History WebVideo / TheKillCount

** Everything that James discovers in the "The Kill Count Gets Weird." video is this towards the upcoming [[FormulaBreakingEpisode formula-breaking episodes]]. He ends up finding [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat figurines]] outside the set, a [=PS1=] with a disk of VideoGame/SilentHill next to it, Zoran holding what looks like ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh with distorted Music/IceNineKills playing, Chelsea wandering around [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc murmuring "it's punishment time" with a Monokuma plushie]] in hand, a playbill for ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', a computer showing [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject the missing posters of Heather, Josh and Mike]], a DVD of ''Film/{{Cronos}}'', and finally, he ends up [[WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared turning into a puppet]] at the end.
* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Thanks to the 2023 [=WGA/SAG-AFTRA=] strike, the kill count crew had to experiment with the formula to avoid going on hiatus. In addition to focusing only on indie flicks until the strike ends (avoiding movies from any big-name studios) they've decided to make video games, musicals, comic books, and even ''songs'' applicable for kill counts, with the list starting off with WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared, a web series where nearly ALL the kills break the usual rules for the Kill Count. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that WebAnimation/EmesisBlue is along the line thanks to it too, an ''animated VideoGame/TeamFortress2 fan film''.

** Everything that James discovers in the "The Kill Count Gets Weird." video is this towards the upcoming [[FormulaBreakingEpisode formula-breaking episodes]]. He ends up finding [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat figurines]] outside the set, a [=PS1=] with a disk of VideoGame/SilentHill next to it, Zoran holding what looks like ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh with distorted Music/IceNineKills playing, Chelsea wandering around [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc murmuring "it's punishment time" with a Monokuma plushie]] in hand, a playbill for ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', a computer showing [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject the missing posters of Heather, Josh and Mike]], a DVD of ''Film/Cronos'', and finally, he ends up [[WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared turning into a puppet]] at the end.
* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Thanks to the 2023 [=WGA/SAG-AFTRA=] strike, the kill count crew had to experiment with the formula to avoid going on hiatus. In addition to focusing only on indie flicks until the strike ends (avoiding movies from any big-name studios) they've decided to make video games, musicals, comic books, and even ''songs'' applicable for kill counts, with the list starting off with Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, a web series where nearly ALL the kills break the usual rules for the Kill Count. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that WebAnimation/EmesisBlue is along the line thanks to it too, an ''animated VideoGame/TeamFortress2 fan film''.

** Everything that James discovers in the "The Kill Count Gets Weird." video is this towards the upcoming [[FormulaBreakingEpisode formula-breaking episodes]]. He ends up finding [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat figurines]] outside the set, a [=PS1=] with a disk of VideoGame/SilentHill next to it, Zoran holding what looks like ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh with distorted Music/IceNineKills playing, Chelsea wandering around [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc mumuring "it's punishment time" with a Monokuma plushie]] in hand, a playbill for ''Theatre/TheGuyWhoDidntLikeMusicals'', a computer showing [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject the missing posters of Heather, Josh and Mike]], and finally, he ends up [[WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared turning into a puppet]] at the end.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Thanks to the 2023 [=WGA/SAG-AFTRA=] strike, the kill count crew had to experiment with the formula to avoid going on hiatus. In addition to focusing only on indie flicks until the strike ends (avoiding movies from any big-name studios) they've decided to make video games, musicals, comic books and even ''songs'' applicable for kill counts, with the list starting off with Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, a web series where nearly ALL the kills break the usual rules for the Kill Count.

'''James''': Yes, what must I know?\\

* FlawlessToken: Discussed in the kill count for ''12 Hour Shift'', James is a firm supporter of feminism and hates films that objectify women and treat them as sex objects. At the same time, he thinks films that portray women as flawless and messianic are equally problematic since they still [[HumansAreFlawed aren't portrayed as people]].
-->'''James:''' I especially love that she wrote a movie with a predominantly female cast, and did so in a way that's truly feminist - just let women be people.
-->'''Brea Grant''': We write these really great roles for women, but they're always, like, up on these pedestals. But I wanted to see a woman... have a lot of flaws. And all of the female characters have a lot of flaws.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Something of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it example in the kill count for ''Film/{{Mayhem}}''. In the film, the presence of the ID-7 virus is accompanied by characters [[CharacterTic rubbing at one of their eyes]]. James does the same thing while talking about the film, foreshadowing that the episode's CouchGag will involve him going crazy as if he were under its effects.
** A ''ton'' featured during the FormulaBreakingEpisode's announcement. James discovering [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat figurines]] outside the set, a [=PS1=] with a disk of VideoGame/SilentHill next to it, Zoran holding what looks like ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh with a distorted Ice Nine Kills playing, Chelsea wandering around [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc mumuring "it's punishment time" with a Monokuma plushie]] in hand, a computer showing [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject the missing posters of Heather, Josh and Mike]], and finally, [[WebVideo/DontHugMeImScared James turning into a puppet]] at the end.

