If there’s one trope that’s been criminally overdone in horror media, it’s the dumb character trope. There really are laughably idiotic characters in the horror genre, both in film and video games — but especially video games — and it can be painful to watch as protagonists throw themselves head-first into a dangerous scenario or follow a cryptic message that will no doubt lead them to certain doom (looking at you, James Sunderland). It’s sad, really, but some horror protagonists just weren’t designed to be the brightest bulb in the bunch, as their characteristic foolishness lands them in all kinds of trouble, during which they make some of the worst decisions imaginable.
Not all of them are inherently stupid, but some of their actions speak louder than words, so it isn’t surprising that they’ve garnered such a reputation for themselves. These horror protagonists are some of the dumbest characters to ever grace the genre, but their idiocy doesn’t make them any less lovable.
Spoiler Alert: Major story spoilers are included for some of the games on this list.
8 Miles Upshur (Outlast)
Cryptic Emails Are Not An Invitation
It certainly wasn’t Miles’ finest moment; after receiving an ominous email informing him of some illegal experiments being conducted at Mount Massive Asylum, his initial thought was, “Let me investigate that alone, without telling anyone where I’m going.” Granted, Miles is a freelance journalist by trade and therefore extremely opportunistic and a bit of a glory hound, so he wants to hop on this scoop before the news breaks to all the major tabloids. However, Miles arrives at Mount Massive Asylum to find the mutilated corpses of the faculty and encounters several deranged inmates who are incredibly hostile toward outsiders.
Instead of high-tailing it out of there, as any rational individual would, Miles decides to explore further and winds up losing two of his fingers — and his sanity — in the process. Miles gets more than he bargained for, too, as the Walrider finds itself a new host, and he suffers a similar fate to the very test subjects he sought to expose. All of this could have been avoided if Miles had just tossed the email in his junk folder — or sent it to the appropriate authorities — but no, he just couldn’t leave well enough alone.
7 Daniel (Amnesia: The Dark Descent)
Self-Inflicted Amnesia Doesn’t Make Everything Go Away
Not only is Daniel irredeemable; he’s also pretty dumb, which isn’t a very flattering combination. Without a doubt, he’s one of the better Amnesia protagonists in terms of complexity, but he makes a series of decisions that are questionable at best in Amnesia: The Dark Descent. He was being manipulated by Alexander at the time of his heinous crimes, but Daniel tried to escape the guilt and shame by inflicting amnesia on himself. When he awakens, he manages to recall his name, his whereabouts, and the fact that he’s being hunted. At this stage, the smartest among us wouldn’t care much about exploring a creepy castle — they would just leave. Daniel, on the other hand, believes he can uncover some kind of conspiracy involving Alexander, so he ventures deep into Castle Brennenberg out of sheer curiosity.
As it turns out, he was in much bigger trouble than he initially assumed, and after piecing together everything that had happened, Daniel should have quit while he was ahead. But instead, just as he had allowed Alexander to manipulate him the first time, he falls into that same trap all over again. Amnesia: The Dark Descent should really release a trophy called “Just leave!” in which Daniel “nopes” out of there, immediately, and doesn’t even bother entertaining Alexander’s games.
6 James Sunderland (Silent Hill 2)
Very Dead Wife Is Still Very Dead
Again with the cryptic messages. James Sunderland is one smart cookie when it comes to self-preservation and survival instincts, but street smarts don’t trump book smarts. After corresponding with his deceased wife, who he knows — for an absolute fact — is definitely dead, James still decides that traveling to the remote town of Silent Hill is a good idea. He was very much present when Mary died and saw her lifeless body with his own eyes, but he makes the stupidest decision in any horror story and decides that a rendezvous with Mary in the middle of nowhere is a completely feasible option. Then, he has the audacity to act surprised when he enters Silent Hill and finds it overrun with monstrous creatures. Seriously, James?
He has the best intentions, certainly, and there’s no mistaking that his heart is in the right place. He’s riddled with guilt over Mary’s death and desperate to see her again, as any grieving husband would be. He does end up coming face-to-face with Mary for some closure, but it isn’t worth the hassle of confronting Pyramid Head and solving mind-numbing puzzles. All of this could have been easily avoided if he had just communed with ghosts the old-fashioned way and used a Ouija board.
5 Ashley Graham (Resident Evil 4)
Run Away From The Traps, Not At Them
While Ashley Graham isn’t the central protagonist of Resident Evil 4, she does have some playable segments, and she is one of the main drivers of the story — and a good person, even if she is a little air-headed. For the most part, however, Ashley is an infuriating NPC in Leon’s story whose sole purpose seems to be getting captured at every possible interval. She’s like Daphne from Scooby-Doo, but without the luxury of even stupider characters (like Shaggy and Scooby) to heighten her own intelligence by comparison. Needless to say, Ashley is still a welcome addition to Leon’s journey, even if she is a little dense. Leon’s main objective in Resident Evil 4 is to protect Ashley at all costs during combat scenarios, but she doesn’t make his job any easier when she’s rejecting his help and running head-first into one of Los Illuminados‘ booby traps.
