The Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy by Edgar Wright, Nick Forst, and Simon Pegg quickly became cult classics when it came to comedy. Each movie starred the same two lead actors but went through vastly different storylines. Hot Fuzz was the second installment that centered around an uptight police officer being reassigned to a boring town in West Country.
Little did Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) know that a seemingly mundane town has a dark secret when several murders arise. While fans laughed endless throughout the movie, they will agree that Angel was right to have his trepidations about a few since they proved to be a lot more annoying than others.
Simon Skinner
The creepiest character in the movie is Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), the manager of the local supermarket. Ever since Skinner jogged alongside Angel and confessed he was the culprit, Angel had a bad feeling about him. He wasn't the only one. Skinner had a bizarre character like he was hiding something behind his seemingly neighborly demeanor.
Which proved right. He was part of the secret Neighbourhood Watch Alliance (NWA) that made sure the village's reputation would be upheld. Even if it meant killing outsiders or people who threatened it. His cryptic messages and puns could be quite frustrating too.
Frank Butterman
To be fair, Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent) was a jolly character that at first looked like an okay person. He welcomed Angel with open arms and showed him how things were done in town. But he had his flaws. Butterman was a bit inept and didn't rally his troops to do solid police work.
It's later revealed that he was the founder of the NWA. His wife was the one who put the village on the map to win the first "Village of the Year." To keep up their reputation after his wife died, Butterman organized the villagers that would carry out murders and helped to cover up their disappearances.
The NWA
Seeing as the NWA is made up of a majority of the townspeople, it's easier to group them as being the worst. The kind and somewhat normal townspeople actually have a dark and horrible secret. They murder and get rid of any person that's a threat to their town and its peaceful livelihood.
The group even included Weaver (Edward Woodward), the professor who kept watch over town with his multiple surveillance cameras as well as the owners of the local pub. They killed the local town actor for his affair with a young woman and his horrible acting. The land developer was even killed because he had a gaudy and awful mansion. The deaths were more graphic than what is seen in most horror/comedy movies.
Leslie Tiller
Leslie Tiller (Anne Reid) was the town's florist with an impeccable green thumb. She was well-liked, even by Angel. What audiences can admire about the character was that she actually wanted to leave town for good. In one scene, Angel visits her and learns she plans to move away.
She tries to be truthful and says it's because of the last murder made to look like a freak accident. She is aware of the town's dark secret and tries to warn Angel and save herself. But, she's sadly murdered in the end by the NWA. All because they didn't want her florist skills to be used somewhere else.
Eve And Martin
Eve Draper (Lucy Punch) and Martin Blower (David Threlfall) weren't well-liked for a reason. Even Angel saw why the townspeople weren't pleased with them. But it still didn't justify their murder. Eve and Martin were local actors taking part in a play by Shakespeare.
The entire audience covered their eyes at the horrible acting as well as Eve's obnoxious laugh. Audiences could tell that the two were having some sort of secret relationship. Between their acting and affair, the NWA decided to rid the town of them.
Tim Messenger
Tim Messenger (Adam Buxton) had a short role in the movie but was inherently liked by viewers. Mainly because he wanted to become a serious journalist. His name is an obvious marker. But even audiences would get peeved at is constant grammatical mistakes in the new's headlines.
Angel sees him talking to Leslie Tiller and gets suspicious. Later on, Messenger comes up to Angel frantically, telling Angel he needs to speak with him about the land developer murder. The NWA got tired of his news reporting and decided to kill him.
Wainwright & Cartwright
When Angel first arrives at his new precinct, he meets the two head detectives on the team: Detective Sergeant Andy Wainwright (Paddy Considine) and Detective Constable Andy Cartwright (Rafe Spall). They are less than enthused about Angel coming in and stirring up their peaceful and lazy job environment.
The two detectives often gave Angel a hard time and refused to give him the time of day. They saw him as an overachiever. Despite their crude attitude and laziness, they redeem themselves in the end. They are convinced by Angel that the town's murders and NWA need to be put to stop for good.
The Police Squad
The police squad is made up of Sergeant Turner (Bill Bailey), Doris Thatcher (Olivia Colman), Bob Walker (Karl Johnson), and Tony Fisher (Kevin Eldon). To most people, the police force wasn't the best. It was understandable to have ill feelings towards them as they often refused to take their job seriously.
Instead, the others cared more about their daily cake slice and early lunches. However, the squad was still a kind bunch to anyone. By the end of the movie, they join forces with Angel to stop the NWA after realizing the truth. It's a fun scene when the detectives, Angel, and the officers use teamwork to push shopping carts into Lurch (Rory McCann).
Danny Butterman
Danny (Nick Frost) was an interesting character to see play out on screen. He's the son of Butterman and is obsessed with action buddy cop movies, like Bad Boys. Danny develops a friendship with Angel as he looks up to him for his success as an officer.
Despite his lacking of police work and intelligence, fans came to enjoy and appreciate the character for his kindness and loyalty. Especially when he works with Angel and even saved his life. Although he discovered that his father was the real enemy all along, Danny didn't let his emotions blind his judgment, committed to doing the right thing.
Nicholas Angel
At first, Angel might rub the people the wrong way because of his 'no nonsense' outlook. He's devoted to the job and not slacking when police work needs to be done. When transferred to the town, Angel doesn't let up and chastises the townspeople. Some might think he doesn't know how to have fun and let loose.
But he's the best character overall. His devotion to detective work leads him to question the circumstances of each murder. He also tries to help the other officers in doing a better job. Viewers also enjoyed that Angel still tried to develop some type of working relationship with Danny. In the end, he learns of the NWA and does everything possible to set things right.