Fact Check: Do Black Characters Always Die First in Horror Movies?

Are scary movie villains really that racist?

Oct 31, 2013
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Horror is no genre for black people, or so the popular opinion goes.

You know the deal—if there's a black character in a slasher movie, or any other scary flick involving multiple people dying in horrific ways, he or she is destined to be the first casualty. Because that's the apparent birth right of a horror film's "Token Minority," that one person of color who's there to make the respective movie less vanilla. And, let's face it, unless you're watching a Wayans Brothers spoof or a straight-to-DVD fright film starring one or more rappers, horror movies are typically whitewashed. A sad fact, indeed, but an unavoidable truth nonetheless.

Take a step back, though, and really think about some of your favorite horror movies. Are the black characters actually killed off first? Granted, if there are even any black characters in your favorite horror movies to begin with, which isn't a guarantee.

Consider the genre's almighty canon: the old Universal Monster movies from the 1930s and '40s, Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Shining (1980), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), The Exorcist (1973), Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Omen (1976), Halloween (1978), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), to name a few. Only two of those movies have prominent black characters, Night of the Living Dead and The Shining, and, yes, both guys die, but Ben (Duane Jones) in the former survives until the former's final scene and the latter's Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers) is only one of two people who die. He's first, yes, but The Shining doesn't have much of a body-count.

With those classics defying this controversial sentiment, we're posing this question: Do Black Characters Always Die First in Horror Movies? After compiling 50 horror flicks featuring main black characters, we've come to a conclusion that will surprise you.

Night of the Living Dead (1968)

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Character(s): Ben
Played by: Duane Jones
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

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Character(s): Peter
Played by: Ken Foree
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

The Thing (1982)

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Character(s): Childs, Nauls
Played by: Keith David, T.K. Carter
First to die?: No
Do they even die? No

Day of the Dead (1985)

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Character(s): McDermott
Played by: Jarlath Conroy
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

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Character(s): Reggie, Demon, Anita
Played by: Shavar Ross, Miguel A. Nunez, Jr., Jere Fields
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Demon and Anita do.

The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

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Character(s): Spider
Played by: Miguel A. Nunez, Jr.
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)

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Character(s): Max, Kincaid
Played by: Laurence Fishburne, Ken Sagoes
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Kincaid does.

Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

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Character(s): Jake
Played by: Mario Van Peebles
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

The People Under the Stairs (1991)

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Character(s): Fool, Leroy
Played by: Brandon Adams, Ving Rhames
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Leroy does.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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Character(s): Barney
Played by: Frankie Faison
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)

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Character(s): Jeryline, Irene
Played by: Jada Pinkett Smith, CCH Pounder
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Irene does.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

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Character(s): Frost
Played by: Fred Williamson
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Anaconda (1997)

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Character(s): Danny Rich
Played by: Ice Cube
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

Event Horizon (1997)

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Character(s): Captain Miller, Cooper
Played by: Laurence Fishburne, Richard T. Jones
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Captain Miller does.

Scream 2 (1997)

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Character(s): Maureen, Phil, Hallie
Played by: Jada Pinkett Smith, Omar Epps, Elise Neal
First to die?: Yes (Phil)
Do they even die? Yes, they both do. Before the opening credits, no less.

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

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Character(s): Ronny Jones
Played by: LL Cool J
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998)

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Character(s): Karla Wilson, Tyrell, Estes
Played by: Brandy Norwood, Mekhi Phifer, Bill Cobbs
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Tyrell and Estes do.

Urban Legend (1998)

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Character(s): Reese Wilson
Played by: Loretta Devine
First to die?: No
Does she even die? No

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

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Character(s): Eddie Baker
Played by: Taye Diggs
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

Scream 3 (2000)

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Character(s): Tyson Fox
Played by: Deon Richmond
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Thir13en Ghosts (2001)

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Character(s): Maggie Bess
Played by: Rah Digga
First to die?: No
Does she even die? No

28 Days Later... (2002)

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Character(s): Selena
Played by: Naomie Harris
First to die?: No
Does she even die? No

Ghost Ship (2002)

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Character(s): Greer
Played by: Isaiah Washington
First to die?: Yes

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

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Character(s): Freddie Harris, Nora, Rudy
Played by: Busta Rhymes, Tyra Banks, Sean Patrick Harris
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Nora and Rudy do.

