10 Scumbag Horror Movie Protagonists We STILL Rooted For

7. David Collins - The Guest

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Picturehouse

It's a testament to how damn likeable Dan Stevens is as an actor that despite killing a metric crap-ton of people throughout The Guest - some of them unambiguously innocent - we probably still don't want him to die at the end.

Former U.S. Army soldier David (Stevens) is introduced as an incredibly wholesome, charming, and bloody handsome chap who immediately bonds with the Peterson family. 

He even rights some wrongs, like hilariously setting straight the bullies picking on the Petersons' son Luke (Brendan Meyer), but it's ultimately revealed that David was a subject in a military experiment. 

As a result, he's programmed to kill anyone who threatens to expose his identity, eventually even the Petersons themselves, and while we don't want him to succeed in that mission, there's still enough humanity poking through David's cold-bloodedness that we don't want him to die either.

And so, it's quite apt that director Adam Wingard decided to end the movie with David being "killed," only for him to return from the dead moments later, making for a grimly hilarious fist-pumping final "gotcha!"

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.