History Main / LifeOrDeathQuestion

* ''Literature/You2015'':

** ''Film/Scream1996'' is the TropeCodifier. In the taunting phone call between Casey and Ghostface, Ghostface threatens to kill Casey and her boyfriend Steve unless Casey can name the killer in ''Film/FridayThe13th''. She cuts him off to reply "Jason". Ghostface replies that Jason isn't the killer until ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'' and subsequently disembowels Steve in front of her. He then follows it up by asking Casey if he is at the front door or the patio door. She responds by [[TakeAThirdOption escaping through another set of doors instead]], [[spoiler:which turns out to be the correct decision since there are actually two Ghostfaces at Casey's house, one guarding the front door and the other guarding the patio door.]] When out of costume, [[spoiler:Billy and Stu tell Sidney that they're going to ask her a life-or-death question, but they don't get around to it since she fights back.]]

* ''Literature/DanielHawthorneNovels'': In ''A Line To Kill'', Le Mesurier is given the choice of calling a coin toss to save his life. [[spoiler:But because the killers were seeking revenge for a death due to gambling debts, they used a trick coin.]]

** ''Film/Scream1996'' is the TropeCodifier. In the taunting phone call between Casey and Ghostface, Ghostface threatens to kill Casey and her boyfriend Steve unless Casey can name the killer in ''Film/FridayThe13th''. She cuts him off to reply "Jason". Ghostface replies that Jason isn't the killer until ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'' and subsequently disembowels Steve in front of her. He then follows it up by asking Casey if he is at the front door or the patio door. She responds by [[TakeAThirdOption escaping through another set of doors instead]], [[spoiler:which turns out to be the correct decision since there are actually two Ghostfaces at Casey's house, one at each door.]] When out of costume, [[spoiler:Billy and Stu tell Sidney that they're going to ask her a life-or-death question, but they don't get around to it since she fights back.]]

[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

** ''Film/Scream1996'' is the TropeCodifier. In the taunting phone call between Casey and the killer, the killer asks Casey who the killer in ''Film/FridayThe13th'' is for her and her boyfriend, Steve's, lives. She cuts him off to reply "Jason". He tells her that Jason isn't the killer until ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'' and he disembowels Steve in front of her, cutting off the porch lights. He then follows it up by asking her which door is he at. She gets it wrong, but [[spoiler:this was a trick question, too, since there are two doors to Casey's house and two killers.]] When out of costume, [[spoiler:Billy and Stu tell Sidney that they're going to ask her a life-or-death question, but they don't get around to it since she fights back.]]

** ''Film/Scream2022'': In the opening scene, Tara gets asked to answer questions for her and her best friend Amber's life - this time, about the FilmWithinAFilm, the ''Stab'' movies. She cheats by looking up the answer online, but still can't answer all of them and gets stabbed. [[spoiler:She manages to survive, although badly injured, and Amber was the killer, so she was never in any danger.]]

%%Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:350:[[WebComic/{{Goblins}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2022_03_19_at_124515.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The highest-stakes quiz ever.]]

* In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo and Gollum play a game of riddles against one another when they meet deep down the Misty Mountains. The stakes for Bilbo for each of Gollum's questions (at least from Gollum's proposal, which Bilbo did not quite agree upon): Either he wins and is shown the way out, or he loses and Gollum kills and eats him.

->'''Ghostface''': I want to play a game. ''Stab'' movie trivia. Three rounds. You call the cops, she dies. You get a question wrong, she dies.
-->''Film/Scream2022''

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

[[folder: Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder: Literature]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

[[folder: Web Animation]]

RiddleMeThis is the trope for when the question is explicitly a riddle. This is just a question, or multiple questions. It ''may'' have a trick answer - or, indeed, be unanswerable - but it's not a riddle.

** Joe gives Benji a test about his favorite books (which he failed, because he still lied about them). He then gives him a taste test with his soda water brand, to see if he can tell the difference. Joe claims that he's willing to let Benji go, but he's fooling himself, and he kills Benji anyway (although he does fail the quizzes).

[[folder: Music]]
* The band Music/{{Flyleaf}} references such a question in their song, "Cassie". The song is named for, and references the death of Cassie Bernall, a victim of the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} Massacre. It was reported that one of the killers asked if she believed in God, and shot her upon her saying "Yes". (This was ultimately proven to have happened, but not to Cassie Bernall.)

[[folder: Television - Live-Action]]

* In the ''Series/MidsomerMurders'' episode "Death of the Small Coppers", the killer of the week attempts to pose one to DS Winter, by asking him the riddle of the two guards. He ends up giving the correct answer (with the assistance of several bystanders), only for the killer to not stick to his end of the bargain. DS Winter gets saved in the nick of time by one of the bystanders, nevertheless.
* In ''Series/ScratchNSniffsDenOfDoom'' , this element is played during the first 2 rounds and the final round. When a contestant is on the Drop Zone, they have to answer a "Question Impossible" to avoid falling into the [[CoveredInGunge Cooking Pot of Peril]]. However, [[ForegoneConclusion most of them get it wrong resulting in them getting dropped.]] In the final round, the Killer Question, the contestant has to stand on a chosen drop zone to answer a question. After a process of elimination, if the drop zone the contestant on is right, they win, if wrong, then they are dropped into the Cooking Pot of Peril.

[[folder: Webcomics]]

[[/folder]]

* ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'': A variation occurs. The Bridge Keeper has been asking the Knights TheseQuestionsThree, to varying results. He then asks King Arthur "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" Arthur responds [[BrickJoke "What do you mean? An African or a European Swallow?"]]. This single question proves the Bridge Keeper's undoing, as he doesn't know.

** ''Film/Scream1996'' is the prototype. In the taunting phone call between Casey and the killer. The killer asks Casey who the killer in ''Film/FridayThe13th'' is for her and her boyfriend, Steve's, lives. She cuts him off to reply "Jason". He tells her that Jason isn't the killer until ''Film/FridayThe13thPart2'' and he disembowels Steve in front of her, cutting off the porch lights. He then follows it up by asking her which door is he at. She gets it wrong, but [[spoiler:this was a trick question, too, since there are two doors to Casey's house and two killers.]] When out of costume, [[spoiler:Billy and Stu tell Sidney that they're going to ask her a life-or-death question, but they don't get around to it since she fights back.]]

* The band Music/{{Flyleaf}} references such a question in their song, "Cassie". The song is named for, and references the death of Cassie Bernall, a victim of the UsefulNotes/{{Columbine}} Massacre. It was reported that one of the killers asked if she believed in God, and shot her upon her saying "Yes". (This was ultimately proven to have happened not to Cassie Bernall.)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2022_03_19_at_124515.png]]

** ''Film/Scream2022'': In the opening scene, Tara gets asked to answer questions - this time, about the FilmWithinAFilm, the ''Stab'' movies. She cheats by looking up the answer online, but still can't answer all of them and gets stabbed. [[spoiler:She manages to survive, however.]]