The best horror movies have characters the audience cares about fighting monsters or other powerful forces. The fear these movies inspire comes directly from hoping that the characters survive because we like them or relate to them.
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Sometimes, however, the protagonist is not the strongest or most memorable character. A character might have a minor role — often, the first one to die — yet completely steal the show. There have been several horror movies where a show-stealing minor character made the movie much more memorable and scary.
5) Amanda Young In The First Saw Movie
In the original Saw, Amanda Young was a very minor character. She was a survivor of the Jigsaw Killer who escaped a reverse bear trap and suggested that he had helped her. Despite the brevity of her appearance, fans were drawn to Amanda and wanted more.
Amanda likely got retconned into an antagonist (Jigsaw’s apprentice) during later Saw movies because she was so popular. The writers brought her back and made it clear that she became loyal to the Jigsaw Killer after her “test.” Her new role as an antagonist was equally as fascinating as her original appearance and made the sequels that much scarier.
4) Deputy Chicory in Bone Tomahawk
Bone Tomahawk is one of the best Western horror movies ever made. During the first part of the film, the characters travel across the frontier to rescue captives, and it isn’t until they come face to face with evil that the movie becomes exciting. However, Chicory stops the first act from being dull.
Richard Jenkins’ character talks too much and is prone to making comical errors. He works as comic relief, but Jenkins also makes sure that Chicory has heart. Not only is he a memorable character, but Chicory’s bumbling persona offers a false sense of relief that makes the cannibalism in the film that much more shocking.
3) Randy Meeks in Scream
Randy Meeks was so beloved that his death in Scream 2 was almost unforgivable. During the original Scream, he was a proxy for the audience — his obsession with horror movies resonated with fans of the genre who often had similar encyclopedic knowledge.
In the first film, this knowledge was also an asset to other characters, as Randy offered explanations to help them understand what was going on and try to survive. Everyone was relieved when he survived the first movie, but that didn’t last long. Many fans have hoped that Randy’s death is fake and that he will eventually return, but actor Jamie Kennedy has confirmed that Randy is dead, at least for now.
2) Rod Williams in Get Out
Every horror movie protagonist needs a best friend who provides comic relief while trying to rescue them. Nobody fulfilled this role better than Get Out‘s Rod Williams. From the first time he appeared (in a film crowned best horror movie of the century), Rod was fully focused on Chris’ well-being while also making the audience laugh.
Similar characters either get killed or are so stupid that they’re useless, but not Rod. He is determined to save Chris and ultimately is successful, making him even more endearing. Plus, he is one of the only TSA agents to be a hero in a movie, which made him even more attractive to fans who work for the TSA or other security jobs.
1) Quint in Jaws
Jaws is a classic horror movie for several reasons, but one of them is the character of Quint. He was the perfect foil to quiet oceanographer Matt Hooper: resilient, stubborn, and never afraid to say what he thinks.
One of the most famous scenes in Jaws is Quint’s monologue about being aboard the ship that delivered the Hiroshima bomb at the end of World War II. It was emotional, captivating, and one of the best speeches by a non-protagonist in film history. Everyone fell in love with Quint, which is why his death at the hands of the shark during the film’s climax hurts so much.
Who is your favorite scene-stealing horror movie character? Leave a comment and join the conversation at the ComicBook Forum.
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