** A ''ton'' featured during the FormulaBreakingEpisode's announcement. James discovering [[VideoGame/MortalKombat2011 Mortal Kombat figurines]] outside the set, a [=PS1=] with a disk of VideoGame/SilentHill next to it, Zoran holding what looks like ComicBook/FreddyVsJasonVsAsh with a distorted Ice Nine Kills playing, Chelsea wandering around [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc mumuring "it's punishment time" with a Monokuma plushie]] in hand, a computer showing [[Film/TheBlairWitchProject the missing posters of Heather, Josh and Mike]], and finally, [[WebOriginal/DontHugMeImScared James turning into a puppet]] at the end.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Thanks to the 2023 [=WGA/SAG-AFTRA=] strike, the kill count crew had to experiment with the formula to avoid going on hiatus. In addition to focusing only on indie flicks until the strike ends (avoiding movies from any big-name studios) they've decided to make video games, musicals, comic books and even ''songs'' applicable for kill counts.

** In the cover of the Final Destination movies, he implores his fanbase to take their health seriously as he had a cancer scare in his younger years due to excessive tanning.
** James has prevailing feminist and sex-positive messages in his videos; James always tells the audience to treat women as equals, to respect consent, and James repeatedly shows how damaging and reprehensible sexual assault is.

*** ''Film/Revenge2017'': No matter how a woman acts, whether it be promiscuous, unfaithful, or something to that degree, rape is still the worst thing you can ever go through and it should never be seen as a valid punishment for the way a woman chooses to live her life.
*** ''Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation'': Every organisation has good and bad representations in the media and you shouldn't take those representations as gospel, media is more about "thought experiments" as they use all sorts of interpretations for their story (no matter how biased they appear to the audience). In the episode, James explains that feminism isn't about murdering men and it's badly represented by the 3 misandristic witches in the movie. James explains that the theme of the movie is about feminism, the mistreatment of women in the workplace and how feelings of anger and bitterness can make you vulnerable to manipulation when you let those feelings cloud your judgement.

* BloodyHilarious: The juxtaposition of James making pop culture references over scenes of death and murder are part of the draw of the series.

* {{Narm}}: [[InvokedTrope In his opinion]], the premonition deaths in ''Film/FinalDestination4'' come across as this. They are so badly done that he refers to the people involved as "cartoon characters"

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: Thanks to the 2023 [=WGA/SAG-AFTRA=] strike, the kill counts for the final third of 2023 end up getting pretty weird choices, like video games, musicals, comic books and songs.

** Chelsea also finally got in on things in 2022, covering ''Film/AmericanPsycho'' and [[Film/AmericanPsycho2AllAmericanGirl its sequel]]. She would later return to cover ''Film/BonesAndAll''.

** He does this yet [[RuleOfThree again]] in the ''{{Film/Candyman}}'' when the titular Candyman is first introduced, and he keeps gushing about his voice and good looks.

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: James has a rather fawning attitude towards two random patrons that resemble Music/DavidBowie in the S&M bar in the ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreetPart2FreddysRevenge'' Kill Count.

* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: At one point during the ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' kill count, Zoran mentions an episode of the [[Series/{{Tremors}} TV series]] featuring a prehistoric shrimp monster, and then clarifies that he's not making that up.

* ShareTheMalePain: When Kendall [[spoiler:suddenly gets his crotch clawed out]] at the end of ''Pieces,'' James is horrified and holds his own in sympathy.

