The world of Netflix’s Outer Banks is full of drama and adrenaline thanks to criminals, treasure hunting, and runaway teens. While all of the main characters find their lives in danger at different points in the series, they’re never fully in horror movie territory with a villain stalking their every move. The OBX, however, would make a great environment for that very set-up.

If the characters of Outer Banks were in a slasher movie, they would certainly fulfill most of the horror movie archetypes fans are familiar with. The leading lady, the suspicious boyfriend, and plenty of red herrings fill the cast, as well as the local law enforcement who just can’t get a handle on the situation. Who amongst the Outer Banks characters would actually live to see the sequel, though?

Sheriff Peterkin

 

 

Sheriff Peterkin is one of the few adults who is on John B’s side. Their relationship in Outer Banks is one of the most compelling parts of the first season, as Peterkin tries repeatedly to help John B but gets caught in the crossfire of his feud with Ward Cameron.

In a slasher situation, Peterkin would definitely be the member of the OBX law enforcement most concerned with a potential killer on the loose. Most of her deputies, however, would likely see frantic phone calls from teens as pranks, or wouldn’t handle the investigation as professionally as they could. That’s evident based on how they treat John B in taking Ward’s word against the teen’s. Peterkin would, again, get caught in the middle of the conflict, and lose her life.

Topper

 

 

In some ways, Outer Banks portrays Topper as a villain. He’s controlling in his relationship with Sarah, and he’s certainly an antagonist for John B. He’s hardly the most dangerous bad guy in the series, but if Outer Banks was a slasher flick, Topper would definitely be one of the early red herrings for the villain.

His attitude and focus on Sarah would quickly be pegged by fans as potentially hiding a killer in plain sight. Just when the audience, and likely Sarah, believed Topper to be the villain, however, he’d likely become a victim himself, leaving the audience wondering who was next.

Sarah

 

 

Sarah is arguably the romantic lead of Outer Banks. She turns the dynamic of the Pogues on its head when she falls for John B and joins them on their adventures despite her initial issues with her former friend Kiara. That said, Sarah wouldn’t be the one surviving a horror movie because of her tendency to put herself in danger.

She has come close to dying multiple times in the series. It’s been the intervention of her friends that has saved her. If they weren’t there in time, Sarah would definitely be getting up close and personal with a villain — her own brother was willing to kill her to make a point. It’s unlikely Sarah would survive a slasher. If she did, she’d be killed off very early in the sequel.

Rafe

 

 

Rafe clearly has some issues that he needs to work on in Outer Banks. He’s spiraled into substance abuse to help tame them, but his obsession with making his father proud and becoming the favorite child isn’t working out for him. He’s already killed people, and like Topper, he’d be an easy red herring for a slasher flick’s villain.

Rafe could even be the secondary villain, the person the main characters catch in the act and decide they’re safe as a result of stopping him. The trouble is, in that particular scenario, Rafe just ends up disposed of by the real villain, who would just continue his spree.

John B

 

 

John B might be the lead in the series, finding himself at odds with the villainous Ward throughout Outer Banks, but his reckless behavior wouldn’t do him any favors in a horror movie.

Like Sarah, John B has wound up in a lot of perilous situations, only finding himself alive thanks to his friends. Even when he and Sarah are on the run in the Bahamas, it’s John B not being able to resist checking out the gold that gets the two of them caught. That kind of behavior is going to put him right in the crosshairs of a killer targeting OBX residents. Like Sarah, it would be a miracle for John B to survive a slasher, but he might… only to be one of the first casualties of a sequel.

Pope

 

 

Though Pope ends up in a lot of bad situations, he’s probably the most level-headed of his friends. He’s the one who actually thinks about the consequences of his actions and plans accordingly.

The one tendency of his that might get him killed is his desire to go off on his own. In the second season, Pope likely would have met his end when attending his meeting with Carla Limbrey if JJ and Kiara hadn’t insisted on being there with him. Even with the two of them there, Pope was still marched to a secluded place at gunpoint. He would likely find himself severely injured after an initial encounter with the killer and ready to prove himself in a sequel.

JJ

 

 

JJ is definitely the most impulsive of the Pogues. His plans are notoriously bad. He also constantly ends up in danger. JJ is also a survivor and incredibly lucky. He’s willing to put up a fight, no matter how likely he is to lose, which means willpower alone would keep him alive in the first, if not the first two, chapters of a slasher movie series.

JJ is the kind of character the audience is always shocked to see alive. Think Dewey or Randy in the first Scream movie. Viewers would be upset at an attack on JJ, thinking he was done, only for him to return in the final act. Where he would likely meet his end is in place of one of the people he cares about. JJ wouldn’t hesitate to get in between a killer and Kiara, as the audience saw in season 2.

Kiara

 

 

Kiara has the same kind of impulsivity as JJ, and she’s certainly a contributor to some of the Pogues’ worst decisions. However, she’s not always as quick to do the things that could get her in trouble. She lands somewhere in the middle of JJ’s impulsive side and Pope’s need for a plan.

Interestingly enough, Kiara does better than pretty much any of her friends in hand-to-hand combat situations. It’s she who often gets the jump on someone when they go after her friends, and she saves JJ’s life in the second season. If anyone is capable of going after the killer in a horror movie and actually stopping them without dying in the process, it’s Kiara.

Cleo

 

 

Cleo is a new character in the second season, but she’s quickly become a fan favorite. She also seems to have some superhuman survival skills. Not only does she evade the police on land and sea in the Bahamas, but John B hitting her with a car doesn’t even faze her. She also gives Pope a hand fighting off the crew on the freighter at the end of the season.

Cleo stays alive, not just because of her ability to just walk off an injury but because she trusts no one. Despite working for Captain Clarence, she’s upfront with Sarah about the likelihood that he’ll double cross her. Cleo keeps her eyes open on the freighter as well, not trusting her coworkers or the new faces on the ship. She would be suspicious of everyone and would definitely outsmart the killer.

Wheezie

 

 

Wheezie has an advantage over the other teenagers in Outer Banks: she’s the youngest. That gives her a good deal of what horror fans might refer to as “plot armor” — no writer wants to kill off the precocious youngster. It’s why kids in horror movies tend to survive easily while teenagers fight for their lives.

Beyond that, Wheezie is the one member of the Cameron family whom no one touches. Rafe doesn’t threaten her, her father tries to keep her safe and out of the controversy, Rose doesn’t have to drug her to get her to leave, and Sarah goes out of her way to keep Wheezie out of danger. Wheezie is the one character even the worst of the worst would protect from the real villain.