Some of the most memorable plot points in films are when characters make awful decisions that lead to them. Having a character make an awful choice that then leads to chaos is certainly more of a standout than if they had just done the logical thing all along.
Horror is a genre that does this all the time, but so too do all manner of action, adventure, and even rom coms – actually, especially rom coms. Here we chart the worst of the worst to bring you the top 5 most awful decisions in cinema history.
Love Actually
Love Actually is not the heart-warming Christmas film everyone seems to think it is. The whole plot revolves around the male gaze and totally inappropriate relationships. Not to mention Keira Knightly was 18 when making the film.
While there are a fair few terrible decisions made throughout – Colin going to America, Alan Rickman buying the necklace for his colleague – the worst has to be Mark’s decision to turn up at the door of his best mate’s house and profess his love for his best mate’s wife.
It’s arguably the most iconic scene of the film, with huge placards dropping all over the street because Mark can’t talk in case his best friend discovers him, but it’s also terrible. The whole plot with Mark and Kiera Knightly is creepy to say the least but this culmination of affection where he threatens to destroy two close relationships is just terrible. Actually, maybe the worst decision is Knightly running out into the street and kissing him after his big confession.
Saw
The original Saw was a mind-bending gore fest with an incredible plot twist at the end for those who could stomach the excessive gore and death of the whole film. Locked in a room with a dead guy in the middle and chained pipes with only a hacksaw to escape, our heroes Lawrence and Adam must make a decision to escape – will they do what is necessary or be trapped in the room forever?
While the plot is a little more complicated than that, involving a psychopathic serial killer who traps people in sadistic “games” for supposedly redemptive purposes based on bad things they’ve done in the past, it’s this opening premise that starts it all off.
Lawrence ultimately decides to cut his foot off and shoot Adam per instruction. He uses the hacksaw since he can’t reach the phone that’s lying on the floor nearby. If only he had some tool to help him reach the phone? Maybe like a metal implement that’s curved and could easily extend his grip? No, better cut off the foot just to be sure.
The Lord of the Rings
Okay you knew this was coming. While there’s a tonne of terrible decisions made throughout the trilogy that could have made their own list entirely, Denethor’s refusal to believe that his son Faramir is alive is the single most annoying thing anyone does in this series.
Yes, Gandalf shouldn’t have sent Frodo and Sam off on their own. Yes, Isildur should have just chucked the ring in the fire to start with. Yes, Boromir is an idiot. But Denethor just flat-out refusing to believe Pippin, preferring instead to set himself and his son on fire is the worst.
What makes this stupid decision even more awful is the fact that Faramir wakes up halfway through the burning, revealing to Denethor what a poor decision he has made, to which Denethor responds by throwing himself off the edge of the building. Just get out the way, Denethor, there’s a war going on and your antics aren’t making anything any better for anyone.
Pulp Fiction
Great film, terrible choices made throughout. In this Tarantino classic, the favourite of college kids and wannabe directors everywhere, a lot of violence, dancing, and cleaning up of blood happens for reasons that aren’t always clear. The film being told in a non-linear narrative fashion makes it very confusing, but it remains a cult hero due to the amazing dialogue and brilliant acting from Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta.
Bruce Willis plays a boxer who makes a deal with crime boss Marcellus Wallace to purposefully lose a fight that he’s favourite to win for gambling purposes. Willis double-crosses Wallace, betting on himself and winning the fight but accidentally killing his opponent. With gangsters after him, he attempts to make a getaway with his girlfriend but decides he simply has to return to his house to get a gold watch his father left him.
Which is, fine, you know, family heirloom and all that. But why does he take so long about it? Willis decides to just stroll around his apartment, eating pop tarts and thinking about his life decision before nearly being shot to pieces by Travolta. It’s this stupid decision to go back when he knows all the bad guys will be after him that kind of throws the film. The relaxed manner in which he does it just underlines what a dumb decision this is.
The Blair Witch Project
Horror films have a long and proud tradition of making seemingly rational people make terrible decisions during periods of curiosity. The trope of the main character going towards the scary noise or into the haunted house is such an overplayed one that has audiences shouting “why would you go in there?” every time. You’re in a horror film, guys, maybe take a little more precaution.
The Blair Witch Project is basically that trope but over two hours. There’s an evil witch living in the forest that everyone is scared of, so we’d better go wildly unprepared and investigate it. While it’s a classic of the genre and basically kicked off the whole “found-footage” trend (some audiences really thought it was genuine when watching it), the characters make some truly awful decisions.
Topping them all off is the moment when Mike reveals to Josh and Heather that he kicked the map of the forest into the river “because it was useless”. Thanks Mike, that probably was unhelpful, thank you for unburdening us with the heavy weight of that paper map. Arguably Mike was already under the demonic spell of the witch at this point but still, it’s a super dumb decision that ends up getting everyone killed. Way to go, Mike.
The films above are some of the best and most popular of cinematic history but even they have serious flaws brought about by poor decision making from bad characters.
When it comes to drink driving, it’s the same. Bad decisions can redefine your life, and can negatively affect you and everyone else in the end. When it comes to drink driving, it’s not all good, it’s all bad.