10 Horror Movie Survivors Who Vanished From Sequels

7. Kristen McKay - The Strangers

Friday the 13th Part II Ginny Field
Universal

We may have all initially thought she was totally, totally dead, yet Kristen McKay actually managed to somehow survive the traumatic events of Bryan Bertino's The Strangers.

In this 2008 picture, Kristen (Liv Tyler) and her beau James (Scott Speedman) find themselves terrorised and tortured by the mysterious Man in the Mask, Pin-Up Girl and Dollface. A genuinely random attack, this couple are targeted merely because they were home. Nothing more, nothing less.

Both of our central protagonists here are massively put through the wringer, with them tied up and stabbed over and over again. By the time The Strangers hits its bleak final few minutes, James is dead, we're led to believe that Kristen is likewise deceased, and our trio of masked killers drive off into the sunset.

It's only when two young boys spreading the word about religion stumble upon these 'dead' bodies that we realise Kristen is alive - as her lifeless body suddenly shrieks in terror.

Unfortunately, in the ten years it took to get The Strangers: Prey at Night to cinemas, the return of Kristen McKay was ultimately axed. When a sequel was first being planned, though, this character was indeed due to return - only to be killed off in the follow-up's opening.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.