The narrator of the novel is an unnamed protagonist, providing the central narrative arc that gives the story its shape. The narrative arc in question traces the narrator’s transformation into the character he plays in the original Horror Movie production, “The Thin Kid.” Given this transformation, it is important to distinguish the two character personas before exploring how and why the narrator chooses to inhabit the Thin Kid’s persona.

The narrator depicts himself as a one-time actor with minimal dramatic experience. After studying communications at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, he rotates through a series of temporary employment roles like truck loading and data entry to pay off his burgeoning student debt. He is driven to take on the role of the Thin Kid because of the lack of direction he feels in his life, which makes it difficult for him to escape from the production once it starts putting his life at risk. This challenges the narrator to overcome his meekness and self-consciousness. Throughout the production of Horror Movie, he portrays himself as someone uncomfortable with vulnerability. This possibly stems from the implied abuse he experienced as a child, which he suggests when he reveals that he was bullied at school and that his mother used to force him to smoke cigarettes.