eat the cereal out of his intestines like Mentos [[EveryoneHasStandards (and even Morty is visibly disturbed by this one)]].
** "Total Rickall" has mental parasites that [[MindRape create false memories in your mind to justify their existence around you as people you have known your whole life]], and the more you try to figure out what the true memories are, the more the parasites can enter your memories and gain your trust. And the only way to identify the parasites from real people is [[spoiler:they cannot create unpleasant memories, so you have to murder people you only have happy memories of.]]
** "Mortyplicity" has Rick reveal that he created completely life-like [[InsistentTerminology "decoys"]] of his family to stave off his enemies, before he and the rest of his family get killed, revealing ''them'' to have unknowingly been another set of decoys, too. The episode thus revolves around a vicious cycle of any presumably "real" Smith-Sanchez family soon [[CloningBlues being revealed to be decoys]] and getting into lethal conflict with other decoys out of [[PrisonersDilemma mutual paranoia]] and [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne hatred]], along with the decoys themselves trying to stave off each other by making even ''more'' sentient decoys (with [[CloneDegeneration expected results]] in time), propagating the cascade even further.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Centaurworld}}'' centaurs have the ability to shoot tiny versions of themselves out of their hooves. WordOfGod indicates these tiny copies have all the memories of the original, which may explain why their normal reaction to being created is to shriek in terror and flee, never to be seen again.

[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[ArmorPiercingQuestion "...Who am I?"]]-]]]

* ''Film/{{Inception}}'' has some parallels to the Matrix, where one of the characters in-universe (and perhaps some of the audience) question which stage of "reality" they are in, and whether death or suicide will propel them upward toward a more real existence.

'''Touko:''' Really now... what's the point of a question like that when [[HiveMind I'm the one you're asking]]!

* [[invoked]] A recurring theme in ''Series/BlackMirror'', where some episodes explore the idea of artificial intelligences that are capable of ([[UncannyValley more or less perfectly]]) simulating human minds. The idea is taken further at times with a more sinister variation upon the theme; namely artificial intelligences that are capable of simulating human minds but are also [[TomatoInTheMirror unaware of their true nature as simulations]]. These episodes also tend to ask an even more disturbing question: For what kind of purpose would someone go actually through all the trouble of creating a realistic simulation of a human mind? The answer, of course, is rarely ever something pleasant.

* ''Series/{{Loki|2021}}'':
** The titular character manages to escape imprisonment at the end of ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', only to be apprehended by the [[TimePolice Time Variance Authority]] and subjected to a barrage of {{Awful Truth}}s. For all Loki's talk of "glorious purpose," he's shown that his fate in the Sacred Timeline is to cause pain and death so that "others can achieve their best versions of themselves," and that he loses repeatedly before ultimately being strangled to death. Furthermore, Loki isn't even unique, there's a veritable ''[[TheMultiverse multiverse]]'' of Lokis who are similarly fated to lose, over and over, and any who break out of this pattern are "pruned" by the TVA. When Loki learns this, and especially after witnessing his own fated death, he has a [[CryLaughing Cry Laugh]][[LaughingMad ing Mad]] breakdown.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' touched on this with the Holodeck's occasional tendency to create self-aware holographic characters. Reality-warping aliens, parallel universe, and time travel shenanigans did nothing to help prevent this sort of thing.
*** In the episode "Ship in a Bottle", [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes Professor James Moriarty]], this trope became a very uncomfortable reality for him after the crew locked him away in the ship's memory after he first become self-aware.

'''Moriarty:''' But I was. Brief, terrifying periods of consciousness. [[AndIMustScream Disembodied. Without substance.]]
*** Played another way in the episode "Yesterday's Enterprise". In a bad alternate timeline, the crew decides to send the badly damaged USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-C (the current ship's predecessor) back in time to a space battle they are doomed to lose, in hopes it will erase their timeline and avert a destructive war with the Klingons. The characters note that the ''best'' case scenario is that they'll never know if it worked, and they might not even be alive in that timeline (indeed, as Lieutenant Tasha Yar soon learns, she's very much not, and what's worse, her death in the original timeline was utterly meaningless, [[ShaggyDogStory accomplishing nothing]].)
** ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' makes this a central part of Dahj Asha's character arc when she realizes she has superhuman strength and reflexes, that secret Romulan agents are coming after her, and an old man named Jean Luc Picard thinks she might be the daughter of Commander Data. [[spoiler:And after she dies, her twin Soji gets plunged into the same existential crisis, with the added kink that a Romulan agent had been toying with her mind trying to learn her secrets, giving her profound trust issues.]]

* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' plays this for laughs during a commentary for Inkblot Art Academy.

* ''VideoGame/{{Returnal}}'': As the player pieces together the game's story, it becomes clear that Selene is essentially being forced to relive her worst nightmare over and over again. [[ResurrectionDeathLoop And dying, however it happens, will never save her]]. Even when it seems she's finally escaped Atropos, she ''still'' isn't safe; the game's second act has Selene managing to call a rescue team, allowing her to get off the planet, living out her natural lifespan in peaceful retirement on Earth, and eventually dying from old age. But this doesn't stop the cycle-- after her funeral, Selene once again wakes up on Atropos at her ship's crash site and is forced to go through everything again. And there is no apparent reason why this is happening to her, other that the vague implication that it might be her own guilt keeping her trapped in a DyingDream.

