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The Horror Movie Trope: Black Characters' Fate Explained
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May 29, 2025
You've heard the saying "The Black guy dies first." It's a classic trope of horror movies. But why? Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future videos! Check out the books we love and recommend in our Black Excellence Book Club: https://www.blackexcellence.com/store/ Some links are affiliate links, which means we earn a very tiny commission if you make a purchase. __________________________________________________________ Sharing interesting and noteworthy stories in Black culture. All content provided by Black Excellence Media, LLC is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information or advice provided is to replace professional advice. Website: https://blackexcellence.com
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0:01
In the eerie landscapes of American
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horror films, an unsettling trope has
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haunted the genre for decades. The
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persistent pattern of black characters
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dying first. This narrative device once
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accepted as mere coincidence or comic
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fodder reveals deeper truths about race,
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representation, and the cultural
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anxieties that horror often seeks to
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exploit. From the shadowy alleys of the
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1970s slasher films to the glossy teen
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horrors of the 1990s, black characters
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have often served as early casualties.
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They are introduced, given a few lines
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of dialogue, maybe a moment of wisdom or
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comic relief, and then let's just say
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dispatched frequently in brutal or
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senseless fashion. This phenomenon is so
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well known it has become a cultural joke
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parodyied in films like Scary Movie and
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referenced in television shows and
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standup comedy routines. So why are
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black characters killed first in horror
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movies? Well, let's talk about
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[Laughter]
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it. Sorry, had to do that. Hi, my name
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is Jared and I talk about interesting
1:12
stories and trends in black culture
1:14
because as you guys know, black culture
1:16
is just so interesting to me. If you
1:18
share my interest, hit the subscribe
1:20
button and let's deep dive into some
1:22
interesting black culture and history in
1:24
every episode. And before I begin, I'm
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curious to know your thoughts on my
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monologue. Do you think I have a future
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maybe in horror films? I don't think so.
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But as Americans, we love our horror
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movies. We all grow up watching them. I
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mean, when did you start to notice that
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all the black people were disappearing
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pretty quickly? For me, it was early on.
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This was way more common, of course,
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when we were growing up. But let me know
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in the comments. And also, tell me, why
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do you think Hollywood loves doing this?
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The trope of black characters being
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killed first in horror movies didn't
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emerge in a vacuum. It stems from a long
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history of marginalization in Hollywood,
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where black actors were historically
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excluded from major roles, let alone
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heroic leads. When black characters
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began appearing in horror films, they
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were rarely central to the plot.
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Instead, they were often added as
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sidekicks, stereotypes, or at worst,
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expendable plot devices. Their death
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served to heighten the stakes for the
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white protagonist or underscore the
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danger of the antagonist. Rarely were
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their lives portrayed as valuable in and
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of themselves. Take for example the 1982
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film The Thing, directed by John
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Carpenter. In the icy paranoid setting
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of an Antarctic research base, Keith
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David plays Childs, a character who
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survives to the end, though ambiguously.
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This is a rare exception. In the 1986
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film Aliens, Private Frost, played by
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Rico Ross, is one of the first Marines
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to be killed. In the 1988 horror comedy
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Beetlejuice, a black character appears
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briefly as a voodoo receptionist. Of
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course, an example of a reductive
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magical stereotype representation. And
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in Scream 2, both Jada Picket Smith and
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Omar Eb's character are killed within
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the first 10 minutes. In Deep Blue Sea,
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Samuel L. Jackson's character gives a
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stirring speech before being abruptly
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eaten by a genetically engineered shark.
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Yes, even mechanical sharks are eating
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black people. It's a moment that
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perfectly captures the shock value often
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assigned to the sudden death of black
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characters used for effect, not
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substance. In The Shining, Scatman Cross
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character, Holleran, is introduced as a
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wise and mystical figure, only to be
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murdered shortly after arriving at the
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Overlook Hotel to help the protagonist.
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In the 1985 horror film Friday the 13th
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Part 5: A New Beginning, the character
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demon played by a Miguel Nunees Jr. is
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killed quickly in somewhat comical
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manner. In Final Destination 2, TC
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Carson's character dies about midway
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through the movie in a gruesome fashion
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without the character having any depth
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at all. In 2002's Ghost Ship, Isaiah
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Washington Greer is lured to his death
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by a ghost early on in the film. And I
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mean, the same thing happens in
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Predator, where the tough Mac Elliot,
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played by Bill Duke, dies fairly early
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in the story. The black guy dies first
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storyline became so pervasive that it
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began to shape audience expectations.
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Horror fans learned to watch for the
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token black character and brace for
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their inevitable demise. Uh, we know
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he's dead. The stereotype fed into the
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idea that black characters are
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expendable, their story lines secondary.
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Even when multiple characters are
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killed, the black characterser's early
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death often seems predictable, if not
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symbolic. Sociologists and film critics
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argue that this storyline reflects
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broader societal anxieties. Horror films
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often serve as metaphors for the fears
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of that era in which they are made. Of
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course, there are movies about cold war
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paranoia, nuclear destruction, social
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decay, I mean the list goes on. So, can
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the early death of black characters be
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read as an extension of America's racial
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anxieties? A symbolic purging of the
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other? Is it a way of reinforcing
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whiteness as the default perspective for
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heroism and survival? This storyline
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also details the stereotype of the
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magical negro or the loyal sidekick.
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Characters whose whole existence only is
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there to support the white hero. These
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characters rarely have their own arcs or
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depth. Instead, they serve as foils or
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guides, often with spiritual or mystical
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insight that help the protagonist. The
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deaths are framed as sacrifices, but
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they serve to evaluate the importance of
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the white character's journey. However,
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of course, there has been push back. The
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1992 film Candyman, starring Tony Todd,
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offered a rare example of a black lead
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character in horror. Of course, he was
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the villain, but we'll take what we can
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get. Candyman is not simply a monster,
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but a tragic figure. His backstory
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rooted in racial violence and injustice.
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The film complicates the traditional
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horror narrative by centering black pain
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in history. In more recent years, the
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horror genre has seen a reckoning. Films
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like Jordan Pills Get Out and Us place
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black characters at the center, not just
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as the victim, but as the protagonist
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with agency, intelligence, and complex
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emotional arcs. Get Out in particular
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deconstructs the genre's racial
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dynamics, exposing the subtle and overt
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ways racism manifests supposedly liberal
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spaces. The film's protagonist not only
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survives, but triumphs, flipping the old
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horror storyline on its complete head.
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And more recently, Ryan Cougler's
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Sinners has given center stage to the
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black narrative that has taken the
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horror genre by storm. The horror genre,
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more than any other, holds a mirror to
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our cultural fears. When it consistently
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portrays black life as disposable, it
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reflects a chilling commentary on racial
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values. Representation matters, not just
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in who lives or dies, but in whose
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stories are told, whose fears are
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explored, and whose humanity is
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acknowledged. Horror has the power to
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terrify, but also to enlighten. By
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breaking away from old story lines and
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embracing diverse narratives, the genre
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can evolve into something richer, more
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truthful, and more terrifying in the
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best way. Please don't forget to
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subscribe and hit that like button, and
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I'll see you on the next video.