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OPINION: Here Are 12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies

OPINION: Here Are 12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies

Don’t go into the dark room, don’t split up with your fellow characters and don’t ever look back. Those are some of the certain rules that one must follow just to survive a horror movie. For this list, we are looking at the characters who have made the absolutely dumbest decision in horror movies. These terrible choices resulted into their own deaths or the deaths of others.

Here Are 12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies:

Don’t Breathe (2013)

Money gets extra points for being a complete scumbag. As part of a trio of thieves, he concocts a plan to rob the house of a former member of the Army Special Forces. This means he devised the plan, knowing full well that he targeted someone who had necessary skills to stop any intruder.

He also knew that this veteran went blind during one of his missions, making him the more despicable of the three thieves. Money’s recklessness woke the blind soldier up during the robbery, getting killed in the process. I would give extra points to the other two, though, for agreeing to such plan.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from Sony Pictures

Prometheus (2012)

We would think that a biologist on a space exploration team would have a common sense but of course, we’d be wrong. Seeking answers about humanity’s origins, a team of experts enter a vast structure on a foreign planet. After getting lost, Millburn along with geologist Fifield discovers a snake-like alien creature.

Although Fifield remains understandably cautious, Millburn falls into a trance and goes on to demonstrate exactly why you shouldn’t try to touch an unknown creature. Otherwise, it would lead to your horrifying demise along with the multitude of your colleagues.

Photo from 20th Century Fox

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

The plot of the movie starts with a group of young adults accidentally running over a pedestrian. They, then, dumps the body in the ocean. A year later, a killer begins to hunt them down one by one. After witnessing three deaths as the killer chases her down, it seemed that this ditzy pageant winner might actually become the last girl standing.

Helen has quick reflexes and narrow escapes, playing against her dumb blonde stereotype. However, she makes the amazingly stupid decision to look back just to see if she is still being chased— only a few feet away from a parade-full of witnesses.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from Columbia Pictures

Paranormal Activity (2007)

This found footage horror film took the world by storm but that didn’t make the characters any smarter. After couple Micah and Katie moves into a new home, she confides in him that she actually has an experience of a demon haunting her at such a young age. Intrigued, Micah sets up a camera to record any activity while they sleep.

As the movie goes on, we see Micah constantly taunting the demon despite the increasingly disturbing events which he doesn’t take seriously. Even with the contact details of a demonologist, he refused and didn’t even try to ask for help. Of course, his terrible decisions only made the demon angrier which lead to his demise.

Photo from Paramount Pictures

Evil Dead (2013)

Most horror movie characters would have survived if they just paid attention to warnings. Take Eric for example, who found a mysterious book at the basement during a vacation at a remote cabin in the woods. The appearance of the book alone, chained up and bound in human skin, would have warned a person from actually reading it.

However, Eric, being the dumb blonde that he actually is, reads the text out loud despite multiple warnings to leave the book alone. Of course, this summoned the evil beings, gruesome possessions, and deaths.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from Sony Pictures

Saw II (2005)

The Saw franchise has given us some twisted and clever traps. Addison encounters one that turned out to be the simplest one. Frantically searching for the antidote to the poison coursing through her veins, she comes across a glass box with a syringe inside. Instead of listening to the tape for clues, she sticks both of her hands inside. The box traps her with razor sharp blades and she bleeds to death.

Photo from Lionsgate Films

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

This movie features a creature that awakens every 23 years to feast on human body parts. However, it also features two dumb protagonists. After a madman almost ran them off the road, this brother-and-sister duo, Darry and Trish, witnessed him throwing a body down a pipe.

Once he comes after them again, they decide it would be a great idea to investigate. If a lunatic nearly killed you twice and you decide to crawl inside a pipe just to investigate, what does that call you? Dumb… and you probably deserved what happened to you.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from United Artists

Jaws (1975)

We remember this movie for the scares and how it pioneered the man-versus-killer-animal trope. However, we don’t remember it for the shining example of municipal leadership. After the authorities find a young woman dismembered, the insufferable Mayor Larry Vaughn refuses to acknowledge that a shark might be the cause.

Instead, he remains more concerned about the town’s finances and the upcoming tourist season. As the attacks continue and worsen, this mayor only looks for quick solutions. However, if it weren’t for his greed, he could have helped stop the attacks early on.

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Photo from Universal Pictures

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s second groundbreaking venture into horror follows the Wilson family. They make smart decisions and work together to survive. On the flip side of the coin, we see their friends: the Tylers. Even before the chaos began, we already see them as self-absorbed and completely vapid.

Parents Kitty and Josh would rather get drunk than spend their time with their daughters. When Josh ignores strange sounds coming from outside, the family comes to their demise.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from Universal Pictures

House of Wax (2005)

In fairness, none of the characters in this slasher are not that smart. However, none of them makes large amount of bad decisions in such a small span as Dalton does. After the friends stumble upon a small with the most dangerous wax museum of all time, # 1: Dalton goes off alone— a mortal sin in horror movies.

#2: He tries to free his friend who has already been encased in wax, peeling off his skin, which he stupidly continues to do. #3: As the killer chases him, he tells him to “hold on” and doesn’t even try to stand up and run some more to escape. Is he even trying?

Photo from Warner Bros.

Midsommar (2019)

Many horror movies feature a character who is only there for comedic relief. In this case, Mark’s off-the-color personality leads to his own death. After being invited in a special festival in Sweden, a group of friends began to notice strange occurrences. If Mark was smarter, he would have tried to play it safe in the presence of the residents who are actually in a cult. After several people goes missing, he just keeps being his rude sex-obsessed self.

12 Characters That Made The Dumbest Decisions In Horror Movies
Photo from A24 and Nordisk Film

Aliens (1986)

James Cameron’s sequel remains a monumental entry to the science-fiction-horror franchise. However, not all characters are created as equally as dumb which Lieutenant Gorman can attest to. Probably the most negligent and 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 that he is prepared when he has only been on one combat drop. He panics under stress and constantly makes poor decisions that Ripley has to rectify.

Photo from 20th Century Fox

Did we miss any one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments section below!

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