* ''VideoGame/{{Returnal}}'': As the player pieces together the game's story, it becomes clear that Selene is essentially being forced to relive her worst nightmare over and over again. [[DeathResurrectionLoop And dying, however it happens, will never save her]]. Even when it seems she's finally escaped Atropos, she ''still'' isn't safe; the game's second act has Selene managing to call a rescue team, allowing her to get off the planet, living out her natural lifespan in peaceful retirement on Earth, and eventually dying from old age. But this doesn't stop the cycle-- after her funeral, Selene once again wakes up on Atropos at her ship's crash site and is forced to go through everything again. And there is no apparent reason why this is happening to her, other that the vague implication that it might be her own guilt keeping her trapped in a DyingDream.

* ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'':

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' asks the question; "[[spoiler:would happen if a side character in a typical Romance Visual Novel was self-aware, but was also still unable to go against the fundamental constraints of the kind story/game of they existed in]]?" which of course leads into the question; "[[spoiler:do we ourselves truly have free will, or are we just as fundamentally constrained in our worldview by the society we grew up and live in]]"?

[[caption-width-right:350:[-[[IdentityBreakdown "...Who am I?"]]-]]]

* ''Webcomic/DokiDokiLiteratureGirls'' explores this topic, though, given its [[VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub source material]], this is to be expected. Natsuki realizes that she lived in a visual novel making her concerned that she didn't have free will, but she eventually sheds that belief due to Monika's reassurance that the love she felt for Yuri was of her own volition.

* ''Film/TotalRecall1990'': The main character may or may not be nothing more than a sentient fake identity of a secret agent. His friends, his past, his marriage with Lori, they're nothing but fake memory implants. Being in Quaid's shoes would mean having everything that surrounds you being revealed to be an unfriendly environment of people that are coming after you, even your friends and family members are on it because they're merely part of the whole set up and any happy memories with them are just lies to give you the illusion of a normal life.

* Both Marvel and DC comics have had crisis crossover events where the multiverse was broken down and recreated. Past the latter half of the New Tens, this has been deconstructed in their respective relaunch events. Once either something unknown to everyone or to a select few heroes directly involved, it's gradually becoming openly discussed that everything everyone has ever known can suddenly be erased and hastily recreated, with some individuals accidentally shuffled around between universes. In Marvel, this is only being theorized by some civilians, while DC's [[ComicBook/DCFutureState Future State]] is building a story arc around ''everyone'' in the multiverse being made aware of crisis events and taking drastic action to protect themselves from any future occurrences. Particularly there are survivors of past crises that are furious at falling through the literal cracks of reality breaking down.

* ''Film/JohnnyGotHisGun'' focuses on Joe Bonham, a young American soldier who gets hit by an artillery shell in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarOne WW1]] becoming a severe amputee who has lost his limbs and senses, but is still fully conscious. Thus the movie is a hopelessly bleak depiction of Johnny being stuck in a AndIMustScream scenario.

* ''Film/SynecdocheNewYork'': Instead of aiming to be a 'classic' existential horror story where the protagonist discovers some shocking truth about themselves or the world they inhabit, the film is oppressively focused on the uglier aspects of life and various fears and anxieties such as paranoia, being obsessed with terminal illnesses and mortality, having a failed marriage, failing to be a good parent, feeling unwanted and unable to form a meaningful relationship that can grant you some happiness and the paradox that this pursue can further alienate you from others. The main character Caden Cotard aims to build an increasingly elaborate stage production that replicates RealLife in brutal realism and honesty, into which he can pour his whole self. Many scenes feature cynical, unsettling interactions between broken people with few moments of BlackComedy that only momentarily distract from a surreal setting overflowing with decay and isolation.

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'':

** "Rick Potion #9" has Morty ask Rick to concoct a love potion to administer to Jessica before the school prom, which in fact is more a hyper-aphrodisiac that causes Jessica to go crazy for him, ''really crazy'' for him. Unfortunately Jessica has a cold and the effect spreads virulently. As a solution Rick creates an antidote from praying mantis [=DNA=]... [[EpicFail which only causes]] the entire human race to transform into hideous {{Half Human Hybrid}}s that still want to get into Morty's pants. Then Rick engineers another antidote that results in everyone turning back... for a few moments before they all turn into horrifying [[Creator/DavidCronenberg "Cronenburged"]] mutants. [[spoiler:At this point Rick gives up trying to fix the world and takes Morty to an alternate dimension where he never asked for the love potion but both of them died in a laboratory accident; Rick and Morty have to bury the dead bodies of their alternate selves and assume their place. Morty is left mortified that he has to live every day with the knowledge he doomed the entire human race for asking for a glorified roofie cocktail and that his own dead self is buried a few metres away from his house.]]
** There are a few skits dedicated to the characters watching cable television from other dimensions, and several featured are so surreal that it's terrifying to think what kind of universes these tidbits could be considered entertaining. Highlights include a hit TV show where a man wrestles with a sentient car [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath with predictable results]], a show where a man is so obsessed with his personal space that he tears his own skin off without indication of pain or discomfort (even more unnerving is the ident after the show suggests this is from Creator/TheBBC), and an advert for a Lucky Charms-style cereal where a cheerful leprechaun is pinned down and disemboweled by [[EnfantTerrible evil, emotionless children]] who eat the cereal out of his intestines like Mentos [[EveryoneHasStandards (and even Morty is visibly disturbed by this one)]].

May overlap with CosmicHorrorStory; the horror on those relies more on the perceived vulnerability of reality as a whole, rather than the pointlessness of life on an individual scale. A ShaggyDogStory might induce this kind of feeling. Compare with {{Angst}}, which while originally referring to "existential angst", has broadened its meaning to refer to a more general form of anguish or unease with oneself. Compare also with ContemplateOurNavels, which is simply in-universe philosophical contemplation, and doesn't necessarily involve horror or existential questions. Compare with {{Absurdism}} which plays woes over the meaningless of one's existence for comedy, rather than horror (though there can be overlap). See CloningBlues for when clones go through this crisis.