History NightmareFuel / FallingDown

** The whole sequence is pure nightmare fuel for anyone with a family, and unlike the Whammyburger scene, which has some elements of BlackComedy to it, this unintended hostage situation is played completely straight and deadly serious. Imagine having a nice backyard BBQ at your boss's house, when out of nowhere a crazed looking man in army fatigues carrying a shotgun hops the fence and starts ranting about income inequality. Then, when he hears police sirens, he ushers you and your family into a nearby shed at gunpoint, holding onto your terrified daughter with a loaded pistol in his hand right next to her. It's not until the father offers himself up as a replacement hostage that Foster even seems to realize what he's doing is wrong.

** Really just [[FromNobodyToNightmare Foster himself]]. Basically, he's a guy who had a really [[SanitySlippage bad day]]. An [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy average joe]], the white collar working man, a simple human being who feels [[CorneredRattleSnake pushed into a corner]] [[RageBreakingPoint and is]] [[DisproportionateRetribution lashing out in various]], brutal, over the top ways as possible. And, do you want to know [[FromBadToWorse the real scary part]]? ... [[TruthInTelevision There are people]] [[ParanoiaFuel just like]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald%27s_massacre him]].

* Nick, the Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of ''Zyklon-B''; the latter which was (incorrectly) thought to have been used in gas chambers during the holocaust. Even ''Foster'' is clearly [[EveryoneHasStandards disturbed]] by him, to the point of even calling him sick.

* James Newton Howard's soundtrack deserves special mention. It's a dark, menacing score that perfectly matches Foster's broken mental state and his descent into rage and violence.

* Nick, the Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of ''Zyklon-B''; the latter which was (incorrectly) thought to have been used in gas chambers during the holocaust. [[EveryoneHasStandards Even ''Foster'' is clearly disturbed by him, to the point of even calling him sick.]]

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of ''Zyklon-B''; the latter which was (incorrectly) thought to have been used in gas chambers during the holocaust.

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of ''Zyklon-B''; the latter which was used in gas chambers during the holocaust.

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of Zyklon-B.
* The Latino gangbangers try to kill Foster in a drive-by shooting. They miss Foster, but do hit several other people by accident. Imagine being one of the innocent bystanders who got shot, out of the blue, without knowing why.

** The whole sequence is pure nightmare fuel for anyone with a family, and unlike the Whammyburger scene, which has some elements of BlackComedy to it, this unintended hostage situation is played completely straight and deadly serious. Imagine having a nice backyard BBQ at your boss's house, when out of nowhere a crazed looking man in army fatigues carrying a shotgun hops the fence and starts ranting about income inequality. Then, when he hears police sirens, he ushers you and your family into a nearby shed at gunpoint, holding onto your terrified daughter with a loaded pistol in his hand right next to her. It's not until the father offers himself up as a replacement hostage that D-Fens even seems to realize what he's doing is wrong.

* The Latino gangbangers try to kill Foster in a drive-by shooting. They miss Foster, but do hit several other people by accident. Imagine being one of the innocent bystanders who got shot, out of the blue, without knowing why.

-->'''Foster:''' Beth...do you know, in some South American countries, it's still legal to kill your wife if she insults you?

** The whole scene is pure nightmare fuel for anyone with a family, and unlike the Whammyburger scene, which has some elements of BlackComedy to it, this unintended hostage situation is played completely straight and deadly serious. Imagine having a nice backyard BBQ at your boss's house, when suddenly a crazed looking man in army fatigues carrying a shotgun hops the fence and starts ranting about income inequality. Then, when he hears police sirens, he ushers you and your family into a nearby shed at gunpoint, holding onto your terrified daughter while holding a loaded pistol. It's not until the father offers himself up as a replacement hostage that D-Fens even seems to realize what he's doing.

** Really just [[FromNobodyToNightmare Foster himself]]. Basically, he's a guy who had a really [[SanitySlippage bad day]]. An [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy average joe]], the white collar working man, a simple human being who feels [[CorneredRattleSnake pushed into a corner]] [[RageBreakingPoint and is]] [[DisproportionateRetribution lashing out in various]], brutal, over the top ways as possible. And, do you want to know [[FromBadToWorse the real scary part]]? ... [[TruthInTelevision There are people]] [[ParanoiaFuel just like him]].

* The story Foster tells to the family after he crashes their barbecue, that ends with him and his family "all sleeping together in the dark", [[spoiler: which seems to imply that Foster intends to [[PaterFamilicide kill his wife, his daughter, and himself]] once he gets to them.]] The dreamy way he tells the story just makes it worse, as he genuinely seems to feel ''that is the right thing to do''.

* Foster's constant phone calls to his wife, which progressively become more chilling and threatening with each one. She calls the police over to her house twice, and both times they leave quickly, determining Foster to be a non-threat, and give her the mere advice to keep her doors locked in case. Foster's final phone call provokes Beth to pick up her daughter and leave the house from out the book when she realizes that he's calling her from ''right down the block''.

* Foster's constant phone calls to his wife, which progressively become more chilling and threatening with each one. She calls the police over to her house twice, and both times they leave quickly, determining Foster to be a non-threat, and give her the mere advice to keep her doors locked in case. Foster's final phone call provokes Beth to pick up her daughter and leave the house from out the book when she realizes that he's calling her from ''right down the block''.

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of Zyklon-B.

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of Zyklon-B.
* Really just [[FromNobodyToNightmare Foster himself]]. Basically, he's a guy who had a really [[SanitySlippage bad day]]. An [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy average joe]], the white collar working man, a simple human being who feels [[CorneredRattleSnake pushed into a corner]] [[RageBreakingPoint and is]] [[DisproportionateRetribution lashing out in various]], brutal, over the top ways as possible. And, do you want to know [[FromBadToWorse the real scary part]]? ... [[TruthInTelevision There are people]] [[ParanoiaFuel just like him]].

* The Neo-Nazi freak whose favorite possessions are an anti-tank weapon and a used can of Zyklon-B.

* The Whammy Burger scene can be this for some, considering that this could happen to ''[[ParanoiaFuel anyone]]''.

* The whole movie becomes this once you get to the end, in part due to ParanoiaFuel. Given that many people find Foster [[JerkassWoobie sympathetic]], it makes one wonder just how easily this could actually happen to them or someone they know.

* The story Foster tells to the family after he crashes their barbecue, that ends with him and his family "all sleeping together in the dark", [[spoiler: which seems to imply that Foster intends to [[PaterFamilicide kill his wife, his daughter, and himself]] once he gets to them.]] The dreamy way he tells the story just makes it worse, as he genuinely seems to feel ''that is the right thing to do''.