* SpoiledByTheFormat: [[invoked]] Kills are instantly accompanied by text and a tally, plus a brief description of how the character died, flashing onscreen, officially adding a character to the count. If a character looks to have been killed but no text pops up on-screen, they're actually alive. James will lampshade this later when the character turns up again, noting that the audience probably realized they weren't added to the count. Averted in ''The Look-See (Season 1)'' Kill Count, though, to keep the suspense, where a kill is retracted after it was added when the victim turns out to be alive. In other cases, James will outright clarify the status by mentioning right there and then that the character didn't really die, or mentioning this as the reason for why a group of victims is missing one of the members on the count.

** James holds this opinion about ''Film/Quarantine2008'', saying that the film is too much of a shot-for-shot remake that doesn't feel as real as ''Film/{{REC}}'' did. Notably, he said that the few moments that the film added that REC didn't have, particularly the kill with the camera and the man tearing down the tarp only to get shot by the police outside, were great additions and that he wishes there were more of them.

** Speaking of ''Thankskilling'', In the ''[[Film//{{Critters}} Critters Attack!]]'' kill count James lets out one when a cameoing Jordan Downey[[note]]The director and writer of both ''Thankskilling'' films[[/note]] decides to start writing ''Thankskilling 4''.

** Chelsea also finally got in on things in 2022, covering ''Film/AmericanPsycho'' and [[Film/AmericanPsycho2AllAmericanGirl its sequel]].

