10 Horror Movies That Tricked You By Killing The "Main Character" Early

10. Evil Dead

Evil Dead's inclusion on this list is down to just how damn believable Phoenix Connolly's performance is for her brief time on screen.

Connolly's unnamed teenager is the first character to appear onscreen, seen wandering through the woods before being captured by two grimy men who curse her and knock her out. She comes to in a basement reminiscent of the deepest circle of hell; her own father prepares to burn her alive while a witch-like old woman wails incantations from a manuscript resembling light reading for the Antichrist.

The innocent nature of the character, coupled with Connolly's exemplary performance conveying paralytic fear with every petrified whimper, meant that the audience was incredibly invested with her already; there was almost a subconscious hope that she must be the main character, just so that she might avoid such a horrendous fate, let alone discover the circumstances that had led her here.

Horror films are no place for sentimentality however and even as her father sets her ablaze, Connolly's face morphs into an absolutely hellish visage, revealing herself to be possessed by a demon; the desperate, wide eyed innocence was no more than a wolf in sheep's clothing act.

Not only was Connolly not the main character, she was in the thrall of the movie's primary antagonist.