9 Horror Movie Heroes Killed By Their Own Vices

Those protagonists brought down by their own addictions, obsessions, ego, greed or immorality.

by Andrew Pollard
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Taryn
New Line Cinema

It's famously been said time and time again over the decades how we've all got our own vices. And when it comes to the silver screen, there have been so many characters engulfed and destroyed by their own vice of choice.

To set the table, the Cambridge Dictionary defines a vice as a "moral fault or weakness in someone's character" or "illegal and immoral activities" - with that covering anything from addiction, to obsession, to greed, to lust, to ego.

For the world of horror cinema, there have been countless examples of someone being brought down by their own vices. At times that's the villain of the piece going too far in their quest for dominance, while at other times it could be the protagonist of said film being undone by their own unfortunate habits.

This time out, it's the turn of horror heroes to take centre-stage here, with their transgressions on full display for all to see.

Here, then, are nine heroes of horror who, despite maybe having even got the best of the 'big bad' of their movie, were ultimately taken down by their own personal vices.

9. Bill Freeburg - Freddy Vs. Jason

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors Taryn
New Line Cinema

"Won't you fly high, Freeburg..."

Hey, that joke writes itself, as Freddy vs. Jason introduced us to loveable stoner Bill Freeburg (Kyle Labine) as two of horror's greatest big bads did battle back in 2003.

Complete with the look, dialogue, mannerisms and drug habits, Freeburg was every inch Jason Mewes-lite. For this Ronny Yu-helmed picture, New Line Cinema essentially took Mewes' Jay of Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse and dropped him into Springwood.

While Freeburg did get to stroll around the Springwood locale that is synonymous with Freddy Krueger, the character unfortunately didn't make it out to Camp Crystal Lake with the rest of his friends - for he'd be killed during the group's visit to Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital.

That trip to Westin Hills was done in order to steal a bunch of Hypnocil - the drug that stops dreams, thus stops Freddy Krueger - but that plan hit a bump in the road when Freddy possesses Freeburg, has the stoner pour the Hypnocil away, makes him attack Jason, resulting in Voorhees literally slicing Freebrug in half.

How did this 'possession by Freddy' come about? That's because Freeburg smoked so much weed he hallucinated seeing a bizarre insect creature that breathed the spirit of Krueger into him.

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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 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, 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. 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.