10 Horror Movie Characters WAY Better Than Expected
Nobody expected these horror characters to be this great.
The vast majority of horror movies usually make it immediately clear who audiences are going to root for and who they're going to wish for death, establishing the plucky, resourceful Final Girl and a bevy of lesser, obnoxious meat-sacks ripe for a-killing.
But sometimes horror movies love to subvert our expectations and do something different with a seemingly stereotypical, stupid, or downright useless character, enough that you might even fall head over heels in love with them.
And that's certainly true of these 10 horror movie characters, who despite inviting low expectations from the jump, actually turned out to be fantastic characters in their own right.
Hell, perhaps they even ended up stealing the movie - nay, the franchise - away from the "real" protagonist.
From a**holes you initially couldn't wait to see die to uninspired rehashes of previous characters and lame comic relief sidekicks, these characters all gave poor first impressions, yet grew on fans over the course of the movie to the extent that they eventually rooted for their survival.
And for those who sadly perished before film's end, audiences were left genuinely devastated...
10. Erik Campbell - Final Destination: Bloodlines
From the moment we meet protagonist Stefani's (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) cousin Erik Campbell (Richard Harmon) in Final Destination: Bloodlines, it seems like he's going to be the movie's resident deadpan snarker - an obnoxiously quippy wise-ass we can't wait to see die.
But that's not quite what happens.
After a series of fake-outs in which Erik is inexplicably spared from Death's scythe, we learn that he was actually the product of an affair, and therefore never part of the Campbell bloodline that's being targeted by Death.
It's a fun twist for the series and Erik's incredulous reaction makes it even more amusing, as well as the fact that he's now placed in the odd position of being "immune" to Death while trying to prevent the rest of his family from dying.
Of course it ultimately doesn't end well for Erik, as his efforts to save his brother Bobby (Owen Joyner) cause Death to take him out as collateral damage regardless.
Yet Erik was largely celebrated as the sequel's breakout character, enough that he even has his own Wikipedia page. Who could've seen that coming when the first trailer dropped?