History Main / SeeNoEvilHearNoEvil

* ''Film/TheGeneral'': This happens a lot in silent movies, where the lack of synchronized sound makes the illusion easier to get over. Here, Johnnie does not hear an entire Union Army regiment passing right behind his back.

SubTrope of the RuleOfPerception. Compare and contrast ItsQuietTooQuiet, NothingIsScarier, and ParanoiaFuel. The total inverse is HellIsThatNoise, when you hear something bad but ''can't'' see it. See also SurpriseVehicle, StealthHiBye, and BehindTheBlack. Often overlaps with EnemyRisingBehind, RightBehindMe, and TheEndOrIsIt. Not to be confused with the MonkeyMoralityPose, which is a trio of characters each covering their ears, eyes, or mouth.

* UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem: Occurs in NES video games, usually due to technical limitations. Especially egregious with scrolling games on 8-bit consoles. This is because the system simply didn't handle offscreen objects; if an object left the screen, it just disappeared. (It caused notorious respawning issues and is widely seen as [[FakeDifficulty one of the most artificial ways possible]] to increase the difficulty of a game.)

** The Devilsaur is a gargantuan Bigger Than T-Rex T-Rex in Un'Goro Crater, who is still able to sneak up on most players.

In TV and movies, when we're not supposed to see something yet, we can't hear it either, regardless of how little sense that makes. Cars will not be audible [[SurpriseVehicle until they come unexpectedly screeching around the corner]] or over the hill or out of the alley, people will turn up without having made any footsteps, an animal will not start its low growling until it's in shot. Sometimes when the reveal is being made by a camera pan, the sound will FadeIn as the subject becomes visible, as though the sound was being made the whole time, it's just we weren't at the right ''angle'' to hear it before.

* ''Film/FinalDestination'': A bus that smashes into a lead character with a spectacular roar the instant they step off the curb but approached in utter silence before then.

* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'': A military helicopter comes out of nowhere in an early scene and lands in the middle of the road, taking up most of the scene. The helicopter sound effect doesn't start playing until ''after'' it has been onscreen for a second or two.

* ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': Padmè and the Jedi rescue squad are backed into a ring in the centre of an arena. Though surrounded only by the relative quiet of droids making clicking noises, it still takes Padmè to shout "Look!" and a shot of the sky to trigger the BRRRRRRZZZZZ of the descending clone gunships. This is doubly surprising when one considers the arena is the shape of a giant ear.
* ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'': Lex is climbing up a sheer ice cliff when she receives a call on her cell phone and answers it. If that wasn't illogical enough, she continues climbing during the conversation, and when she arrives at the top, she discovers that the person she's talking with was standing in front of a helicopter (!) at the top of that very ice cliff.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Timmy goes back in time to see his parents when they were his age. The two of them introduce themselves to him (unaware that he's their son), and when they say their names, a conspicuously out-of-place truck blares by, totally obscuring their identities to the audience.

This is often justified by the protagonists' attention being somewhere else, so that they (and by extension, the audience) don't hear what otherwise would be perfectly obvious, until it's right on top of them. It's only justifiable up to a point, though.

See also SurpriseVehicle, StealthHiBye, BehindTheBlack. Related to the RuleOfPerception. Often overlaps with EnemyRisingBehind, RightBehindMe, and TheEndOrIsIt. Compare and contrast ItsQuietTooQuiet, NothingIsScarier, and ParanoiaFuel. The total inverse is HellIsThatNoise, when you hear something bad but ''can't'' see it.

SubTrope of the RuleOfPerception. Not to be confused with the MonkeyMoralityPose.

Not to be confused with the MonkeyMoralityPose.

* ''Film/TheGeneral'': This happens a lot in silent movies, where the lack of synchronized sound makes the illusion easier to get over. Here, Buster Keaton does not hear an entire Union Army regiment passing right behind his back.

* ''Film/JurassicPark'': The Tyrannosaurus rex --whose footsteps make the earth tremble-- appears out of nowhere during the climax, apparently having snuck in. The scene was added late in the production (the book doesn't feature the dinosaur) because the producers were so impressed by the T-Rex model that they wanted to show it off more.
* ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'': A helicopter shows up from behind a house without having made a sound until the heroes saw it.

* In ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', a military helicopter comes out of nowhere in an early scene and lands in the middle of the road, taking up most of the scene. The helicopter sound effect doesn't start playing until ''after'' it has been onscreen for a second or two.
* Berserker and Ilya's sudden appearance in the middle of an empty street early on in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', Justified in that Berserker (like most Servants) has the ability to recede into spirit form. (This occurs in both the anime and the game, but is definitely more apparent in the anime)
* Reversed for a fantastically horrifying scene from ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. Those who've seen episode 21 will remember Mion's desperate "gomen nasai" ''fading out'' as the camera view switches to Shion and Shion isn't even paying attention anymore.

