Saw 2 (2005)
The Horror Character: Eric Matthews, a police detective with some fairly serious anger issues.
The Bad Luck: Of all Jigsaw's victims, Matthews is probably the one who goes through the most torment. Across three films he has his son abducted, his ankle smashed, is locked up for god knows how long and then placed in one of the later killers' traps. No wonder he effectively commits suicide by the end. As he puts it himself, "I don't want to play any more!"
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: Jigsaw would have confessed, reconciled himself to his condition and passed away peacefully. Job done.
Halloween 4 (1988)
The Horror Character: Jamie Lloyd-Carruthers, daughter of Laurie Strode and Michael Myers' niece.
The Bad Luck: Jamie has a really rough time of it, all things considered. She's teased about her uncle by her peers, is rendered mute by the weird connection she shares with him, is forced to have sex with him, sees all her friends and her sibling killed by him and finally ends up mangled in a threshing machine. Great!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She'd have found out she was adopted. Although that probably wouldn't save her, to be honest.
The Human Centipede (2010)
The Horror Character: Lindsay, one of the luckless trio who become the unwilling subjects in Dr. Josef Heiter's bizarre science experiment.
The Bad Luck: All of them are fairly unlucky, but as the middle-section of the centipede, Lindsay has it worse than most. Indeed, by the end, she's attached to a pair of corpses! Gross.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She and her friend would have chosen a different house in which to seek shelter.
The Strangers (2008)
The Horror Character: Kristen McKay, who heads off on holiday with husband James to his parents remote house in the country. Naturally, it's not that relaxing a break.
The Bad Luck: Having had a trio of strangers break into her house and terrorise her, Kristen begs of the ringleader, "why are you doing this to us?" The answer is devastatingly simple: "because you were home." Blind chance in its most horrifying form.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: The neighbours would have answered their door first!
Scream (1997)
The Horror Character: Sidney Prescott, primary target of the Ghostface killer during the Woodsboro murders.
The Bad Luck: Not only has she had to endure the rape and murder of her mother, but poor old Sydney has been targeted by various killers throughout four whole movies, with many of her loved ones buying it in the process. Enough already!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She'd have moved away from Woodsboro immediately after her mother's death, and resisted the inexplicable urge to return!
Drag Me To Hell (2009)
The Horror Character: Christine Brown, a bank loan officer who turns down an old woman's extension on a mortgage payment.
The Bad Luck: Her decision to toe the bank's party line in order to impress her boss results in three days of torture for Christine, before finally being, er, dragged to hell. Doesn't really seem fair, does it?
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: The old dear would simply have been depositing twenty quid in coppers. A pain, sure, but better than the alternative.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
The Horror Character: David Kessler, an American tourist backpacking his way across the green and pleasant land of England.
The Bad Luck: If embarking upon a rural English holiday you can bank on freezing temperatures, driving rain and the odd randy bull or two. What you can't legislate for is a sudden werewolf attack. That's just bad luck.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: He'd have run into an over-exuberant sheepdog at the very worst.
Eden Lake (2008)
The Horror Character: Jenny, a nursery teacher who heads off to the countryside for a weekend away with her boyfriend Steve.
The Bad Luck: Unlucky enough to run into a bunch of murderous teenagers who torture both her and her boyfriend (who they go on to kill), Jenny is shit out of luck even when she escapes – the house in which she seeks help just happens to be where the gang leader lives!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: She'd have made the executive decision to take Steve for a weekend abroad. Britain is broken, after all.
Child's Play (1988)
The Horror Character: Andy Barclay, a six-year-old boy who longs for only one thing: a talking "Good Guy" doll.
The Bad Luck: As if it isn't bad enough that his doll is possessed by the soul of a deceased serial killer, Andy is forced to take the rap for several of Chuckie's crimes, landing him in a psychiatric ward. He's only six, for heaven's sake!
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: His mum would have bought him an Action Man instead.
Mulberry Street (2006)
The Horror Characters: The six survivors of the Manhattan-based plague that turns humans into bloodthirsty rat-like creatures.
The Bad Luck: Our heroes decide the time is right to slaughter their nearest and dearest, all of whom have been transformed into said creatures. Moments later, they discover that everyone will return to normal on the arrival of sunrise. Oh.
If They'd Been Carrying A Rabbit's Foot: They'd have been privy to that information before summarily executing their respective family members.
