With many horror movies, the most memorable element tends to be the villain. Case in point, horror villains such as Freddy Kreuger, Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers have been terrifying audiences for decades.
Most horror movies have an obvious villain, and the heroes/victims viewers are supposed to route for. However, sometimes things are more nuanced than this. When looking closer at some classic horror movies, some of the apparent victims are more villainous than they may first appear, and in some cases, they are perhaps even more despicable than the actual villain.
Dana Polk (The Cabin In The Woods)
The Cabin in the Woods plays homage to many elements of the horror genre, including the "Final Girl" trope. Dana Polk is the final girl and spends most of her time fighting off a deranged, zombie torture family. Upon finally learning the truth about "The Ritual" though, Dana is urged to kill her friend Marty and she barely flinches before going to shoot him (before being halted by a werewolf).
Dana also later decides that humanity isn't worth saving after all. She takes matters into her own hands in these situations and seems quite selfish and cold. Despite the despicable and horrific ways they went about it, The Organization were actually trying to protect humanity, only for Dana to seemingly cause the end of the world, making The Cabin in the Woods one of the horror movies with the most kills.
John Coleman (Orphan)
At the beginning of Orphan, John seems like a loving family man, and he's keen to be a great father to the newly adopted Esther. That being said, it's John's naiveté and reluctance to see Esther for what she truly is that leads to a lot of the tension within the movie.
The rest of John's family slowly begin to realize how deceitful Esther is but John continues to dote on her. Throughout the movie, John fails to support his wife, Kate and constantly takes Esther's side. John has also cheated on Kate in the past and flirts with one of the mums at the park. While Esther causes chaos within her new family, her ability to drive a wedge between her adoptive parents is made only too easy by John's lack of support or respect for Kate.
Christian Hughes (Midsommar)
At first glance, Midsommar may seem like a movie about a cult, but really, it's more about a toxic relationship and gaslighting. The Hårga have some strange customs that shock the characters within the movie, but, due to her traumatic past, Dani finds comfort in their community nonetheless by the end of the film.
Christian's treatment of Dani leaves her more at risk than anything the Hårga do. Christian continually belittles and gaslights Dani and is far more focused on the other women within the community than her. Although he is manipulated and drugged, Christian shows the intention to cheat on Dani long before this; his actions leave Dani isolated and insecure and therefore vulnerable to the Hårga.
Juno Kaplan (The Descent)
The main threat of The Descent is the "Crawlers" inhabiting the caves. However, rather than coming together against a common threat, the experience only serves to turn the characters against each other. For instance, during the creature's attack, it becomes apparent that Juno had previously had an affair with her friend Sarah's husband which had remained secret up until this point.
It's also important to note that Juno is the one who led the girls to the undiscovered cave system without their knowledge. During the initial Crawler attack, Juno accidently stabs Beth with a pickaxe but instead of trying to help her friend, she leaves her to die which further adds to her list of misdemeanors.
Sarah Carter (The Descent)
Juno wasn't the only guilty character in The Descent, as main character Sarah slowly descends into a rage throughout the movie. Sarah is already in a vulnerable state before the Crawlers attack, having lost her husband and daughter in a car crash. If Sarah's relentless killing of The Crawlers wasn't enough to further damage her mental state, learning that Juno had an affair with her husband and left Beth to die was sure to.
By the time Sarah comes face to face with Juno again, she stabs her in the leg with a pick axe and leaves her to the mercy of the Crawlers, giving The Descent one of horror's best fake happy endings. While Sarah's anger is justified, leaving her ex friend to die was perhaps a step too far.
Ellison Oswalt (Sinister)
Ellison is the main protagonist of Sinister, but he actually puts his family at risk in favor of his writing. Ellison decides to move his family to a "murder house" despite knowing that the previous family all died there. Aware that the killer could return to the house, Ellison moves to the home in order to write a book and remains determined to stay there.
Even after finding the murderous super 8 films and realizing that the house's past is affecting his kids, Ellison insists they should stay. Eventually, Ellison says that the family should move, but by this point, it's already too late; Ellison had already secured his family's fate when he decided to move them in the first place.
Peter Friedkin (Final Destination 5)
By the time of Final Destination 5, audiences had become familiar with the villain of this franchise: the ominous entity known as "Death." However, when it came to the fifth installment, the writers decided to add a new element to proceedings. The characters of this movie learned that if they killed another person, they would take their remaining life force and stall Death's claim on them.
Peter Friedkin happily embraced the idea. Peter grows obsessed with the fact that Molly was supposed to survive the initial bridge collapse and decides to make her his target. Even after killing Block, Peter still pursues Molly and is determined to kill her, making him one of the most despicable human characters in the franchise.
William Bludworth (The Final Destination Series)
Peter isn't the only Final Destination character with dubious intentions. Morgue owner Bludworth appears to three groups of survivors within the franchise and divulges ominous advice, but there are always some hints that Bludworth's intentions aren't entirely honorable.
One of the most telling signs is the discrepancies in Bludworth's advice between appearances. In the first movie, he explains death's design and "the list," but in the second film, he tells the survivors that new life can beat death, so why didn't he give this same advice to the flight 180 survivors? Bludworth seems to know Death inside out, but his advice is so vague and inconsistent that it suggests he may be more of a villain than a helping hand.
Jon (Eden Lake)
Seeing the young characters in Eden Lake exhibit such extreme violence is shocking enough, but it's the realistic feel of the movie that makes it so harrowing. While the angry group of teens are a constant threat throughout, it's the glimpses we get of their parents that really explain their behavior.
At the end of the movie, it's clear that Brett's father, Jon, is both verbally and physically abusive towards him. This certainly leans into the nature vs nurture debate, suggesting that Brett and his friends are a product of even worse people. After seeing just how far Brett is prepared to go, the suggestion that there's someone even worse out there makes for a chilling prospect. In a reminder that final girls don't always survive, Jenny is left to the mercy of Jon and the other parents at the end of the movie.
Loretta Jamison (The Visit)
When Becca and Tyler go to stay with their "grandparents" for the first time in The Visit, they begin to realize they're more sinister than the average old people. Although their mom, Loretta, seems perfectly pleasant and cheery when she calls them, some of her behavior does seem negligent.
Considering Loretta hasn't seen her parents for years and the kids have never met them, it seems dangerous that she doesn't escort them to their house. When the kids call Loretta to tell her about their relatives' strange behavior she seems more concerned with the cruise she's on. Considering the twist at the end of the movie, it becomes clear just how irresponsible Loretta has been.