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Mount, mount, my soul! thy seat is up on high; —Richard II, V.v
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A classic way to show someone is dying. They have been shot, stabbed, poisoned, whatever, and then, recoiling from the wound, back into a wall and sink slowly to the ground. A smear of blood trailing down the wall is customary.
Can also be used to show a character is in shock or depressed (generally without the blood).
This is commonly used in theatre, because it's a good visual cue for the audience. It's also a reasonably cool death, combining Slow Motion Fall and Rebel Relaxation.
Also see Head Desk and Face Palm, two variations of the "extremely frustrated" version.
As a Death Trope, all Spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.
Examples of Wall Slump include:
Anime & Manga[]
- There's a meme out of the Death Note fandom from the scene where Light is staggering away after being shot. He falls dramatically toward a wall, flattening himself against it as he struggles to stay upright. The meme: "I fucking LOVE this WALL!"
- Rin Tohsaka does this in Fate/stay night after failing to prevent Kotomine from taking Ilya away from Shirou's house. She gets better, though, because she is just that awesome.
- Happens in Psyren to Shao when he fought Junas. He got better.
- Misato's death, in End of Evangelion.
- Tsume does this against a rock in Wolf's Rain. It's particularly shocking since the audience aren't aware until then just how badly he was hurt.
- The original Zest in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, after being killed by Cinque.
- In Baccano, this is how one of the conductors on the train falls after being shot in the head.
- In One Piece, towards the end of the Wano Arc, a badly wounded Basil Hawkins (who had just lost his arm in a fight) talks about his prediction about someone who would soon only have a one percent chance of survival. He is leaning against a wall as he states that the person in that prediction was himself, and slumps down.
Comic Books[]
- In V for Vendetta, after V is shot at the end, he staggers and leans against a wall, leaving a V-shaped smear of blood. He still manages to walk a fair distance afterward, though.
Film[]
- Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, although he rallies afterward.
- Resident Evil. After Rain Ocampo becomes a zombie, she's shot in the head, moves back and hits the wall of the subway car she's in, then slumps down.
- Parodied in the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. One of the vampire minions backs up against the wall, sinks, and then moans and groans and says "ow ow ow" for ten minutes. The Easter Egg at the end of the credits shows him still bellyaching.
- Lee's death in The Magnificent Seven
- The Matrix scene where Neo dies, when Agent Smith repeatedly shoots Neo after he backs up and hits the wall but before sinking to the ground.
- Final Justice used this during the opening gunfight. As the Mystery Science Theater 3000 crew helpfully pointed out, you can tell that the filmmakers recycled footage because you can see the dying guy slide down the same wall twice.
- Ice Station Zebra features one when Ferraday shoots Anders.
- Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs manages to hold himself half-up against a wall for a moment before slumping to the floor, having been shot multiple times by Mr. Orange.
Live Action TV[]
- During a Halloween episode of Boy Meets World, Red Shirt Kenny gets stabbed through the head with a giant pencil and slumps to his death, leaving a pencil trail on the wall behind him. Cory points at where the trail begins and tearfully tells the others, "we'll always remember he was that tall."
- In the Doctor Who episode "Let's Kill Hitler", a poisoned Doctor slumps weakly against the wall of the TARDIS while talking to a Voice Interface hologram in the shape of a young Amy. He gets better - barely.
- In Top Gear, after the "Race to the North" challenge Clarkson slumps against the wall of the hotel bar they were racing to. Because he's been on the footplate of a steam locomotive, he leaves a trail of soot rather than blood.
Music[]
- The song "Willie Seton" by Tom Paxton (recorded by the Chad Mitchell Trio) has the title character mortally wounded in a train robbery, and wandering, wounded in a snowy wood. The last verse resembles this trope, only with a tree instead of a wall. "He leaned his back against a tree and held on to his side. And there within the snowy wood, young Willie Seton died."
Theatre[]
- Page quote from Richard II, after the former king of England is stabbed by conspirators.
Video Games[]
- In Mass Effect, Shepard slumps down after having his/her ship impounded and crew locked down right when s/he needs them most. Shepard's love interest comes over and gives him/her a pep talk to keep fighting.
- Nia Lochlain's last moments in Infinite Space shows her leaning against the wall of Eremon's ship after telling Yuri that she will make her escape soon. Whether she actually managed to fulfill her words or simply said that to assure him, we will never know.
- Asch does this in Tales of the Abyss.
- This is the position that Mia is found in after her murder at the start of the second case of the first Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game.
- In the 'Missing Link' DLC for Deus Ex Human Revolution, Netanya Keitner dies this way after Pieter Burke discovers her working with the player
Web Original[]
- In Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog , after Penny is impaled with exploded death ray bits, she does this.