Any excellent horror movie needs a hero. They have to save themselves, save others, and solve the mystery or defeat the killer in order to be considered a truly memorable part of the film. Blumhouse is famous for releasing fun, fast-paced and scary movies that fans can't wait to see, and Blumhouse films stand out from the rest because the stories and characters are so top-notch.
From an anticipated reboot of a famous Stephen King film to a 2021 movie about a family vacation gone horribly wrong, there are many Blumhouse horror movies that feature underrated heroes who deserve more credit.
Maggie Thompson (Ma, 2019)
The 2019 film Ma is one of the most underrated Blumhouse horror movies, starring Octavia Spencer as a lonely woman who tells a group of teenagers that they should feel free to party in her basement. Diana Silver plays the main character Maggie Thompson, who is just as lonely and trying to figure out her own place in the world.
Maggie figures out that something is off with Sue Ann (who everyone calls Ma), and while it's almost too late for her, she uses her intelligence and she's the one who stabs Sue Ann, ultimately making sure that she, her mom Erica (Juliette Lewis), and their friend Genie Ellington (Tanyell Waivers) stay alive. Maggie learns the sad and difficult truth about Sue Ann and why she has orchestrated her awful plans and learns a valuable lesson about trusting people while also growing closer to her mom.
Lily Schechner (The Craft: Legacy, 2020)
The Craft: Legacy is a better film than the original from 1996 in many ways. Cailee Spaeny's character Lily Schechner is also a much better main character than Sarah Bailey (Robin Tunney), making her one of the most interesting Blumhouse female heroes.
While Sarah casts a love spell so Chris Hooker (Skeet Ulrich) will want to go out with her, Lily is focused on making friends and standing up for herself, her new pals, and what she believes in. Lily does everything that horror fans want from a main character: investigates, knows who she is, and questions everything. She never takes anything that happens at face value and knows what is right and what is wrong, and she has a really strong moral compass. This makes her much smarter than many.
Susanna Conroy (You Should Have Left, 2020)
You Should Have Left is a fresh approach to a haunted house thriller. While the story revolves around Theo Controy (Kevin Bacon) trying to figure out why the vacation home that he is staying in is making him see things, Theo's wife Susannah (Amanda Seyfried) is the real star.
While Susannah is having an affair and she isn't perfect, that makes her more compelling, and she also learns a dark and horrible truth about her husband when she finds out that he was responsible for his previous wife's death. Susannah does what she can to protect their daughter Ella (Avery Essex and get out. Susannah is perceptive and smart and she can tell that she has to leave her marriage behind her.
Jess Chambers (A House On The Bayou, 2021)
Angela Sarafyan's A House on the Bayou character shows her strength from the start, as she realizes that her husband John (Paul Schneider) is seeing one of his students. When the couple goes on a trip to Louisiana with their daughter Anna (Lia McHugh), they discover terrifying people who go after those who they say have sinned.
A House on the Bayou isn't the most beloved scary film of the past few years and it's not one of the most popular Blumhouse horror movies. But Jess is a perfect horror movie character, a final girl who learns what's happening and saves herself and her daughter. Jess shows an incredible amount of mental toughness at the end of the movie, killing Issac (Jacob Lofland) and Grandpappy (Doug Van Liew). This is exactly what horror fans are looking for.
Charlie McGee (Firestarter, 2022)
The Blumhouse reboot of Firestarter was released in May 2022 and while it's about the psychic abilities of married couple Andy (Zac Efron) and Vicky (Sydney Lemmon), their daughter Charlie McGee (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) is the true hero of the movie.
While not generally considered as good as the 1984 original, the 2022 film does show the pain and suffering that Charlie experiences because she can create fires with her mind. Audiences see Charlie having trouble fitting in at school and wondering why her parents don't let her use the internet or have more fun. Charlie is able to stand up against the government agents who want her because of her amazing powers and she saves herself, although the movie does have a heartbreaking conclusion.