Resident Evil (2002)

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Character(s): One
Played by: Colin Salmon
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Final Destination 2 (2003)

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Character(s): Eugene Dix
Played by: T.C. Carson
First to die?: No
Does she even die? Yes

Freddy vs. Jason (2003)

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Character(s): Kia Waterston
Played by: Kelly Rowland
First to die?: No
Does she even die? Yes

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

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Character(s): Kenneth, Andre
Played by: Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Andre does.

The Cave (2005)

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Character(s): Top Buchanan
Played by: Morris Chestnut
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Cursed (2005)

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Character(s): Jenny
Played by: Mya
First to die?: No
Does she even die? Yes

The Fog (2005)

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Character(s): Spooner
Played by: DeRay Davis
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No

House of Wax (2005)

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Character(s): Blake
Played by: Robert Ri'chard
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Venom (2005)

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Character(s): CeCe, Deputy Turner, Terry Parker, Sheriff
Played by: Meagan Good, Method Man, Marcus Lyle Brown, James Pickens, Jr.
First to die?: No
Do they even die? CeCe and Deputy Turner do.

See No Evil (2006)

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Character(s): Tye
Played by: Michael J. Pagan
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

28 Weeks Later (2007)

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Character(s): Stone, Flynn
Played by: Idris Elba, Harold Perrineau
First to die?: No
Do they even die? No

Grindhouse: Death Proof (2007)

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Character(s): Jungle Julia, Abernathy, Kim
Played by: Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Only Jungle Julia does. R.I.P. to those killer legs.

The Hills Have Eyes II (2007)

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Character(s): Delmar, Sarge
Played by: Lee Thompson Young, Flex Alexander
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Yes

The Mist (2007)

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Character(s): Brent Norton
Played by: Andre Braugher
First to die?: No
Does he even die? No... Well, we see him walk out into the mist, his fate left unknown. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, though.

Amusement (2008)

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Character(s): Lisa Hines, Ronnie Heflin
Played by: Jessica Lucas
First to die?: No
Does she even die? Yes

Day of the Dead (2008)

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Character(s): Salazar, Captain Rhodes
Played by: Nick Cannon, Ving Rhames
First to die?: Yes (Captain Rhodes)
Does Salazar die, too? Yes

One Missed Call (2008)

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Character(s): Shelley Baum
Played by: Meagan Good
First to die?: Yes

Prom Night (2008)

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Character(s): Lisa Hines, Ronnie Heflin
Played by: Dana Davis, Collins Pennie
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Yes, Lisa does.

Quarantine (2008)

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Character(s): Danny Wilensky, Scott Percival
Played by: Columbus Short, Steve Harris
First to die?: No
Do they even die? Yes, they both do.

Saw V (2008)

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Character(s): Luba
Played by: Meagan Good
First to die?: No
Does she even die? Yes

Friday the 13th (2009)

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Character(s): Lawrence
Played by: Arlen Escarpeta
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Saw VI (2009)

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Character(s): Simone
Played by: Tanedra Howard
First to die?: No
Does she even die? No

The Unborn (2009)

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Character(s): Romee, Arthur Wyndham
Played by: Meagan Good, Idris Elba
First to die?: Yes (Romee)

Final Destination 5 (2011)

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Character(s): Nathan
Played by: Arlen Escarpeta
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

Scream 4 (2011)

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Character(s): Deputy Perkins
Played by: Anthony Anderson
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

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Character(s): Holden, Truman
Played by: Jesse Williams, Brian White
First to die?: No
Does he even die? Yes

The Verdict

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Final percentage: Out of the 50 movies considered here, 0.1% (5 out of 50) of them have black characters who die first.

As it turns out, black characters don't always die first in horror movies. In fact, they rarely ever die first. Their mortality rate is, however, extremely low, but at least black characters get to hang around long enough to either crack plenty of comic-relief jokes or awkwardly stand around in the background, behind the bland Caucasian heroes and protagonists.

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