Hostel 2 (2007)
The Horror Character: Whitney, the "tough" one of the trio of girls who find themselves in a spot of bother at a remote Slovakian health spa…
The Bad Luck: Obviously, picking that particular spa was fairly unfortunate, but even allowing for that, Whitney gets a pretty raw deal, having to sit bound to a chair with her skull partially sawed apart before finally getting decapitated. Rubbish.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: The girls would have camped instead.
Final Destination (2000)
The Horror Character: Valerie Lewton, a high-school teacher who managed to cheat death by avoiding the plane crash foreseen at the beginning of the film.
The Bad Luck: She suffers the most convoluted bait-and-switch routine in the entire film, her ice-cold vodka cracking a warm glass and spilling into a computer monitor, causing it to explode and embed a sliver of screen into her neck. Stumbling into the kitchen, she's floored by a small gas explosion, before a desperate grab for a towel drags a kitchen knife off the surface and into her chest. And then her house explodes.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She'd have died on that plane. It would have been a lot less traumatic!
Hellraiser (1987)
The Horror Character: Frank Cotton, a petty criminal who buys an antique puzzle box from a mysterious dealer, with terrible consequences…
The Bad Luck: Not only was Frank unlucky enough to inadvertently open a portal to a nightmarish nether world, he also suffers one of the most painful deaths on this list, as the flesh is pulled from his body by numerous metal hooks.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: He'd have come away from the dealer with a jigsaw with a few pieces missing rather than the puzzle box that drags him to hell.
Wolf Creek (2005)
The Horror Characters: Liz Hunter and Kristy Earl, a pair of backpackers unlucky enough to get themselves lost in the middle of the Outback…
The Bad Luck: Not only do they get themselves lost, they also get themselves found by local nutjob Mick Taylor. That said, they don't help themselves by not escaping when they have the chance. If you think the killer might not be dead, he's definitely alive.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: They might have had the presence of mind to drive the hell away, rather than attempting a convoluted plan in which they fake their own deaths and go back to Taylor's camp!
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
The Horror Character: Dr. Robert Morgan, the last man on an Earth that has fallen pray to a deadly vampiric plague.
The Bad Luck: Robert is briefly cheered by the discovery of a dog, a faithful companion with whom he can spend the rest of his days. However, within seconds the dog reveals itself to be infected, and Morgan is forced to kill it. Aargh!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: He'd have discovered a friendly helper monkey who could assist him in his battle with the infected.
Friday The 13th pt. 3 (1982)
The Horror Character: Resident douchebag Andy, who can't help but spend the majority of his screen time dicking about in extremely aggravating fashion.
The Bad Luck: He might be a bit of a tit, but nobody deserves to die via a machete to the groin! Awful, awful way to go…
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: He'd have appeared in an earlier film and got the simple blade through the throat routine. Much nicer.
Halloween (1978)
The Horror Character: Mild-mannered babysitter Laurie Strode, who finds herself being terrorised by seemingly unstoppable killer, Michael Myers.
The Bad Luck: Myers ends up stalking Strode through three films in total, killing off most of her friends and family as he does so. Oh and he kills her too, just to cap it all off. That's what happens when you're brother is a murderous loon…
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She'd have just stabbed him when she had the chance, resisting the urge to double-check she's got the right man.
Carrie (1976)
The Horror Character: Carrie White, a teenage girl enduring one of the more difficult phases of growing up, with a few extra issues thrown in for good measure.
The Bad Luck: Not only does she have to put up with playground bullies and a fundamentalist wack-job of a mother, she's also got a set of burgeoning telekinetic powers to keep under control. It's just not fair!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: It probably would have gone flying out of her hand within minutes.
Saw 3 (2006)
The Horror Character: Lynn, a likeable doctor kidnapped by Jigsaw, whose only real shortcoming is a slight tendency to take her family for granted.
The Bad Luck: She is the unwitting pawn in a pair of tests set by Jigsaw for her husband Jeff and his disciple Amanda. Both of them fail and she ends up with her head blown off.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: Her husband might have been able to control his rage, sparing her a final scene death.
Aliens (1986)
The Horror Character: Yes, we know Aliens is possibly stretching the definition of a horror movie. but Private Hudson is certainly unlucky, as he keeps telling anyone who'll listen…
The Bad Luck: He puts it best himself: "Aww man," he complains. "I was getting short, too! Four more weeks and out. Now I'm gonna buy it on this rock." And so he does.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: The crew would have found a happy band of colonists, with nary a Xenomorph in sight. Wouldn't have made for much of a movie, though…
