Horror movies put their characters in terrifying and deadly situations. The protagonists find themselves facing threats beyond human imagination and must often survive solely on their wits. Many iconic horror protagonists are resourceful, thoughtful, and savvy. However, some of them are stupid.
Some horror protagonists are subject to terrible choices that make their lives so much worse. Sometimes it is part of their character traits that they are stupid or lack common sense. Other times, they simply make the wrong choice under intense stress. However, their decisions aren’t the right ones to make in a horror movie and come back to bite them.
10/10 Peter Strahm leads the worst investigation possible
Seen
Agent Peter Strahm is an FBI agent investigating the Jigsaw murders in Seen IV and V-saw. He becomes the protagonist of Seen V, which follows his attempts to investigate Detective Mark Hoffman as a common thread in the story. Throughout both films, all Strahm does is make things worse.
Peter Strahm’s most significant act in Saw IV kills Jeff Denlon, an innocent man looking for his daughter. In V-sawStrahm’s investigation incriminates him so deeply that his his colleagues believe him to be Jigsaw. His final moments come when he refuses to listen to a Jigsaw tape and locks Hoffman in the very box that could have saved him.
9/10 Shaggy Rogers is not known for his common sense
scooby-doo
Everything Mystery Inc. in the scooby-doo franchise are notorious for sometimes making bad decisions. However, Shaggy Rogers in the scooby-doo The film is undoubtedly the dumbest of them all. Shaggy spends half the movie doing the dumbest things possible in the name of comedy.
The only time Shaggy makes good decisions in scooby-doo is in the third act when he manages to infiltrate the cult meeting to save Scooby. In all the rest of scooby-dooShaggy buzzes, misses what’s going on around him, and only advances the investigation by accident.
8/10 Billy Peltzer Breaks All Gremlin Ownership Rules
Gremlins
The Mogwai in 1984 Gremlins are not a threat in their natural state. Usually, they are gentle creatures that make good pets. They only become the film’s main threat when the three fundamental rules of ownership are broken. The only reason why the events of Gremlins happens is that Billy Peltzer, who knows the rules, is breaking them.
Billy manages to spill water on his mogwai and take it out into the sun in the film’s first act. None of these things should happen, Billy is just being careless. Even if he’s tricked into feeding them after midnight, that’s not a great testament to his common sense. He falls for an incredibly simple trick and doesn’t think to check the time.
7/10 David’s intelligence makes him arrogant
Prometheus, Alien: Alliance
David acts as both protagonist and villain in Prometheus and Alien: Alliance. He is objectively a genius, as he is an android who is far smarter than humans. However, this intelligence makes him overconfident and arrogant and leads him to do mischief throughout both films.
In Prometheus, David repeatedly makes things worse. Although some of his actions are deliberate, he does not know the consequences of his actions in advance. He even manages to be beheaded by overestimating himself. In Alien: PactDavid’s actions continue to have unintended consequences, despite being far more sinister and deliberate.
6/10 Ash Williams makes up for his madness
evil Dead
Ash Williams is an undeniably capable protagonist. In the evil Dead trilogy and Ash vs. The Evil Dead, he won against the Deadites. He has many virtues, but common sense and intelligence are not among them.
Ash manages to do the wrong thing in almost every situation without a fight. He’s unmotivated, stupid, and incompetent for most of what he thinks about. However, he is also incredibly brave, deadly in a fight, and very determined to banish the Deadites. It is much more useful in a crisis than it is in everyday life.
5/10 Liz Hunter is so close to ending her nightmare
wolf creek
wolf creek is a nightmarish horror film about the torment three backpackers face at the hands of a serial killer. In the second act, protagonist Liz Hunter is about to kill Mick Taylor, their tormentor, for good. She shoots him in the neck during a confrontation and he collapses.
Liz tries to shoot Mick again, but the gun only has one bullet. Rather than use one of the other weapons, Liz chooses to hit him multiple times with the rifle. She flees without finishing him. This one bad decision, made in the heat of the moment, allows Mick to recover. Worse, she leaves him the rifle, which he uses to take back his friend Kristy.
4/10 Louis Creed causes the events of Pet Sematary
Pet sematary
Pet semataryThe plot revolves around an ancient cemetery that resurrects those buried there. However, souls do not return as they were. Instead, they become violent and cruel. Protagonist Louis Creed is well aware of this, as he sees the effects firsthand when the graveyard revives his cat, Church.
Despite this, Creed continues to bury his daughter Ellie in Pet Sematary. It’s a decision made in the throes of grief, but it condemns his entire family. Ellie returns as a slayer and at least three people die as a result of Louis’ decision, which he knew full well could happen.
3/10 Heather, Mike and Josh are all heading for their doom
The Blair Witch Project
The Witch Blair Project is groundbreaking for its style of found footage and the heavily improvised nature of its script. The film has many fans, but only a few can defend its protagonists. Heather, Mike and Josh do little to help each other once they realize their predicament.
The most stupid is undoubtedly Mike, who throws his card once lost. While there are supernatural phenomena at play, there’s no way you can throw the card in a stream to make things better. Heather and Josh aren’t much better. They both wander into obvious danger and bicker when they have to work together.
2/10 Julie James refuses to find help as her friends are chosen one by one
I know what you did last summer
Based on the book of the same name, I know what you did last summer begins with its protagonists making a foolish decision. They hit a man with their car and apparently killed him, but they decided to cover it up. It’s already a terrible choice to make, but protagonist Julie James doesn’t do much better with it throughout the film.
A year later, she and her friends are hunted down and arrested one by one in a series of events clearly linked to the accident. Due to the hit-and-run, Julie refuses to admit to anyone what happened, and so no one can help her. Julie’s many bad decisions result in the deaths of many people.
1/10 Micah Sloat makes all the wrong decisions
paranormal activity
Micah is one of the two protagonists of paranormal activity. His girlfriend, Katie Featherstone, spends much of the film experiencing the effects of demonic possession while Micah spends her time laughing at it. Even when he gets proof of impossible events happening around them, he minimizes the danger.
Most of Micah decisions in paranormal activity are exactly the bad ones. He promises not to buy a ouija board after everyone warns him, then borrows one to use instead. Micah treats Katie’s antagonist demon as fun and pays the price.