* TheCommandments: James has a set of rules to abide by when it comes to counting kills. The rules have to be verified by James himself, so don't make assumptions or excuses for why he didn't add a specific character's death. The rules listed are reccuring rules or explanations about the kills themselves, [[RuleOfFun they are not to be taken seriously]] and James has stated that [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he will bend the rules in accordance to the film of the episode]].
** Characters have to be introduced and physically seen so they can be counted on the list.
** Babies are a controversial and delicate case. Generally, they have to be born and seen in order to be counted. If a pregnant woman dies, then only the woman will be counted as a kill, not the unborn baby. Babies will be exempt from the rating system/awards because of [[EveryoneHasStandards the subject matter]] and [[BloodyHilarious theme of the show]].
** The kill has to be fresh. If it's not displaying evidence of a recent kill then it doesn't count since they were killed before the events of the film. The victims have to be visualised, identified, and accurately totalled, especially during wide-angle shots.
** They have to be human or have human-like qualities, so animals or animalistic aliens don't count. There are exceptions to this rule. James sometimes plays with this rule by including animals that were central to the story and because of how famous they are; in ''Film/{{Cujo}}'' and ''Film/{{Jaws}}'', he counted Cujo and the shark as kills, but he didn't any of the sharks from the ''Jaws'' sequels. He also jokingly counts the stuffed dinosaur Rex from ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'' since its owner said that it was a brave dino.
*** Zoran would set a new precedent for this rule when counting the ''Film/{{Tremors}}'' franchise. He counted Graboid deaths in addition to human, but the Graboids would have their own separate count and variation of the Golden Chainsaw. This would become the standard for whenever non-human deaths got counted in later videos, dubbed by James as the "Zoran Tremors Protocol" in the ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'' Kill Count.
** Robots are not counted, as the trio of Killbots from ''Film/ChoppingMall'' weren't sentient and didn't display any human traits. Unlike androids and cyborgs, which are counted the list due to their sentience and overall display of humanity. James also doesn’t count any of the Banana Splits animatronics and [[Film/ChildsPlay2019 the Buddi dolls (including Reboot!Chucky)]] in their movies for the same reason.
** Undead and supernatural figures are a complicated example, but James said he'll include them on the list if he wants to inflate the numbers:
*** James will count zombies through infections, if a survivor becomes infected then they will be classed as dead if they don't amputate or cure themselves.
*** [[RevenantZombie Revenant zombies]] are counted ''twice'' (once for dying as a human, twice for dying as a revenant) because they display more sentience than common zombies (mindless creatures that are driven to kill and consume, display no sentience or intelligence).
*** For films like ''[[Film/{{Zombieland}} Zombieland]]'', James will count all zombies that are killed on screen since they make a majority of the body count.
*** Possessions count since the killing human form will generally kill the possessor if they don't evacuate the host. If the possessed human doesn't return to normal, then they too are counted as dead. Possessors also have to possess human forms, otherwise, they won't be included on the list. In ''Christine'', James refused to add Christine to the kill count because she was still a car, not a human and it's never stated if Christine was possessed or sentient.
*** Dolls and toys like [[Franchise/ChildsPlay Chucky]] are allowed, but only if they display significant amounts of sentience. This rule results in James not counting any of the Film/DemonicToys as kills (not even Baby Oopsy-Daisy, who displays the most sentience out of them).
*** Kills after revivals count as separate deaths. In other words, if a character dies on-screen, then comes back to life and dies on-screen again, each death will be counted as a kill. Several characters in ''The Babysitter: Killer Queen'' died and came back to life, and James counted each one of their deaths as separate kills.
** Premonitions and dreams do not count; the deaths have to be canonical (James still ranks these in their own category, but does not count them). In the ''Film/FinalDestination'' films, James puts the victims of the various accidents on the list but does not say how each died specifically (as they are often too numerous to describe in the first place). Since the main characters change their fates by avoiding the accidents, they cannot be counted with the other victims.
** Similarly, in movies involving a GroundhogDayLoop, James counts every kill he sees, even if the same person dies multiple times. The distinction is made during the actual video and at the Numbers if the same person dies more than once. This rule mostly only applies to ''Film/HappyDeathDay'' and [[Film/HappyDeathDay2U its sequel]], but he's said in podcasts that the precedent is set for if any other horror movies use a time loop.
** The kills must be presented during the film itself, and not in supplementary material such as deleted scenes, and if they do take place off-screen, a body must be shown or we must receive canon confirmation of their death. This is why James counts Alex Browning in ''Film/FinalDestination2'', but not Kimberly and Thomas in ''Film/FinalDestination3'', as the former's body was clearly shown in a photograph despite dying off-screen between the first and second movies, whereas the death of the latter two is only mentioned in a deleted scene. Deaths that occur off-screen and are simply confirmed by other characters tend to receive the "Dull Machete" award, especially if all of the other deaths are interesting.
** The death has to be shown before a film transition or before the ending credits, so James can have an accurate tallying of deaths. ''Final Destination 3'' created a dilemma for James, since the actual subway accident happened during a film transition before the credits, despite, the premonition showing how everyone is supposed to die beforehand. Since the survivors didn't return for the sequel and show how they defied the premonition, James is forced to put them on the tally.
** If a victim has already been counted in a previous film's video, they won't be re-counted if their death is referenced or shown again in the backstory of a prequel or sequel.
** If a death is confirmed before we see what happened, he will wait to count it until we see it (usually over the course of a movie series rather than an individual movie).
*** For instance, he waited to put Adam from ''Film/{{Saw}}'' on the count until the third movie even though the first movie left it obvious he would die and the second showed his corpse because the third movie actually showed his death.
*** Similarly, he pointed out in his Kill Count for ''Film/ItChapterTwo'' how he did not count [[BarbaricBully Henry Bowers]] in his Kill Count for ''Film/It2017'' 2 years ago as the former revealed that [[spoiler:he survived the fall in the well]].
*** Another example is [[spoiler:Michael Myers/the paramedic]] in ''Film/HalloweenH20TwentyYearsLater'' who gets counted as a half kill, since it isn't revealed until the beginning of the [[Film/HalloweenResurrection following film]] that [[spoiler:Michael Myers faked his death by switching spots with the paramedic and putting him in the mask.]]
** If a film has only one kill in it, it will not be covered on the channel, so you won’t see any ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' films on the channel. If the movie has way too many deaths to count then it won't be covered by the channel. He makes a special exception in the ''Krampus'' film he watches, cause [[spoiler: no one died in it. They instead got taken to an alternate dimension in the end. So instead, he makes it a Capture Count.]]
** If a canon sequel mentions how many people are killed in its previous film (regardless of whether it's an off-hand conversation or a news report), it can be used to tally up the kills in the latter. This is how James can identify the number of people killed during the prom massacre in ''Film/Carrie1976'' due to one of the characters in ''Film/TheRageCarrie2'' mentioning how many people died in the former.
** While this rule is not related to how kills are counted, James will only perform Kill Counts for horror and horror-related movies (even if he has to stretch the definition in [[Film/MortalKombatTheMovie some cases]]). Similarly, if the first movie in a series was primarily horror but the sequels drifted away from the genre (such as ''Film/JurassicPark''/''Film/JurassicWorld'' and ''Film/ThePurge'', which had {{Actionized Sequel}}s), he'll still cover the sequels.