Top 5 Biggest Jerks in Horror Movies

 Below we'll find the crème de la crème of ignoramuses that the Horror genre has to offer. Whether their onscreen performance were hated or tolerated, their ignorance caused great grief and unneeded suffering for the main characters or their supporting counterparts. Throughout the genre, many of these types of characters met their 'just desserts' and the following seem to, arguably of course, be no exception. Reader be warned spoilers ensue.

JUPE - NOPE(2022)

Here's a man who suffered a severe traumatic ordeal as a child actor on a sitcom set involving a co-star chimpanzee that went wild. As the movie Nope progresses it becomes apparent that what was thought to be an UFO spaceship is actually a living creature. It's been eating both people and wild life in the local area. Unfortunately, Jupe never learned a valuable lesson from his horrifying set incident. You can take the chimpanzee out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the chimpanzee. Nevertheless, dozens suffer agonizing deaths for his ignorance and it also inadvertently puts the film's main character in a jeopardizing situation.

MICAH - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY(2007)

Let's be frank, is there anybody that likes Micah? Nevertheless, Paranormal Activity, centers around Micah and Katie's encounters with a dark entity that appears to be residing in their home. Although, later on we learn the situation is in fact much worse than that. Regardless and to the point, no matter how out of hand these hauntings become throughout the movie, Micah constantly ups the ante in antagonizing the entity. Which in turn leads to the final confrontation and inevitably that comes from such events.

AMANDA - SAW(2004), SAW II(2005), SAW III(2006)

Aside from the first movie and most of the second movie, the third iteration of Saw, is where Amanda really becomes unbearable. Not only does she feel justified for the victims she has led to their deaths, but she also feels entitled. So much so that she begins to actually believe she can out smart Jigsaw, the man who sent her on the path to her 'salvation' in the first place and who by the way has been personally grooming her ever since. If you ask me, the character still didn't get her full come-uppance, but that's a rant for a different day.

AJ - BARBARIAN(2022)

The character you love to hate. A well written and performed trope of the film world. AJ is the epitome of asshole, only being slightly overshadowed by the next entry on this list. Pending sex scandals aside, everything about this character screams D-BAG. Even up to the final moments when he shoves the film's protagonist from the top of the water tower to escape the lumbering ogre that is chasing them. One thing we love, is that while the character is far from relatable, Justin Long still brings a humanizing element to the character, a performance that is very hard to pull off.

CAPTAIN RHODES - DAY OF THE DEAD(1985)

The quintessential jerkass of Horror films. Rhodes halts the main character's progress at every step and his eventual fate is one the most deserving and felt throughout the genre. Not to mention it's one of the most iconic. Every bit of screaming and antagonizing the character does in the film lays tracks to the characters foreshadowing promise of premise. "Choke on 'em!" Who can forget the dying screams of Captain Rhodes as he's disemboweled and devoured by an undead horde.

Did you enjoy this article? Let us know in the comments below who you feel are the biggest jerks in the Horror genre.

Helping Others Get Into Horror

Gone are the days of lending movies and giving recommendations... hello streaming. Ok, maybe that's not entirely true, but here's my method for helping new and potential fans get into the Horror movie genre. There's no tricks or elaborate processes involved. My plan here is simple, and I'd even bet my last Red Vine that it may even be similar to a process you already do yourself. But, just in case not, (bye-bye Red Vine) or for the fact it may prove inspirational for you, allow me to elaborate.

Let's be honest, helping a friend, family member or stranger get into Horror may seem like an excruciating process. Heck, perhaps it even was for you at one time or another. Likewise, it stings when someone we care about dislikes or even stomps on a flick we hold dear. Especially, when that said someone is a person that we are trying to groom into the genre. But with Horror being such an expansive genre, and there being a plethora of movies to choose from, where do you start? Because, let's face it, especially in a genre that no two fans seem to agree on when it comes to defining, it can become overbearing for the neophyte.

In addition, how do we keep a fledgling from drowning in a seemingly infinite, bloody pit of movies. With over a hundred years of films so much has come out, and many more movies are on the horizon. Originally, getting someone into Horror was an exhaustive process, at least for me. I would lend friends or co-workers movie after movie one or two at a time and try to judge their taste from there. But my stance has changed, now I let them get themselves into the genre at their own pace. I don't recommend movies, I let them pick it on their own, without so much as a nudge in any direction.

Wait, I know this may have your head tilting like Mike and you're probably thinking, 'dude, we clicked on your review for a bit more information than that.' So, allow me to elaborate. My method, well not mine, others have definitely thought of this strategy well before I did, is to recommend a streaming service. I'm not talking about Shudder or Screambox or anything like that. That's an eventual step, but I'm speaking more of the big three or four or what have you. Apps like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, HBO, and Peacock are ideal here. In an age of streaming, most newcomers to the genre are bound to have one or more of these apps. And you know what? If they don't have one of the big streaming apps? Then the hell with them! Just kidding! Fortunately, there are free apps like Tubi, PopcornFlix and Vudu just to name a few. Unfortunately, however, these free apps might have offerings that are a little bit more than the average newcomer may be able to chew. Nevertheless, if they don't have internet and living like they just landed on the Mayflower that unfortunately means we're back to the old days of lending them films from our coveted physical collections. And if you don't own any physical media, then you better beg, borrow or steal. Actually, Horrordork doesn't condone any kind of criminal activity, so please don't steal.

In accordance, with picking one of the big streamers, have them watch everything that looks interesting to them. Most importantly, follow through with them on a conversation for each movie they watched. I mostly just probe them with questions and let them do most of the talking. I really try not to impress any opinions on them at such a delicate step. It drives some newbies crazy when I won't let them in on what I thought about a film, but I really believe that the first dozen or so movies they watch is a crucial foundation that helps them formulate their own unique opinion on the genre. Also, try to keep them from steering away from a particular subgenre just because they didn't like a film. Unless of course it's a major aspect of that subgenre, like shaky-cam and found footage for example. By-the-way fuck the Blair Witch Project! I still feel like I wasted eight dollars and it's been damn near twenty years. But we'll save that rant for a different day.

Once, they've watched everything that seemed interesting to them in one app, send them to another, at least one more time before recommending Shudder or something of that sort. But that's just my opinion and theory, I'd love to hear your ways of getting your friends and acquaintances into Horror. Nevertheless, whether you're using some variation of this method or your own, I hope you're successful, because the more the merrier. And we, or at least I, like to think of all of us fans as Sawyers... err, I mean family.