8 Horror Characters We Were Happy To See Killed

6. Joey Burns - Friday The 13th: A New Beginning

Joey Burns Friday the 13th: A New Beginning
Paramount Pictures

Ultimately, the death of Joey Burns was a plot point used to allow the Friday the 13th franchise to serve up a Jason Voorhees copycat. That copycat, of course, would end up being Roy Burns - the vengeance-seeking father of Joey.

It may sound harsh, but was anyone actually sad when Joey was killed off during the opening act of Friday the 13th: A New Beginning? No, no they weren't.

Just seeing Joey putting his chocolate-covered fingers all over a nice, crisp, clean white bedsheet would be enough to warrant his demise in the books of many, and the writing was only further on the wall for Joey when he annoyed anyone and everyone he met during the opening scene.

Whether he intended to draw his ire or not, Joey's fatal mistake was barking back at fellow halfway house resident Vic Faden. The fact that this argument occurred while the amped-up, ramped-up Vic was frantically, furiously chopping wood wasn't Joey's wisest decision - and it's a decision that sees Vic snap and launch his sturdy axe into the back of Joey.

Let's face it, the painful few minutes that Joey was on screen were more than enough to warrant him being killed off.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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 day job, 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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.