* One of the more entertaining examples comes from the climax of ''Film/JurassicPark'', in which the Tyrannosaurus rex - whose footsteps have been seen to make the earth tremble - appears out of nowhere, apparently having snuck in. The scene was added late in the production (the corresponding scene in the book does not feature the T-Rex) because the producers were so impressed by the T-Rex model that they wanted to show it off more.
* In ''Film/AVPAlienVsPredator'', Lex is climbing up a sheer ice cliff, when she receives a call on her cell phone and answers it. If that wasn't illogical enough, she continues climbing during the conversation, and when she arrives at the top, she discovers that the person she's talking with was standing in front of a helicopter (!) at the top of that very ice cliff.
* In ''[[Film/AttackOfTheClones Star Wars: Attack of the Clones]]'', Padmè and the Jedi rescue squad are backed into a ring in the centre of an arena. Though surrounded only by the relative quiet of droids making clicking noises, it still takes Padmè to shout "Look!" and a shot of the sky to trigger the BRRRRRRZZZZZ of the descending clone gunships. Which is doubly surprising when one considers an arena is the shape of a giant ear.
* In ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'', the titular monster is somehow able to sneak up on the protagonists after the helicopter crash in the middle of a park with considerably less noise and movement than one would expect, despite the fact that he was in the middle of several buildings a few blocks away perhaps a minute before. In strict fairness, rewatching of the key scene ''does'' reveal warning footsteps and camera-jounce vibrations, but it's still somewhat credibility-stretching how quietly the monster manages to move for this key moment.
* One of the most frustratingly stupid examples out there is probably in ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', where a street full of people is unable to hear or feel ''a 300-foot tidal wave'' until it's within a hundred feet of them.

** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'', Aragorn hears the Riders of Rohan and pushes Legolas and Gimli to hide behind a rock. None of the Horsemen, however, notice the three heroes despite the fact that before hiding, they were standing 20 feet ahead of them, right in front of them, on top of a hill, in broad daylight. However, once they've passed and Aragorn yells at them, then they notice.
** When the band of Rohirrim rides right by, the three give each other quizzical looks as if to say "huh ... they didn't notice." This was on account of the cloaks from Lothlórien, which make you difficult to see against any background - green, grey, brown.
** In the original book, they spot the Riders from ''very'' far off already (five leagues by Legolas' estimation), consciously move down to the foot of the hill so as to not present an easily visible silhouette, sit huddled in their Elven cloaks, and have to ''wait'' for some time .
* The first ''Film/FinalDestination'' is among others to use the simplest version of this trope: a bus that smashes into a lead character with a spectacular roar the instant they step off the curb, but approached in utter silence before then.
* The film version of ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'' demonstrates that this trope is senseless in any sense, as Abe Sapien's introductory scene features rotten eggs which can only be smelled while in-frame, despite having been present in the scene for several minutes. Joked about on the commentary: "Is it too late to send this back to editing?"
* In ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'', a helicopter shows up from behind a house without having made a sound until the heroes saw it.
* In ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'', there is a scene where Marcus, Kyle Reese and Star are in the base of some non-Resistance humans which is being approached by a completely silent machine hunting squad consisting of a prisoner carrier, a Hunter-Killer and a HUGE Terminator. Only seconds before they attack does Star sense their presence; the sound the Terminator makes can be heard milliseconds before he strikes.
* In ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}'', James and Natalya are under the impression that they are alone in a field. When Jack Wade approaches and gives the reinforcements the command to come out of hiding, several men pop up out of the grass. While it may be plausible to never notice the soldiers, it's quite a stretch to not notice the multiple helicopters directly overhead, which can suddenly be heard the second they drop into view.
* In ''Film/TheLongestDay'' a squad of American paratroopers are holed up in a house. Despite having somebody on watch a Tiger tank sneaks up on them. It's quite funny - every time the lookout turns around for a cigarette or quip with his mates the tank silently glides out of an alley and across the street into one on the opposite side.
* This happened a lot in silent movies, where the lack of synchronized sound made the illusion easier to get over. In ''Film/TheGeneral'', Buster Keaton does not hear an entire Union Army regiment passing right behind his back.

* Occurs in video games as well, usually due to technical limitations. Especially egregious with scrolling games on 8-bit consoles, such as the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]. This is due to the fact that the system simply didn't handle offscreen objects; if an object left the screen, it just disappeared. (It caused notorious respawning issues and is widely seen as [[FakeDifficulty one of the most artifical ways possible]] to increase the difficulty of a game.)
* The Devilsaur in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' is a gargantuan Bigger Than T-Rex T-Rex in Un'Goro Crater, who is still able to sneak up on most players.
** Developers took attempt to avert this with the [[ExpansionPack Burning Crusade]] starting zone Fel Reaver: it ignores normal visibility range so it can be seen miles across, its steps have audible stomps and ''quake the earth'', it frequently gives off a foghorn... [[FailedASpotCheck And still manages to sneak up on players.]]
* An actual gameplay element in the ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series: while you can hear necromorphs in most situations, if they're sneaking up on you (especially in a vacuum), you won't be able to hear them, ''and'' there won't be [[MusicalSpoiler a scare chord]] until you actually look at them. Paranoia-inducing the first time you discover this.

* In ''[[{{VideoGame/TriOfFriendshipAndMadness}} TRI: Of Friendship and Madness]]'', the fox can be seen throughout several of the chapters sitting in an out-of-reach location or trotting along the walls. He'll make a jingling bell sound, but only if you're looking straight at him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', Timmy goes back in time to see his parents when they were his age. The two of them introduce themselves to him (unaware that he's their son), and when they say their names, a conspicuously out-of-place truck blares by, totally obscuring their identities to the audience.

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In TV and movies, when we're not supposed to see something yet, we can't hear it either, regardless of how little sense that makes. Cars will not be audible [[SurpriseVehicle until they come unexpectedly screeching around the corner]] or over the hill or out of the alley, people will turn up without having made any footsteps, an animal will not start its low growling until it's in shot. Sometimes when the reveal is being made by a camera pan, the sound will fade in as the subject becomes visible, as though the sound was being made the whole time, it's just we weren't at the right ''angle'' to hear it before.