Top 20 Stupidest Horror Movie Characters

“Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” (2010)
Making a dumb decision against an obviously malevolent force that gets you killed is one thing. But rushing headfirst into a situation before fully understanding it, and still getting yourself killed? Well, that’s something else entirely. This horror comedy focuses on two redneck friends who kindly nurse an injured Allison back to health. But, assuming they’re backwoods murderers out of a standard scary movie, her friends attempt to rescue her. This leads to their violent yet accidental deaths, each more hilarious than the last. If they had only attempted to talk to Tucker and Dale, rather than judge them on appearance, they would have lived. But then we wouldn’t have this modern genre classic.

“Us” (2019)
Jordan Peele’s second groundbreaking venture into horror follows the Wilson family, who make smart decisions and work together to survive. But on the flip side of the coin, you have their friends, the Tylers. Even before the mayhem begins, the Tylers are shown as completely vapid and utterly self-absorbed. Parents Kitty and Josh are more concerned with getting drunk than spending time with their daughters. It isn’t too often that a character’s behavior is so succinctly summed up in one scene that the audience thinks, “Yep, they’re as good as dead.” So when Josh ignores strange sounds coming from outside, the family comes to their natural conclusion.

“House of Wax” (2005)
In fairness, none of the characters in this formulaic slasher are that smart. But none of them make such a profoundly large amount of bad decisions in such a small span as Dalton does. After the friends stumble upon a small town with the most dangerous wax museum of all time, Dalton goes off alone. Bad decision #1. He then attempts to free his friend, who’s encased in wax. But peeling it off means peeling off the skin, which he stupidly continues to do. Bad decision #2. #3 comes when he yells, “Hold on!” to the masked killer chasing him. And #4 comes when he doesn’t continue running away after falling down some stairs. Come on, are you even trying?

“The Shallows” (2016)
Surfing, like any sport, comes with certain safety precautions. For example, don’t go surfing at a secluded beach alone where no one can find you. And if a shark does attack, maybe don’t take refuge on a giant whale carcass i.e. the reason the shark is there in the first place. One could chalk that decision up to the chaos of the moment, but Nancy makes other poor decisions. She tries setting fire to the shark via the whale’s oil and a flare gun. But as it’s literally surrounded by water, that only manages to piss it off. Plus, doesn’t every surfer know you should poke a shark in the eyes or gills? That would’ve solved your entire problem.

“Midsommar”
Many horror movies have comedic relief characters. But in the case of Mark, his off-color personality directly leads to him being killed. After being invited to a special festival in Sweden, a group of friends begin to notice strange occurrences. If Mark were smart, he may have tried to play it safe in the presence of what is clearly a cult. But after several people go missing, he just keeps being his rude, sex-obsessed self. He even urinates on a sacred, ceremonial tree instead. It’s a mistake, of course, but come on. Maybe act a little more civilized in the face of danger. Fellow victim Josh also breaks some commune rules, but at least he tries to be sneaky.

“Aliens” (1986)
James Cameron’s sequel is a monumental entry to the sci-fi/horror franchise. But not all of the characters are created equal, as Lieutenant Gorman can attest to. He is by far the most negligent, unprepared character in the movie. He convinces the newly awakened Ripley to help him secure a xenomorph-infested colony site. He leads her to believe he’s prepared when he’s only been on one combat drop. He panics under stress and constantly makes poor decisions that Ripley has to rectify. If he had been upfront from the start and not been following Burke’s lead, he wouldn’t have gotten so far in over his head. And many characters would have been spared horrible deaths.

“Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
It seems that ever since the dawn of zombie movies, characters have been making stupid decisions. Take Barbra for example. At the onset, she’s clearly a burden on every other character. She must be saved by her brother, who she watches die instead of helping. She then crashes her car without any obstacle in her way. And this is all while dealing with only ONE zombie. She refuses to believe her brother isn’t alive and it’s her arrival that brings the onslaught of undead on the safe house. If she didn’t stupidly get herself killed when she sees her zombified brother later, we’d think she was the actual antagonist of the movie.

“Saw II” (2005)
The “Saw” franchise has given us some twistedly clever traps, but the one that this character falls victim to is the simplest one. While frantically searching for the antidote to the poison coursing through her veins, Addison comes across a glass box with a syringe inside. Instead of listening to the tape for clues, she sticks both hands inside. But the box traps her with razor-sharp blades and she bleeds to death. Even if she wasn't going to listen to the tape, she could have at least studied the trap first. As we can see, the lock and key are right on the other side.

“The Thing” (1982)
We can understand making some mistakes while dealing with an alien that can resemble any living creature. But this member of the doomed research team is just simple-minded. Clark spends most of the movie with a blank stare on his face, but it’s arguably his fault any of his colleagues die. After putting the then-dog-shaped alien with the other sled dogs, it quickly assimilates into them. And this is the moment where things go horribly wrong. Not only does he inadvertently cause the deaths of others, but he also gets himself killed. When MacReady tries to test his blood later in the movie, Clark tries to stab him and gets himself shot. And he wasn’t even an alien.

“Scream” (1996)
This 1996 slasher classic is all about what not to do in order to survive a horror movie. And Sidney’s BFF Tatum provides a perfect lesson. When the teens throw a party during the film’s climax, it offers the killer ample opportunity to up the body count. After being cornered in the garage, Tatum actually does a decent job fighting him off. But that’s what makes her decision to attempt escape through a tiny doggy door so baffling. Anyone could tell there’s no way she’d be able to fit. It’s undoubtedly the dumbest thing she could think to do in that moment. She essentially throws her life away and she’s more than deserving of the top spot because of it.

