Do you know why I hesitate to go camping, hiking, or do any activity away from civilization? Because almost every horror movie I’ve ever seen heavily implies it won’t end well for me. It’s common knowledge that if you’re a Black male on the set of a horror film, the chances of you surviving to the next day of shooting or getting called back for a sequel are slim to none.
But that doesn’t mean you aren’t important. In fact, you’re the most important person in the room: you’re the example. For your allies or the audience to truly grasp the severity of the situation, they need to suffer a loss—and who better than the person who doesn’t fit the traditional hero or final girl mold? But every so often, despite what film tropes have to say, a couple of decent Black folks manage to rise to the occasion, become the heroes of their own stories, or prove smart enough to get out before it’s too late.
Brandy, ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998, Dir. Danny Cannon)
The sequel to the 1997 teen slasher film “I Know What You Did Last Summer” is the perfect example of inheriting your friend’s problems and becoming collateral damage. Having nothing to do with anything and just trying to enjoy a free vacation to the Bahamas, Karla Wilson (Brandy) would have been the perfect alley-oop kill. But thanks to Brandy noticing a lack of people that look like herself at the finish line of these films, she had it written into her contract, ensuring her survival. So, yeah—this list is necessary.
LL Cool J, ‘Halloween H20’ (1998 Dir. Steve Miner)
At this point in his long, bloody career, Michael Myers has one of the most successful kill rates in horror history. Putting up football numbers, he has wiped out teenagers, law enforcement, medical staff, and everyday working-class people. But in 1998’s “Halloween H20: 20 Years Later,” Michael failed to kill Ronnie Jones, a security guard at Hillcrest Academy portrayed by LL Cool J. After all the mayhem on and off campus, Ronnie manages to walk away with only a gunshot wound to show for it.
Ice Cube, ‘Anaconda’ (1997, Luis Llosa)
Unsurprisingly, Ice Cube makes this list as Danny Rich, the cameraman and one of the survivors in 1997’s “Anaconda.” I believe this was the very first film I watched where a Black person lived to see the credits. Being stranded in a foreign country with a rifle-wielding, crazed Jon Voight is one thing—but throw in a 40-foot-long snake and you just accept that the cards are stacked against you and you’re almost certainly going to die. Armed with nothing but a pocket knife, hope, and a dream, Danny Rich shockingly lives to see another movie.
Danny Glover, ‘Predator 2’ (1990, Dir. Stephen Hopkins)
For some reason, Jamaican crime lords were the go-to villain trend at this point in time. Was it to create an exotic new threat, or to push another narrative entirely? Either way, when you throw all that into a “Predator” film, you’re bound to get a lot of dead folks. But Lt. Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) isn’t just a regular Black cop—he might as well be a superhero. In the middle of an L.A. heatwave and an all-out gang war, he still found time to hunt down a Yautja, earn the respect of their ranks, and rightfully claim his spot on this list.
Sanaa Lathan, ‘Alien vs. Predator’ (2004, Dir. Paul W.S. Anderson)
We are talking about two of the biggest figures in cinema history: Aliens (Xenomorphs) vs. Predators (Yautja)—and Sanaa Lathan is caught dead in the middle of it. Before the film reaches its final act, Scar (a Yautja warrior) decides to take Alexa Woods under his wing after she helps kill a Xenomorph that almost finished him. With so many other threats around and Woods being the sole survivor of the expedition, you can’t buy that kind of plot armor anywhere. She was destined to walk out of this mess the moment he gave her a shield and told her she got the juice now.
Garikayi Mutambirwa, ‘Jeepers Creepers 2’ (2003, Dir. Victor Salva)
The relentless pursuit of the Creeper and the terrifying consequences of getting caught are enough motivation for anyone to keep moving, but Garikayi Mutambirwa as Deaundre Davis is in a league of his own. Sure, other Black characters were present, but they weren’t special—he was handpicked to be the main victim. It’s arguable that he was the main prize inside that school bus lunchbox—everyone else was just an appetizer. From sprinting through fields to surviving car crashes and literally coming face-to-face with certain death, he barely makes it onto this list, escaping with hardly any room to breathe.
Ving Rhames, ‘Dawn of the Dead’ (2004, Dir. Zack Snyder)
Every horror film needs its strong, silent type, and Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” is no exception. In a completely empty mall with only a handful of strangers standing, Officer Kenneth Hall (Ving Rhames) of the Everett Police Department solidifies his position. Mekhi Phifer is present, but like we established earlier, only one of them gets to live to tell the tale. So, bye! A mid-credits scene reveals that the island the survivors escaped to is overrun by zombies—and while there’s no official sequel, I like to believe Officer Ken put that shotgun to work and blasted his way back to the boat. Maybe it’s wishful thinking.
Naomie Harris, ’28 Days Later’ (2002, Dir. Danny Boyle)
Just 28 days after the Rage Virus swept across the UK—either killing or mutating anyone who came into contact with it—Selena (Naomie Harris) is not just Black, but the last surviving woman roaming the streets of London. But it wasn’t for a lack of trying that she’s not dead. Taking out the infected and escaping the grasp of would-be assaulting soldiers, she proves to be a smart, creative character who didn’t survive just because the plot needed Cillian Murphy to have a comrade. She fought for her life and earned her chance at a future. Whatever that looks like.
Daniel Kaluuya, ‘Get Out’ (2017, Dir. Jordan Peele)
If you were to ask anyone to name a horror film from the past 20 years where a Black character doesn’t bite it in the end, this is the one most people would mention. Jordan Peele’s 2017 hit “Get Out” centers on Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), a young Black photographer visiting his girlfriend’s family for a weekend getaway that takes an ominous turn when he discovers he’s just a pawn in a much bigger, sinister game. Being Black in an all-White space often comes with discomfort, but Chris outthinks and outmaneuvers his captors to reclaim control of his own story, breaking free from the twisted environment he casually walked into.
Keith David, ‘The Thing’ (1982, Dir. John Carpenter)
Where did he go during that missing time? Can he be trusted? Was he the Thing? I say Childs (Keith David) sitting next to MacReady in the conclusion of John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece “The Thing” was the real deal. Given the terror that unfolded after that dog wandered onto the research base, it’s a miracle anyone was left alive to even be skeptical. Through the accusations, games of deception, and monstrous attacks, Childs takes the number one spot—though I take it with a grain of salt. Sure, there’s no way they both survived until help arrived all the way in Antarctica, but he was still breathing when the credits rolled.Â
