I never really was conscious of, but completely can see in retrosprect, that bass-drop-before-explosion thing you mentioned. It actually is used a bit in the n

I never really was conscious of, but completely can see in retrosprect, that bass-drop-before-explosion thing you mentioned. It actually is used a bit in the new Wolfenstein game (The New Order). Save for the creepy singing 5yo thing, I have to say I enjoy these cliches... even though I know they're meant to manipulate my emotions in a fairly unearned and lazy way, if the rest of the movie/game/piece is compelling and supports it, it works to great effect. I will say that the solemn girl's choir singing pop-songs (a la Social Network/Scala Choir, or Scream Queens/KTT Pledge) is another one that I see fairly often and very much appreciate.