“Hostel” (2005)
It seems that no one told Paxton the most vital rule of traveling abroad: look out for tourist scams. While backpacking across Europe with his friends, Paxton instead pursues any situation that could result in him getting laid. We could forgive him if one bad decision led to misfortune. But after both of his friends vanish during different instances, he continues to stick around and dig into the situation rather than getting help. This of course leads to him being kidnapped and tortured himself. While he does escape his captors, it isn’t because of his smarts. Rather, it is due to sheer dumb luck.

“Don’t Breathe” (2016)
This character gets extra points for being a complete scumbag. As part of a trio of thieves, Money concocts a plan to rob a US Army Special Forces vet. This means he devised a plan knowing full well that their target had the necessary skills to stop any intruders. He also knew going into it that the man was blind, making him the more despicable of the three thieves. It’s his recklessness that wakes the blind man up while they are robbing him, which leads to him getting killed off early on. But at least his death led to one terrifying thrill ride.

“Prometheus” (2012)
You’d think that a biologist on a space exploration team would have common sense, but, you’d be wrong. Seeking answers about humanity's origins, the team enter a vast structure on a foreign planet. After getting lost, Millburn, along with geologist Fifield, discovers a snake-like alien creature. While Fifield is understandably cautious, Millburn is completely entranced and goes on to demonstrate exactly why if you find yourself on an unknown planet face-to-face with an alien creature, you shouldn't try to touch it. Otherwise, it could lead to your horrifying demise along with a multitude of your colleagues.

“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (1997)
The plot is set into motion when a group of young adults accidentally run down a pedestrian, and dump the body in the ocean. A year later, they begin to be hunted down for what they did. After witnessing not one, not two, but three deaths as the killer chases her down, it seemed as if this ditzy beauty pageant winner might make it out alive. Helen’s quick reflexes and narrow escapes played against her dumb blonde archetype, that is until she made the amazingly stupid decision to turn around to see if she was still being chased, mere feet from a parade full of witnesses.

“Alien: Covenant” (2017)
In “Alien,” the xenomorph was so terrifying because it could out-think a group of capable astronauts. Fast forward to 2017, however, and its intelligence doesn’t seem that impressive. But that’s because the crew of the Covenant make terrible decisions before even coming into contact with it. What scientist would get on an unfamiliar planet without a helmet on, just in case? Or mess with some of its plant life without knowing what it is? Most of the characters are just fodder for cool death scenes, though it never feels like those scenes are earned, writing-wise. The top dumb prize has to go to Captain Oram, who’s manipulated towards his own death by David despite knowing he’s responsible for everything.

“Paranormal Activity” (2009)
This found footage horror film took the world by storm, but that didn't make the characters any smarter. After Katie moves into a new home with Micah, she confides in him that she has been haunted by a demon since she was a little girl. Intrigued, Micah sets up a camera to record any activity while they sleep. As the plot progresses, he constantly taunts the demon and takes none of the increasingly disturbing events seriously. He is even given access to a demonologist who he refuses to contact. His terrible decisions only make the demon angrier, ultimately leading to his demise.

“Evil Dead” (2013)
Most horror characters would survive if they'd pay attention to the warnings. Take Eric, for example. At a remote cabin in the woods, one character finds a mysterious book in the basement. The appearance of the book alone would be enough to dissuade anyone from reading it – it was chained up and bound in human skin. Eric, however, reads the text out loud despite multiple warnings against it. This summons all manner of evil to bring on the gruesome possessions and deaths galore! C’mon, man. Everyone knows you don't read evil skin-bound books of ancient languages that you find in a basement out loud.

“Poltergeist” (1982)
Once again, a lack of common sense rears its ugly head. This classic horror movie follows a family that moves into a house built on a cemetery, causing all sorts of ghostly and horrific things to happen to them. The family experiences multiple terrifying occurrences before the youngest child is kidnapped by a demon through a portal. But we’ve got to wonder why they didn’t just leave in the first place. Even after they get their daughter back and the house is pronounced clean, they still stay in the house another night. This, of course, brings them more trouble. Seriously? Just leave.

“Jeepers Creepers” (2001)
This creature feature focuses on a monster that awakens every 23 years to feast on human body parts. But it also features two of the dumbest protagonists seen in any horror movie. After almost being run off the road by a madman, this brother and sister witness him throwing a body down a pipe. And once he comes after them again, they decide it’s a good idea to investigate. If you are nearly killed by a lunatic twice and you still decide to investigate by crawling into the same pipe he just threw a body down nonetheless, you honestly deserve everything that’s coming to you.

“Jaws” (1975)
Steven Spielberg’s classic horror film is remembered for the scares. But what we don't remember it for is its shining example of municipal leadership: the insufferable Mayor Larry Vaughn. After a young woman is found dismembered, Vaughn refuses to acknowledge that a shark might be the cause, and is instead more concerned about the town's finances and the upcoming tourist season. As the attacks continue and worsen, Larry only looks for quick solutions. Except, if he hadn't been blinded by greed he could have helped stop the attacks early on, which would have been better for business anyway.