10 Funniest Supporting Characters in Horror Movies

Throughout horror history, there have been iconic villains and badass final girls. But there are other important characters that make these horror films entertaining to watch, and it’s always the supporting character acting as the comedic relief. They will always be logical and use horror films as their background knowledge to get out of situations.

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These characters are known for their sarcasm, quick wit, and one-liners. Without these supporting characters, the fun aspects of the horror genre aren’t present, and the films might lose their charm.

Rod Williams – ‘Get Out’ (2017)

For director Jordan Peele, Get Out was one of the strongest directorial feature debuts. What starts out as a weekend meeting with in-laws turns into a twisted situation for Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), as his girlfriend’s parents handle their interracial relationship in their own way. Chris talks to his best friend (and security guard) Rod Williams (Lil Rel Howery) who is the only one making any sense.

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The real humor comes when he actually talks to Rose (Allison Williams). As Rod finds out what’s happening to his friend, so does Chris. Rod tries tracking her using his own methods and that’s what makes him a signature Peele comedic character.

Randy Meeks – ‘Scream’ (1996)

Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) from the Scream franchise is one of the sharpest, and most well-rounded characters in the genre. Director Wes Craven used Meeks as the voice of reason. Without Meeks, Craven wouldn’t have been able to create the meta dialogue while crafting his very own horror movie. He is the glue that holds the first Scream together.

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Meeks is such a fun character because he plants particular seeds in the viewer’s mind as to who the killer is and who is trustworthy. Whenever something bad is about to happen, Meeks is five steps ahead and exaggerates what could possibly come next.

Richie Tozier – ‘IT’ (2017)

Out of all the children in the Losers Club, Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard) had the best comedic timing. Whenever Richie and Eddie Kaspbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer) would interact in IT (2017) it was always entertaining. The two of them had great chemistry and worked off each other with comedic beats whenever Pennywise (Bill Skarsgärd) was present.

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Richie was always sarcastic and short-tempered, making him the hothead of the group. But, he was also the more logical one, acting as Bill Denbrough’s (Jaeden Martell) second in command. Richie puts on a front to hide how scared he is. His one-liners were perfectly placed in the film to bring comedic relief.

Tallahassee – ‘Zombieland’ (2009)

When director Ruben Fleischer made Zombieland it almost felt like the most perfect zombie movie ever. The cast includes Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson, who all worked together to bring the humor. The one person who did stand out the most was Harrelson as Tallahassee.

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He is a character who knows everything there is to know about zombies but takes a very unconventional approach to killing them. Tallahassee is whacky and a bit more ambitious when it comes to making kills. He is such a fun character and his strategy is what makes him so entertaining to watch.

Ed – ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004)

Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy has a group of friends who come together in different scenarios, and they are always funny. In Shaun of the Dead Ed (Nick Frost) is the Deuteragonist. He is Shaun’s (Simon Pegg) best friend as well as a flatmate until the end. Ed’s journey in this movie is the truest form of man’s best friend and he is always there for Shaun when he needs him.

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Ed is more nonchalant until the end of this movie where he becomes a zombie himself and is then labeled as “Shaun’s pet.” The turnaround is funny because Shaun has no idea how to handle him and Ed makes a pretty interesting zombie.

Peter Venkman – ‘Ghostbusters’ (1984)

Ghostbusters was released during a different era of humor. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray) had a dry sense of humor and was always deadpan when responding to anyone. He is what made Ghostbusters into a lighter comedy, especially working off of Dan Aykroyd, who was a firecracker in the movie.

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The film itself feels a bit dated when watching it back now, but the cycle of SNLcomedians and the jokes that were written in those films only work for that period. Murray brought the laughs because it was a bit campy and Venkman remained the cool doctor who had all of it under control.

Daniel – ‘Ready Or Not’ (2019)

Over the years, Adam Brody has been in different films and has shown how talented he is in the comedy department. After Grace (Samara Weaving) marries the man of her dreams at his family’s luxurious estate, the cat-and-mouse game the family holds as tradition begins. She must hide from her new in-laws from midnight until dawn as they hunt her down with weapons to see if she can survive.

The one person who can’t stand the family tradition is Daniel, and he ends up helping her as much as he can. Brody’s dry humor in this fun horror comedy is the best part of Ready or Not. He is able to drop those sarcastic comments towards his family and casually help Grace move past them. Even though Weaving is a fantastic final girl, Daniel is the supporting character who shines.

The Butcher – ‘Freaky’ (2020)

One person who did make a comeback in Freaky was Vince Vaughn, and it’s not a role he would have normally taken in the past. Quentin Shermer (Vaughn) also known as the Blissfield Butcher was first considered an urban legend – until the entire school finds out that he’s real. After swapping bodies with Millie (Kathryn Newton) a young girl in high school, she has less than 24 hours before the change becomes permanent.

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Having Vaughn act like a young teenage girl for half of this movie is one of his best performances. From the funny high-pitched screaming to the dance moves as a cheerleader, to actually crushing on a teenage boy, everything about him was entertaining. Fans of his wouldn’t expect this role for him, but it was a refreshing step seeing a six-foot-tall man act like a young girl.

Stripe – ‘Gremlins’ (1984)

It’s hard not to enjoy the Gremlins and everything they do because of how cute they are at first. Stripe is also known as Mohawk and is one of the main antagonists in the film. He is the villain in the first two installments and what he comes up with in trying to get Gizmo and the others is quite entertaining.

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It could be because Stripe looks so different from the others, and it’s because of the white strip of hair on his head. Howie Mandel is the voice actor for Stripe and when he says “caca” after seeing Gizmo, it gets a laugh every single time.

Jimbo Mortimer – ‘Friday the 13th’ (1980)

Jimbo Mortimer was played by Crispin Glover in Friday the 13th. All the teenagers that set foot in that cabin at Camp Crystal Lake were funny because of how dumb they were when the kills started happening. After going through a bad breakup, his friend Ted helps him out at the campsite by pulling two girls to go swimming with them.

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As they return to the cabin, Jimbo’s attempts to court one of the girls give secondhand embarrassment and that’s what makes it funny. He didn’t know how to dance either and his trying to impress his girl definitely brought the humor during the killing sprees at the camp.

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