In fact, this happens several times throughout RE4, and by the end of the game, Leon is just glad to be rid of her. Ashley ends up becoming more of a nuisance than an ally, but her reckless impulsivity makes Leon (a bit of a “himbo” himself) appear infinitely more intelligent. Actually, it isn’t hard to be smarter than Ashley Graham; just run away from the traps, not straight into them.
4 Sebastian (The Evil Within 2)
Round 2 In Hell? Why Not?
All throughout The Evil Within 2, Sebastian makes it very clear that he’s confused at all times, and he doesn’t shy away from letting the player know constantly. This guy literally fought horrifying monsters and practically walked through Hell itself in The Evil Within, so he should not be this confused in the sequel. Sebastian probably says “what the hell?” more times in The Evil Within 2 than all the Resident Evil protagonists put together. After the apparent death of his daughter, Lily, and the subsequent abandonment by his wife, Sebastian spends his days staring down the bottom of a bottle. When Sebastian is informed that his daughter is still alive and serving as the host for a new STEM system, he doesn’t think twice about returning to Union despite knowing the risks.
After going through everything he did in The Evil Within, common sense would tell Sebastian to count his blessings and not voluntarily place himself at risk — again — but as it is becoming a theme with these horror protagonists, common sense isn’t all that common. Sebastian is driven by the need to find Lily, which is understandable, but a certain confrontation reopens old wounds that only worsen Sebastian’s PTSD and very nearly costs him his life — again.
3 Jessica Riley (Until Dawn)
Don’t Poke The Bear
Obviously, Until Dawn‘s roster of playable protagonists are all inspired by some horror stereotype. Mike is the jock, Matt is the bone-headed guy with a heart of gold, Chris is the class clown, and Jessica is the bubble-headed blonde, since horror movies and video games don’t seem to be complete without one (points for Ashley Graham). For starters, Jessica isn’t particularly intelligent by design, as proven by how she argues with Emily about how her “natural advantages” will get her further in life than a 4.0 GPA, which just isn’t realistic. Then, when Josh casts Jess and Mike out of the lodge, they both agree to go down Blackwood Mountain — alone — to find a remote cabin and spend the night there, despite knowing nothing about their surroundings and being completely unarmed.
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Jess is abducted by the Wendigo and finds herself dragged into the mines, where she has to fend for herself. Maybe if she hadn’t antagonized a “bear” and stepped foot out of the cabin into the line of sight of said “bear,” she would have had a much easier night. But that isn’t Jessica’s style. She much prefers to go outside half-naked and scream at whatever threatens to kill her, since that works wonders.
2 Ethan Winters (Resident Evil 7)
Missing Wife Says Don’t Go, So He Goes
Ethan Winters must be a spiritual successor to James Sunderland, since there’s no other way of explaining why his motivation to save Mia blindly leads him to the precise location where she firmly instructs him not to go. Ethan loves Mia, fine, so he wants to save her — also fine — but traveling to the Baker Family’s home in rural Louisiana after Mia pre-warned him of the horrors he might find wasn’t the mark of an intelligent man. After learning of Mia’s disappearance through some video camera footage, he receives a message that reads, verbatim: “Dulvey, Louisiana. Baker farm. Come get me.” Does that sound particularly urgent, Ethan? If it doesn’t sound life-threatening, it probably isn’t, and chances are — it’s a trap. To make matters worse, Ethan doesn’t achieve a single thing in Resident Evil 7 before dying outright, only to come back as a Mold clone in Resident Evil 8. His IQ and his KD ratio aren’t looking too hot by this point.
Also, in Resident Evil 8, Ethan valiantly offers to sacrifice himself so that Chris Redfield, his daughter Rose, and everyone else can escape unharmed. But, there’s a twist. Chris Redfield used a remote detonator; Ethan didn’t need to be there for the explosion. He could have just left, Mold clone or not. That’s pretty stupid, even for someone with no critical thinking skills whatsoever.
1 Luca (MADiSON)
Some Protagonists Are Better Seen And Not Heard
Out of all the dumb horror protagonists, none are quite as dumb as Luca, the player character in MADiSON. Throughout the entire game, all Luca seems to do is repeat himself or make blatant observations about his environment. He’ll walk into a graveyard and say “Is this a graveyard?” as if it weren’t painfully obvious from the tombstones. It’s almost as if MADiSON doesn’t trust the player to be competent, so it has Luca state the name or purpose of any and all locations or objects of interest. Luca was so obnoxious and so dim-witted that the MADiSON developers included an optional setting where he could be muted. Not any other character or enemy — just Luca. If that isn’t telling as to how much of an insufferable buffoon he truly is, nothing will ever be.
Not to mention, Luca doesn’t just ruin the atmosphere of the game with his slowness; he also makes the worst decision possible after discovering that the polaroid camera in his possession can detect ghosts and demons. As Mike Wazowski once said, “put that thing back where it came from or so help me.” Luca isn’t particularly likable, nor does he feel remotely realistic as to how a protagonist would react to changes in the environment, so players are piecing everything together way before Luca ever does. It insults the player’s intelligence to know precisely what’s happening and still have Luca playing catch-up the whole time.
