The Roy G Biv of Horror

Oh y’all know how much I love color, especially in horror.

And this blog post was definitely a challenge but I wondered which characters or films focused on a specific color for said character to wear and we immediately associated that with them. It’s one thing to look at films that use color in a visual sense with lighting or direction or cinematography but the characters, what do they wear that we, the audience, for many years still think of and see them in purple or a very common color here, red. And sometimes that comes down to the climax of the film or they have triumphed over something or it’s used for marketing purposes and so it’s ingrained into the zeitgeist.

Oh! These will be in the order of ROYGBIV with some bonus colors at the end because I couldn’t ignore the obvious ones.

And this was just for funsies!

RED

Pearl, Pearl (2023) / Dracula, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) / Christine, Don’t Look Now (1973)

ORANGE

Sam, Trick r Treat (2007) / Red, Mandy (2018) / Charlie, Hereditary (2018)

YELLOW

Karen, Alice Sweet Alice (1976) / Claudia, Interview with the Vampire (2024) / Coraline, Coraline (2009)

GREEN

Freddy, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) / Leprechaun, Leprechaun (1993) / Winifred Sanderson, Hocus Pocus (1993)

BLUE

Claudia, Interview with the Vampire (1994) / Ash Williams, The Evil Dead (1981) / Sue, The Substance (2024)

INDIGO

Jennifer Check, Jennifer’s Body (2009) / Bonnie, Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014) / Sharon, Silent Hill (2006)

PURPLE

Catnap, Poppy Playtime Chapter 3 (2024) / Elizabeth Shelley/Frankenhooker, Frankenhooker (1990) / Sarah Sanderson, Hocus Pocus (1993)

Now here’s the bonus colors that are not part of ROYGBIV but are…?

BLACK

Elvira, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988) / Lead Cenobite, Hellraiser (1987) / Ghostface, Scream (1996)

WHITE

Lucy, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) / Hooded Figures, The Void (2016) / Art the Clown, Terrifier 2 (2022)

PINK

Carrie, Carrie (1976) / Needy, Jennifer’s Body (2009) / Elaine, The Love Witch (2016)

And with that, yes I know we’re missing colors like silver, gold, brown and all the tints, tones and shades of all the colors here but those aren’t as common. To be fair, when researching and combing through screenshots and edits that I’ve done on my own, there are certain colors that are more popular than others. Yes, red, blue, black, white and pink are quite popular. I will also give a shout out to yellow which doesn’t seem like it but the list of character names or films that I was popping up more were those specific colors. There’s plenty of reasons why that is, which can range from character arcs, insightful information about said characters or good ole fashioned color theory.

Best example is The Substance which is FULL of color theory from Elisabeth in blue, her yellow coat she wears, the red dress for her date and then you go to Sue who is half blue and pink to full pink to at the end of the film blue and even at the end when we are cleaning the star on the walk of fame, the cleaner is yellow, one of Elisabeth’s signature colors. Gosh this movie is great.

Other honorable mentions for this blog are Pennywise, Georgie (IT, 1990), Lydia (Beetlejuice, 1988), Suspiria (2018), Michael Myers (Halloween, 1978), Suzanne (Night of the Demons, 1987)… there are so many to list.

Who would you add into the ROY G BIV of Horror that wasn’t listed up there? Leave a comment below, share this blog and I’ll see you guys in May!

Peace, chicken grease and be safe you guys!