When the High School Musical soundtrack from top to bottom for the millionth time, of course. The story, about a book smart girl and her jock boyfriend connecting through the school musical, spawned two sequels (one in theaters), a concert tour, and more recently, a Disney+ series.
The first movie presses the importance of seeing beyond high school cliques and following what makes you happy. Throughout the trilogy, all of the characters get their version of a happy ending. If the movies weren't musical romantic comedies for the tween set, but horror movies instead, not everyone would get that happy ending. In fact, it's unlikely that the characters who appear in all three parts of the trilogy would even survive through a slasher film.
Jason
Jason isn't one of the core six characters who gets a strong arc across that movies. He primarily lives as a background character, is friends with Troy and Chad, is on the basketball team, and he's there for a few musical numbers. Jason is, unfortunately for him, expendable.
He's also an easy character to mark for an early death because, while everyone knows him, they aren't all close to him. Jason would make for a surprise death that would shock the other East High students and put them on edge without disrupting their stories too much to start, filling the slasher film trope of an opening death to put the audience on edge.
Chad
Thanks to movies like Scream, the best friend of the male lead tends to be an easy target as a red herring for the villain. With Chad's anger at the existence of musicals, displeasure with his best friend dating a girl who isn't an athlete, and spending so much time chastising Troy instead of helping him, he would be a smart character for the audience to suspect.
Those suspicions would be put to rest early, however, as the killer would likely target him for getting in the way. Chad probably wouldn't even believe there was a killer until it was too late.
Sharpay
Sharpay Evans would absolutely think she would be the last one standing in an East High slasher situation. She'd make sure to take plenty of pictures of herself to get her best angle while she was in survivor mode. Unfortunately, Sharpay Evans would also likely be a primary target of the killer.
As queen bee of the school, despite most of her classmates not particularly liking her, she's already the character a slasher flick killer would go after. She's also driven, doesn't take other people's advice seriously, and thinks she's immune to getting in trouble. Sharpay would either think the killer was after her all along, or she would think she was too good for the killer to go after, and that would be her downfall.
Ryan
Ryan takes a long time to step out of his sister's shadow. Raised on dancing, singing, and the spotlight, Ryan spends most of his time playing back up to his sister and not getting the chance to shine. He gets that chance in the second movie of the trilogy, finding himself right at home as a choreographer and director instead of on the stage himself.
He would likely find himself a little lost after the killer takes out Sharpay, but would also start to find out just who he could be without her. It wouldn't last long for him. He'd make it through the first movie in a slasher trilogy with a possibly mortal wound, only to bite the dust in the second movie. It's easy to imagine him trying to tap dance his way out of the killer's grasp.
Zeke
Zeke doesn't get a lot of screen time in the High School Musical movies. What the audience knows about him boils down to three things: he plays basketball, he likes Sharpay, and he loves to bake. Zeke would be a character the audience wouldn't get to know well in the first movie. He'd stay out of the killer's way by stress baking and would become closer to the survivors during the events of the second movie. That's where he'd find himself in trouble.
His hobby would lend itself to a really tense standoff in the kitchen with the killer where he tried to use every baking tool at his disposal to defend himself, only to lose the fight. His cookies would be ruined too.
Martha
Like Zeke, Martha only has a few defining characteristics in the movies. She plays the cello, is a terrific dancer, and is a bit of a nerd since she's seen hanging out with Taylor, who doesn't associate with anyone who can't keep up with her academically.
Martha is just enough of a background character to escape the killer's notice in the initial bloodbath. She's also well-liked enough that her death would break the hearts of plenty of East High's students, making her a sure hit for the killer in either the second or third chapter of the trilogy, just as the audience gets to know her better.
Troy
For a generation of movie watchers, Zac Efron plays the romantic lead in the worst decision-makers of all time. It takes him forever to make a stand and figure out what he wants — and then he has to figure it out all over again in every single one of his movies.
Because he's the romantic lead and the king of compromise in the first movie, he makes it to the sequel. He might even make it to the final chapter of the trilogy, but there's no way he's surviving. In order for Gabriella to move on beyond the trauma of her slasher high school days, the boyfriend who couldn't figure out if he loved basketball, the stage, or her more would have to go.
Gabriella
With Gabriella and Troy as the romantic leads of High School Musical, it might be strange not to see them as the characters most likely to survive — especially since Troy already met his end. Gabriella Montez would definitely make it through the first two movies of a slasher trilogy as the star with her intelligence and resourcefulness. It's the third movie that would give her the biggest challenge.
Just as the audience would believe she finally outsmarted the killer and gets to live a life of peace, Gabriella would be the one to fulfill that final jump scare. She'd be the last body in the trilogy, leaving room for characters just as smart as her, but who didn't get the spotlight as often, to survive.
Taylor
Taylor becomes Gabriella's best friend early on. She talks the new girl into ing the academic decathlon, and though she's not sold on musicals, she always does whatever she can to help her friend fulfill her dreams.
Taylor is the woman with a plan. She's the one who helps Gabriella plan a way to pull off her audition in the first movie when there are multiple scheduling conflicts. Taylor knows what she wants in life, and, much like Sharpay, she doesn't let anything stand in her way. She just doesn't jump at the spotlight in any of her activities, allowing her to fly under the killer's radar a little bit longer than everyone else.
Kelsi
Most often in the High School Musical trilogy, Kelsi can be found at the piano. She spends her time in the movies making Sharpay, Troy, and Gabriella look good, bolstering everyone else with her knack for writing them the perfect song to suit their voice.
Everyone likes Kelsi — except for maybe Sharpay since she writes her best music for Gabriella. Kelsi tries her best not to cause conflict. Just as smart as Gabriella and Taylor, she also manages to survive all of high school with Sharpay constantly on her back. Kelsi has all the makings of a final girl.
