10 Most Unlikeable Horror Movie Heroes
Whether by accident or design, these horror movie heroes were impossible to root for.
Horror movies are so often filled with thoroughly awful, horrible, unlikeable, detestable characters... and sometimes that sort of description isn't solely reserved for the villains of this murky corner of cinema.
Whether by accident or design, there have been plenty of horror heroes and protagonists who have been, well, insufferable pricks. Whereas you usually find yourself cheering on these heroes as they battle against the odds when faced with psychopathic killers, terrifying beasts, sinister supernatural entities, otherworldly beings, or even the warped notion of corrupt technology, for some films it's just impossible to root for those supposed good guys and gals - regardless of the threat they're faced with.
It might be down to misjudged writing, it might be down to smartly-judged writing, it might down to an under or overdone performance, but the following ten heroes ended up being hard to stomach. In some cases, the mere presence of these characters on screens had you doing your very best not to reach for the TV remote, exit the theatre, or eject your VHS, DVD, or Blu-ray (delete as applicable).
So with that in mind, then, here are ten of horror's most unlikeable movie characters.
10. Sgt. Hooker - Leprechaun 4: In Space
To be fair, whenever Leprechaun 4: In space comes up in a conversation, you know it's not going to be for any particularly positive reason.
Taking the bizarre antics of the Leprechaun franchise up into the stars and to the future of 2096, the basic plot has our titular Lubdan trying to marry an alien princess so that he can become the king of her planet. With Warwick Davis' Lep having tinkered a little too much with some space-set mining organisation, a brigade of marines have been sent to wipe out this gold-obsessed threat.
Heading up these marines? Why, that'd be Sgt. Hooker. Or, as his team know him, Metal Head. While he and his group have to battle the Leprechaun in ways that mimic (see: rip-off) Stars Wars, Aliens, and a whole bunch of sci-fi favourites, Hooker is forever just a total d*ck. Part-jock, part-1950s sexist, part-'roid rage, this is the sort of character who spends his time admiring his biceps, firing guns and screaming, and telling women to get back in the kitchen.
Full credit to Hooker actor Tim Colceri, though, for he served in the Marines for a couple of years in his younger days, in addition to at one point being a professional golfer; that golfing career cut short due to a tendon injury.