Horror stories are often one-sided and biased in favor of the antagonist. Since the medium is designed to scare viewers, the bad guys are usually scary and unstoppable. Most real-life people would run from a slasher villain or an alien invasion, just like many horror movie characters.
However, horror movie protagonists are often made of more solid things. To earn the public’s respect and stand a chance of a happy ending, they must fight the villain. Horror movies have a lot of brave heroes mixed in with cowards and victims. The more dangerous the enemy, the braver the hero who dares to fight it.
10/10 Ash Williams is unstoppable against the Deadites
diabolical death
diabolical death‘Deadites are some of horror’s most vicious foes. They possess people’s bodies and use them as weapons and have a multitude of supernatural powers. Most people fall at the hands of the Deadites or try to run away from them. The only person to stand against them again and again is Ashley Williams.
Ash doesn’t like being a hero. He complains a lot about his situation and clearly would rather do something other than fight the Deadites. However, he still does. Even if he has to fight his kin, rally an army in the past, or amputate his own hand, Ash will do it with only a few panics and complaints.
9/10 Ellen Ripley Keeps Her Head Against Xenomorphs
Extraterrestrial
ExtraterrestrialXenomorph is an apex predator that plays on very primal fears. It’s a parasite that uses another person’s host body, erupts viscerally from it, and then stalks everyone else in the vicinity. It’s nearly unstoppable, highly intelligent, and incredibly vicious.
Ellen Ripley does not confront the xenomorphs once. She faces them in four separate films. On every occasion, she keeps her head much better than everyone else. Officers and soldiers are prone to panic when faced with xenomorphs. Ripley continues to plan the next way to bring them down. Ripley doesn’t even show fear when fighting the xenomorph queen alone.
8/10 Beverly Marsh doesn’t fear Pennywise in IT
THIS
THIS is a horror film about fear itself. The villain, known as IT or Pennywise, scares children to improve their flavor before eating them. With its ability to surface as a person’s deepest fears, IT is usually very good at it. However, one of the Loser Club members proves to be more enduring than the others.
Beverly Marsh is at the forefront of the fight against IT throughout the film. She shows less reluctance than anyone but Bill and panics less than him in many situations. Notably, Pennywise finds himself unable to scare him to the end of IT: Chapter 1and must attack him instead.
7/10 Sarah Connor overcomes her fears and transforms
The Terminator Franchise
Sarah Connor embodies the type of bravery that comes from being scared and carrying on anyway. She’s an ordinary woman in The Terminator and naturally loses her mind when a futuristic cyborg begins stalking her. However, from then on, she hardened remarkably.
Sarah ends up winning at the end of The Terminator and is full action hero by Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Several times throughout Judgment Day, Sarah proves she’s still terrified of Terminators and Skynet. However, it still grows. It only takes him a few moments to join the fight against the T-1000.
6/10 RJ MacReady does not succumb to paranoia
The thing
The titular creature The thing embodies paranoia. It can appear as anyone or anything and harbors absolutely malicious intent. It’s dangerous on its own, but its ability to make people turn around and stop trusting their fellow human beings is its secondary horror.
Only one character is shown to be largely immune to The Thing’s mind games. RJ MacReady takes control early on and is unfazed by paranoia. He confronts the Thing with composure again and again. However, in the end, he seems to accept death rather than risk bringing the creature back with a rescue team.
5/10 Sidney Prescott continues through several Ghostfaces
The Scream Franchise
ScreamGhostface is not a recurring killer. Instead, multiple people use a common mask, voice changer, and identity. These killers are focusing their anger on Sidney Prescott. Some seek revenge – usually for things that aren’t Sydney’s fault – and others seek infamy.
Sidney Prescott is neither emotionless nor insensitive. She is clearly affected by each assassination attempt and the loss of several friends and loved ones. However, the series shows her growing braver and more capable in the face of each attack. At time 2022 ScreamSydney agrees to hunt down the new Ghostface, rather than waiting for them to come looking for her.
4/10 Shaun is an unexpected hero
Shaun of the Dead
The titular character of Shaun of the dead starts out as an unmotivated slacker. It is not at all extraordinary. Shaun starts the movie off as some sort of slacker and boyish kid, which a lot of people are fed up with. However, when the zombie apocalypse hits, everything changes.
Shaun isn’t always smart and doesn’t always make the right choices. However, he is undeniably brave. He’s the character most likely to fight zombies head-on, and the one who distracts zombies into a highly lethal move. Even when he swears, screams and panics, Shaun continues to fight.
3/10 Laurie Strode fought Michael Myers over and over again
Halloween Franchise
Laurie Strode is the Halloween central protagonist of the franchise. She is portrayed as the primary target of Michael Myers’ killings and someone who refuses to let him win. Across multiple continuities, Laurie has challenged Michael to victory on multiple occasions.
The new continuity shows Laurie’s bravery at its best. She’s undeniably struggled since Myers’ first assassination attempt and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and issues in her personal life. However, none of this undermines his bravery. At the time of 2018 HalloweenLaurie has spent years preparing to kill Michael Myers and refuses to run from him.
2/10 Tommy Jarvis is one of the few willing to face Jason
Friday 13
Friday 13Jason Vorhees is one of the most unstoppable slashers in fiction. Before his death he was a juggernaut and a killing machine, and after his death he was an unkillable zombie. Jason has one of the highest body counts of any fictional murderer, and only one person has willingly opposed him more than once.
Tommy Jarvis first appears in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter like a child who behaves better against Jason than most adults. In Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason LivesTommy actively chooses to go back and fight after accidentally resurrecting Jason.
1/10 Nancy Thompson defeats Freddy Kreuger for the first time by not fearing him
freddie
In freddie, Freddy Kreuger becomes more powerful through fear. As a menacing character capable of killing people in their dreams, he finds it easy to sow fear. However, Nancy Thompson manages to defeat him by simply not giving in to her terror.
Freddy spent the film rampaging through Elm Street and killing several of Nancy’s relatives. As a result, she could be forgiven for panicking. However, she turns her back on Freddy and leaves him helpless. In A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Nancy again shows her bravery by continuing to fight Freddy. Even after he mortally wounds her, she refuses to come down easily.
