While it makes sense that horror fans often find themselves frustrated by tropes, since it can feel like the same stories are being told again and again, some tropes actually work really well. One of the best ones is the "Ghost Town" trope since this creates a creepy, isolated setting where no one wants to hang out. The characters know that they have to get out of here and fast as they can just tell that something horrible is on its way.
What is the "Ghost Town" trope and its similar trope, the "Ghost City"? Are there movies that use this concept well and are all the better for it?
According to TV Tropes, the "Ghost Town" horror trope features towns that don't have people living there anymore. These are the best horror movie settings because they're immediately creepy and awful. The trope is often used when main characters are driving somewhere and they come across a random town that makes them think that something is definitely wrong. A ghost town isn't on a map. A good example of this is the town in the Silent Hill movie as it's clear that it's abandoned.
There is also the similar "Ghost City" trope and TV Tropes mentions that sometimes there is a single character who either still lives there or is around and this is proof of how lonely and isolated they are (and, therefore, the setting). While the ghost city might be more visually affecting since a city is larger than a town, both are still scary settings that work time and time again. TV Tropes also notes that when characters mean to end up in this kind of place, they have quite the ordeal to reach their destination.
The "Ghost Town" trope has been used in several films. One good example is Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes, along with the remake from 2006. The mutants live in a place that was once a nuclear testing site and now they have decided to call it home. The setting is really effective and packs a punch. The trope is used in its typical way: the main characters are driving, they end up at a creepy gas station, and then they come across dangerous people who are after them. While there are many necessary slasher movie tropes, focusing on the location that the characters are in is always a smart idea. A "Ghost Town" is never a place where people want to spend five minutes, let alone where they want to get trapped for a prolonged period of time where they have to fight to survive.
The trope is also present in House of Wax (2005), which is often considered one of the best horror film remakes. The main characters find themselves in a town called Ambrose, which is near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Sinclair Wax Museum was once a go-to attraction but after a fire, it has been in bad shape. The town is made up of some homes, a town hall, gas station, movie theater, and a few other places. House of Wax is an underappreciated 2000s horror film and the setting has a lot to do with that.
Netflix's Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn't get the original point, but it's fair to say that the ghost town that the main characters travel to is on point. Melody (Sarah Yarkin), Melody's sister Lila (Elsie Fisher), Ruth (Nell Hudson) and Ruth's boyfriend Dante (Jacob Latimore) head to Harlow, Texas and believe that they can gentrify it. They want to sell old houses to make some money and be at the forefront of a cool movement. Unfortunately for them, Leatherface and his chainsaw come back, ruining this plan.
The final scene of the 2022 remake is definitely awful and horrifying, and not every horror fans loves this film. But the movie does use the "Ghost Town" trope perfectly. The four main characters show up at the town, want to make something of it, and fight Leatherface. Melody and Lila give the fight their all and it seems like they're going to be able to escape, but Leatherface murders Melody. This makes sense with the horror trope, as the whole point of being stuck in a ghost town is realizing that getting out seems less and less likely as time goes on. It's an upsetting ending, though, as Melody and Lila are both compelling characters who have fought back, so it's a shame that one of them doesn't make it.
Horror fans never mind seeing the "Ghost Town" trope as it's a sure sign that something terrifying is on its way and that the characters will have to make some tough choices in order to survive to the end of the film.