10 Horror Movies That Weirdly Made Characters Look Like Idiots

2. Helen Shivers - I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Columbia Pictures

Though I Know What You Did Last Summer initially introduces Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) as a vapid beauty queen stereotype, she's eventually revealed to be a considerably more complicated, troubled, and sympathetic character.

She's also brave and generally prone to making smart decisions or, in the very least, putting up one hell of a fight. That is, until she gets seconds away from freedom.

When Helen is attacked by hook-totting fisherman Ben Willis (Muse Watson) in the third act, she flees through the warehouse into the adjoining alleyway, and seeing the Fourth of July street parade up ahead, knows she'll have safety in numbers.

Yet while heading towards the alley's exit, she suddenly stops and turns around for a few seconds, sensing a presence behind her. When she turns back around towards the street, though, she's met by Willis, who quickly grabs and kills her.

Helen, you were so unexpectedly smart and resourceful, and then you caught a fatal case of idiocy totally out of nowhere? What happened?

Given that Helen is arguably a more popular character than protagonist/survivor Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) herself, her braindead demise pissed a lot of people off.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.