Director Sam Raimi promised a horror-themed experience for audiences in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the movie didn’t disappoint. The scary aspect came from Scarlet Witch’s rampage across the multiverse, where she eliminated droves of characters in brutal ways.
Scarlet Witch’s pursuit of Doctor Strange brought about certain horror tropes that can be found in other feature films. Whether it was Doctor Strange’s use of necromancy through the Darkhold or Scarlet Witch jump-scaring audiences, it’s interesting to see the elements in Doctor Strange 2 that are comparable with tropes present in popular horror movies. Since Sam Raimi has a proven record in the genre, it’s also worth looking into how these tropes tied into Doctor Strange 2’s plot.
Shaky Camera To Signal Oncoming Danger
Horror movies prefer to show visual hints for transitions in a change of pace, with scary sequences largely having a shaky camera effect to make viewers feel like they’re in on the action. Doctor Strange 2 incorporated this during the scene where Mordo had the protagonist and America drugged.
The camera began to twist and distort to show how Doctor Strange was feeling inside, with the sequence letting audiences know that the friendly atmosphere was now changing into a frantic one. The shaky camera ushered in the next scene with the Illuminati where Doctor Strange was sentenced to be executed.
Close Up Shots Of The Deceased
Taking on the body of his variant was one of the evil acts committed by Doctor Strange, although it was out of necessity. Horror movies tend to show close-up shots of dead bodies to bring a sense of the macabre atmosphere and to elicit a reaction from viewers.
Doctor Strange 2 did the same when Defender Strange’s corpse was shown in clear view to establish just how far the protagonist was going to confront Scarlet Witch. It was far from pretty to look at, with Defender Strange’s decomposed corpse staying true to horror tropes of making dead bodies look realistic.
A Mass Slaughter In Creative Ways
It’s rare to find a horror movie where characters are killed the same way since it gets boring to see repetition in this area, the more death, the more creative filmmakers tend to be. Scarlet Witch fully embodies this trip when she begins her rampage with the forces of Kamar-Taj, brutally killing them in a variety of ways including vaporization, burning, and drowning.
Scarlet Witch continued the use of the trope when she encountered the Illuminati and every member died in gruesome but unique ways. This feature is employed to portray how ruthless the villain character is and Scarlet Witch certainly came across that way.
Villain Walks Around With Blood On Their Face
Horror film antagonists love to be open about their thirst for blood and don’t take any time to wipe it from their faces. This trope is a way for audiences to get that the villain is the real deal and isn’t playing around - as we can see from the blood-streaked face of the Scarlet Witch when she destroyed the Illuminati’s defense.
Her arrival at the Illuminati’s headquarters with a streak of blood across her face left no doubt that she was out to kill. The blood became greater when she slaughtered the Illuminati members and the scene ended with another shot of her face.
A Contorting Body That Pursues The Heroes
By the end of the movie, Scarlet Witch may have overtaken Thanos as a bigger MCU villain with the way she massacred so many. Scarlet Witch’s onslaught on Kamar-Taj employed the contorting body trope, which is a favorite of Sam Raimi’s and has been present in his earlier horror movies.
Scarlet Witch escaped the Mirror Dimension and was seen contorting her body all around in a scary display of the corruption by the Darkhold. The sight horrified Wong, America, and Doctor Strange as well, as it appeared that Scarlet Witch was barely human anymore with the way she cracked her body and neck.
A Grim Twist Ending
Doctor Strange 2 concluded with the protagonist writhing in pain as a third eye shows up on his forehead as a result of his use of the Darkhold. This is part of the horror trope where endings are generally dark and downer by nature to show that no one is safe.
Movies in the genre rarely ever have happy endings since that would be in striking contrast to the film’s events. The last shot of Doctor Strange’s eye was the perfect way to leave fans aghast over what was to come and a final reminder of the movie’s horror elements.
Jump Scares Before A Kill
Jump scares are pretty much as old as the horror genre itself is, but they are seen as a reliable trope because viewers are still taken aback more often than not. After the big revelation of Scarlet Witch’s ability to dream-walk in Doctor Strange 2, she appeared inside her variant’s mind where Professor X was present as well.
Scary movies hardly ever go for killing scenes right after tension has been built up because it’s predictable, so characters are usually offed a few moments later to cause a jump scare. Similarly, Scarlet Witch momentarily disappeared before appearing behind Professor X to abruptly snap his neck, one of several times Professor X has died in Marvel movies.
Villain Looks Straight Into The Camera
This trope was a favorite of movies in the ‘80s when horror movies started to become self-referential. Doctor Strange 2 showed that it can still be creepy even if breaking the fourth wall is more common now. During the scene in question, Scarlet Witch took over the mind of her variant and then flashed an evil grin straight into the camera.
It worked marvelously well within the context of the story since the point was that Scarlet Witch could perceive things across universes. Audiences would have felt freaked out by the implication that Scarlet Witch was watching them through the fourth wall, making this an effective use of the trope and falling in line with the villain’s intentions.