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Fakeout deaths in pop culture can be predictable, but unexpected returns create shock value. Surprise character revivals work best when the storyline hasn't been overwhelmed by resurrections. Resurrections or death fakeouts in movie franchises can intrigue viewers and make plot twists more engaging.

Fakeout deaths have become mildly predictable in pop culture, but some recent as well as older movies have managed to pull off shocking returns for characters the audience believed to be dead. Fantasy and sci-fi movie franchises feature characters who keep dying and coming back across many sequels, which usually results in the predictability element. If a series has established that resurrection and fakeout deaths are possible, the audience will expect it to happen again, so the writers dont have to let go of a fan-favorite.

Unexpected deaths in movies provoke shock, but if the audience fully buys the characters death, their subsequent return will be even better.

Warning! This article contains Spoilers for The Acolyte season 1, episode 1.

Carrie-Anne Moss's role as Master Indara in The Acolyte mirrors Drew Barrymore's role as Casey in Scream. Indara's early death set a dark tone for The Acolyte and defied the audience's expectations in the same way Casey's death in Scream did. Showrunner Leslye Headland successfully pulled off a major twist, which hints at her inspirations for The Acolyte and could be a sign of its quality.

Carrie-Anne Moss was heavily featured in the opening scene of The Acolyte, and her role in the Star Wars show pulled off a twist that was pioneered by a 1996 horror film. Moss plays Jedi Master Indara in The Acolyte, and her first scenes in the show featured her in a deadly battle against the Sith Acolyte Mae. Despite being a prominent part of The Acolyte's marketing and the first Jedi of the...

Even though I’m currently in the mix of celebrating indie horror this month, there was no way in hell that I, of all people, would miss celebrating the 10th anniversary of Wes Craven’s Scream 4 today. It’s a film that I’ve been shouting about from the proverbial rooftops for a decade now, and while it’s certainly been more widely embraced by horror fans in the last few years, Scream 4 is an entry in this series that gets far more grief than it deserves, and I think it rivals Scream 2 as the best sequel in the franchise as well. I’ll elaborate on all of that in a minute, but simply put, Scream 4 rules hard, and without a doubt, this final entry in Wes Craven’s oeuvre remains a prescient and thought-provoking examination of the detrimental side of social media and how our...

Like most horror film series’, as the saga continues the kills typically increase and become more elaborate in an effort to outdo the predecessor. But with this heightened focus on blood and body count, the overall quality of the movies usually decreases (often drastically). That does not mean that horror sequels cannot be fun – they certainly can, just do not expect anything groundbreaking from them.

The Scream series is no different. In 1996, the first Scream was praised for its witty, self-referential script and cast of hot young Hollywood stars – a new kind of horror movie for a more aware and pop culture-obsessed generation. The second film, released just a year later, tried to match its forerunner in innovation and cleverness, but far too often fell into typical horror sequel trappings. And the third film, well . . . let’s just say that a third film does exist. Oh damn, and there is a fourth film,...