It’s October and I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been taking in my fill of horror movies. It’s a requirement for this month and I do my part. Granted, I watch a majority of them with my hands over my eyes, but it still counts.

Because of my Halloween preparedness, I’ve noticed there are quite a few security lessons we can all learn from horror movies. As it turns out,  no one in the horror movie takes ADA code into mind when setting up these situations. (C’mon, guys! We can do better!)

So, let’s take a minute and discuss where Hollywood got it wrong.

Security Lessons in Horror Films

The Purge

I recently watched The Purge even though it’s been out for some time. A good deal of the plot is based on the security systems sold in this futuristic world where one night a year people are allowed to commit any crime they want without any sort of penalty. Of course, if you’re not a horrible person, you simply lock yourself up for the night and hope for the best. This is what the main characters planned to do, but after a series of unfortunate mishaps, the power is cut.

While it’s not specifically stated, it’s pretty clear from the turn of events they’re not dealing with fail secure locks. (At one point the main character makes the statement that their system isn’t “invulnerable” with the power gone.) Fail secure locks allow them to stay engaged even when the power is cut. (Think Panic Room with Jodie Foster.) These would’ve been perfect in The Purge! In fact, it’s ridiculous it didn’t come standard with every system and that’s just one security lesson.

Scream

I know.

There are more than a few instances where we can shake our heads at the characters in Scream and learn security lessons, but to be fair, the movie was a bit tongue-in-cheek. You have girls running upstairs when they should be running out the front door, there is a lack of parents in general, and more. The big security lesson I want to focus on though is how nobody ever seems to use a peephole.

Peepholes are there for a reason, folks. It’s to let you know who’s lurking right outside your door.

Did anyone ever use them? Nope.

Someone knocks on Sidney’s door, she just marches on outside to investigate. Granted, I doubt Ghostface would just be posted up waiting for her to pop open the door, but I would at least feel better if she would at least do a precursory check before moseying on outside with nothing but a portable phone in hand.

While peepholes aren’t all that common in commercial buildings, this can be used as a general security lesson for all you folks looking to boost your security at home.

The Shining

To this day, I have a hard time sitting through The Shining because of the overall creep factor. Even when I watched it in high school, I marveled at how inexpensively made those hotel doors were. It took nothing for Jack Nicholson to barge his way through to Shelley Duvall in that famous scene.

You know what would have stopped ol’ Crazy Pants? A hollow metal door. Hollow metal doors are notorious for how much of a beating they can take and I guarantee you it would have given Shelley a bit more time think out her getaway plan than that measly little plywood door.

Of course, if that had been the case we wouldn’t have gotten the famous scene but I’m just looking at the practical side of things for the purpose of this being a security lesson and all.

Have you noticed anything in any horror movies that could teach us all a security lesson or two? Let us know!