10 Terrible Decisions Characters Made In Horror Movies

It’s normal for characters in horror movies to need to make important choices from time to time. However, these characters need to ensure that the decisions they are making are the smartest ones possible. No matter how intelligent or capable a horror movie protagonist may seem, even characters in some of the best horror movies of all time can fall prey to common logical pitfalls, often with lethal consequences. These frequently repeated poor choices have become enduring horror clichés, ripe for satire in self-aware franchises like Scream, while remaining genre mainstays that rack up tension by pushing characters closer to danger.

While flawed decision-making can serve narrative purposes, it’s still easy to criticize scenarios where the protagonists’ questionable judgment seems more attributed to genre convention than any believable psychology. When victims’ thoughtlessness or obliviousness to danger overrides reasonable behavior, it puts a damper on the investment of the story and renders characters less sympathetic. While horror by definition inflicts suffering, it’s debatable whether the cruelty stems more from an uncaring universe or characters unwittingly sealing their own fates.

10 Disrespecting The Culture

Midsommar (2019)

Ari Aster’s A24 horror film Midsommar follows a group of American students who travel to Sweden to observe the Swedish festival Midsommar that occurs once every ninety years. Mark, played by Will Poulter, foolishly decides to urinate on a sacred tree revered by the villagers. This insult to their customs angers the secretive cult members hosting the festival, who are later revealed to practice ritual murders. Mark’s offensive and ignorant actions set in motion a series of disturbing events that ultimately lead to the cult targeting him for their next human sacrifice. His lack of respect for the local culture and traditions proves to be a deadly decision.

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9 Throwing Away The Map

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

In the under $500,000 budget movie The Blair Witch Project, main character Mike makes an impulsive decision that puts the entire film crew in jeopardy. After days of being lost in the cursed woods, unable to find a way out despite having a map, Mike panics. He confesses to his companions Heather and Josh that he threw their map away, eliminating their best chance of escaping the forest.

While the audience is led to believe supernatural forces prevent the students from leaving, Mike had no real way of knowing. He reacted instinctively without considering how severely limiting their navigation options would impact the safety of the whole group. Tossing the map was a selfish act that showcased Mike’s lack of foresight. The blame for the crew’s subsequent days wandering in circles with dwindling supplies and strange occurrences happening around them can be directly traced back to this rash decision.

8 Driving Under The Influence

Hereditary (2018)

Another Ari Aster horror movie about grief that depicts a terrible decision is Hereditary. In this film, Peter lies to his mother that he is attending a school event in order to sneak to a party and do drugs with friends. Ensuring Peter stays responsible, his mother makes him bring along his younger sister, who has a severe food allergy. Peter abandons her at the party to get high, resulting in her ingesting nuts and requiring hospitalization. Peter then drives her himself, though impaired, risking their lives rather than properly getting medical assistance. His deceitfulness and negligence leads to a horrible accident, setting off the horrible events to follow.

7 Going Into The Pipe

Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers depicts a road trip gone awry when siblings Darry and Trish have a disturbing highway encounter with an aggressive stranger. After tailing the motorist and witnessing him hide a corpse, the rational response would be to contact law enforcement and keep driving. However, Darry recklessly decides to personally investigate by descending into the pipe that harbors the victim’s body. His poor judgment goes against even the most genre-savvy survival instincts, as highlighted when Trish points out exploring ominous tunnels resembles horror movie hijinks. Darry’s inability to recognize clear red flags not only demonstrates negligence toward their safety, but also foreshadows the horrifying ending of Jeepers Creepers.

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6 Not Hanging Up The Phone And Calling The Police

Scream (1996)

Wes Craven’s classic slasher film Scream introduces Casey Becker, who receives a sinister phone call from an unknown man. Despite mounting indications of a dangerous situation, Casey fails to promptly end the call and notify the police. Veteran actress Drew Barrymore commits to depicting Casey as sincere, yet frustratingly oblivious to impending doom. In hindsight, the sequence proves darkly comedic for those familiar with the film’s legacy who likely find themselves urging Casey to put an end to the doomed small talk. However, Casey’s inability to immediately recognize the threat, whether stemming from innocence, curiosity, or sheer stupidity, is no less aggravating, and unfortunately seals her fate.

5 Pulling The Trigger Too Soon

The Mist (2007)

The unsettling ending of supernatural horror movie The Mist depicts lead character David Drayton confronting an impossible decision after otherworldly forces devastate his community. With escape routes blocked and resources depleted, David reluctantly decides to kill his companions as an act of mercy, rather than allow the sinister Mist to claim them. After committing the horrible act, a devastated David prepares for his own death, only to discover military reinforcements arriving, ending the nightmare. By prematurely determining death was the only humane choice left, David not only robs innocent lives in a moment of hopeless panic, but is utterly shattered upon learning their ordeal was nearly over.

4 Not Shutting Down The Beach

Jaws (1978)

The classic summer blockbuster Jaws chronicles a small town mayor’s devastating decision when responding to a shark actively hunting beachgoers. Mayor Vaughn refuses to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that a great white shark is haunting the waters, valuing tourist profits over public safety, even after experts confirm human remains with unusual bite marks wash ashore. Despite the shark attacks, the tone-deaf Vaughn insists, without proof, they caught the shark and recklessly keeps the beaches open, callously dismissing both expert and public concern. His short-sighted decision to ignore reality by clinging to the idea of making a profit enables the vengeful shark to unleash further carnage.

3 Creating A System That Purges Monsters Into The Facility

The Cabin In The Woods (2011)

The comedy-horror film The Cabin in the Woods follows characters Marty and Dana who are trapped in a hidden facility that has secretly bred terrifying monsters to haunt and kill them. In a desperate attempt to escape, the protagonists deliberately release the creatures, unleashing chaos and bloodshed within the base. However, the glaring lack of logic by the shadowy organization that runs the operation is obvious.

As the characters themselves note, integrating the monster containment within the daily operational infrastructure of the facility seems counterintuitive and shortsighted. While freed beasts rampaging through separate purge floors could make strategic sense, flooding common corridors used by staff seems to defeat any functionality or security advantages. The film provides minimal rationale for such an odd structural design beyond plot convenience.

2 Helen Stops To Look Back Instead Of Running

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

In I Know What You Did Last Summer, Helen, portrayed compellingly by Sarah Michelle Gellar, runs for her life as she tries to escape from the film’s ruthless serial killer. Mere steps from escaping onto a crowded, well-lit street, she fatally decides to stop running and look back rather than run the few final steps to safety. While perhaps an act of defiant courage, Helen essentially seals her fate after coming so close to thwarting the murderous stalker. Especially after so much time was invested watching her struggle, Helen turning her back on possible rescue right at the threshold of escape makes her death peculiarly gut-wrenching.

1 Running in a Straight Line

Prometheus (2012)

A terrible, and arguably dumb decision made in Prometheus, shows two survivors of a collision between a spaceship and orbital debris left scrambling as the careening station spins uncontrollably. While initially running ahead as the vessel rolls behind them, the characters, Fifield and Millburn, could have easily escaped by simply running in any perpendicular direction. As Fifield continues forward, essentially falling into the approaching spacecraft’s path by failing to consider this cross-cut solution, Millburn recognizes this tactic and capitalizes on this basic escape route. However, rather than follow survival instincts, the doomed character remains directly in front of the lethal impact zone when changing course could have easily spared her in this Horror movie.