Fifty More Horror Clichés That Should Be Left to Spoil

#31: Now the Phone Won't Work!

  The only thing equally irritating to the trope of the suddenly malfunctioning car is the annoying cliché of the soon to be victim's cell phone failing to work at the worst moment imaginable. What makes a failing cell phone in horror fiction equally as irritating as the car failure cliché are for similar reasons that really pour the salt deep into the wounds of any audience member experiencing what is supposed to be another climatic, shocking scene in the narrative. Anyone writing a narrative containing this cliché is breaking natural logic that most teenagers, the average age of the cast, would abide to. No one in their right mind as a teenager would be so irresponsible with their cell phone, since to most people at that age, the device is a vital lifeline to all social interactions.

Teenagers, especially now in the current Technological Age, would not just let their phone suddenly run out of juice when leaving any kind of residence. A phone dying to a teenager is a panic attack waiting to happen. Without their cell phone, the teenager in question would have no means to communicate with their growing circle of friends, a vital chunk of importance to anyone still in high school or just entering college. They would have no link to upcoming social events or casual conversation to the ones they deem important. That is not even mentioning the expanded features phones have in modern day, such as high quality cameras and a constant connection to the internet. Without those two particular features, the person in question cannot easily link to their social media and thus stay up to date with what is going on around them.  Adding in the fact the phone probably has their musical playlist inside it and the fact photos  taken by the device over the years are probably connected to precious memories, there is no possible way a teenager would ever let their cell phone run out of juice without the risk of a heart attack.

  Even if the phone were to die by accident, the teenager would be fully prepared to charge the device wherever they were at that particular moment.  If traveling by car, mobile chargers are a common solution to the issue for most people.  If  somehow there is not a charger nearby, the teenager could use a portable charger attached to their cell phone case which would remedy the issue right away.  Then there is the idea of driving to a friend's house to borrow their charger or in some cases utilizing emergency power on the cell phone in question.  Unless the teenager in question is extremely irresponsible, they could solve the "dire" issue pretty much right away.

  Similar logic applies to characters trapped in areas with a low signal, usually in the woods or high up in the mountains.  If in an area with a low signal, the issue can be solved pretty quickly due to a fail safe all cell phones are built with.  Even in a low signal area, phones can still work provided the person limit themselves to close distance calls.  If in a dire situation, the teenager can just call emergency services right away, which are usually not far from the secluded area in question.  Then, the teenager just has to lock the car to guarantee the slasher killer will not be easily able to attack them and emergency services can do all the rest for them.  Unless the person in question was really deep into the untamed wilderness or without a car, escaping their dangerous situation would not be that hard.

  Older characters with cell phones still have the advantage on the killer as well with their mobile devices.  Like teenagers, there is a huge chunk of the adult population who rely on cell phones for everyday life.  Although the reasonings for using a cell phone are different than a teenager's, the adult would still have the same advantage if not more so due to a matured mindset.  The only people in danger would be those who might use older models that tend to not work well in low signal areas, or the rare few that do not use cell phones at all.  Besides those two factors, all adults for the most part are as safe as their teenage counterparts.

  A cell phone suddenly failing in horror fiction is just not a plausible situation that would easily happen in real life, at least not in modern day.  While the trope might work in times before cell phones were mainstreamed, there are still factors to escape the slasher killer such as self defense or driving away safely in the totally fine functioning car.  Ninety percent of the time, there is nothing at all realistic about a cast member's cell phone in a horror narrative failing so suddenly at the most climatic of moments.  If you want to put the character in a situation where they cannot escape the slasher killer, do not involve cell phones.