Though most protagonists face serious challenges, only the luckiest movie heroes seem to skate by on sheer good fortune. Good storytelling generally requires there to be some form of struggle for our lead characters, and due to that difficulty they usually have to dig deep to endure. Not all heroes are forced to, though: some just get lucky.
While some seem to have an uncanny knack for miraculous getting out of trouble, others just have a single monumental stroke of luck. In some cases, the hero’s good fortune has even been attributed to divine intervention, but let’s call it what it is. It’s Lady Luck’s favor, and nothing more.
Before we start, let’s clarify: we’re not trying to undermine any of these stories, just to have a little fun at their more convenient moments. Technically, none of the following characters can be “lucky”, as they aren’t even real in the first place. Even so, we hope they bought lottery tickets the minute their films ended, because these are the luckiest movie heroes of all time.
8. Sally Hardesty – The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The reason that Sally Hardesty is right at the top of this list should be pretty obvious. “Lucky” isn’t normally the adjective you use to describe people who have suffered an ordeal at the hands of a family of cannibalistic serial killers, but let’s look at the bigger picture. She escapes, doesn’t she? Ergo, lucky.
It’s really the manner of Sally’s bid for freedom that makes her one of the luckiest movie heroes out there. Think about it: one minute, she’s outnumbered and entirely at the mercy of the colossal Leatherface. Throwing caution to the wind and figuring herself all but dead already, she makes a run for it.
Not only does she manage to get away from Leatherface, but right at the crucial moment of her exodus, a truck is passing. Remember, the Leatherface family farm isn’t exactly on a busy through-road, it’s a dusty and dilapidated shack in the middle of absolutely nowhere. The fact that Sally chances across probably the only car to drive past all year at that precise moment is like winning the horror movie sweepstakes. Sadly, she didn’t fare quite so well in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, because you can’t win ’em all, apparently.