Top 10 Horror Movie Characters That Are Smarter Than You

In “Split,” James McAvoy plays Kevin Wendell Crumb, a man with numerous identities who kidnaps three young women. While two of the women, Claire and Marcia, try to escape and are punished as a result, Casey decides to play along with Kevin’s changing personalities and uses them to her advantage. For example, she befriends Hedwig, Kevin’s childish persona, and when “Hedwig” learns of her deceit, she keeps a level head rather than run away like the others. Using her brain, and not letting her emotions get the best of her, results in her escaping the immediate conflict.

#9: Ben “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)

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“Night of the Living Dead” is one of the most revolutionary horror movies of all time, and it features perhaps the smartest and most resourceful character in all of zombie fiction: Ben. While everyone else around him is either freaking out or in a catatonic state, Ben keeps focused and tries to find a way out of their predicament. It’s Ben who makes most of the decisions. It’s Ben who is the most resourceful. And it’s Ben who survives the night, taking refuge in the basement (despite earlier saying that it was a bad idea). And what does he get for all this trouble? Well, you know what happens.

#8: Erin “You’re Next” (2011)

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It’s refreshing to see a slasher movie heroine so resourceful and clever. In this movie, Erin is invited to her boyfriend’s family reunion when masked intruders storm the house and all hell breaks loose. However, they didn’t count on Erin, who was raised on a survivalist compound and who proves to be an immense badass throughout the entire movie. She advises everyone how to escape a dangerous situation, takes pictures of the assailants, and even rigs up “Home Alone”-esque booby traps with items found throughout the house. She’s utterly fearless, and we love it.

That said, Erin has nothing on Sidney. Throughout four movies, Sidney remains as sharp as a tack and constantly defeats those who are out to kill her, whether it’s by outwitting them or taking the fight to them directly. It helps that Sidney knows the tropes of horror movies: she knows not to run upstairs (despite doing so, but hey, she panicked), and she knows to make sure that the killer is dead so they don’t come back for one last scare. While it eventually plays on her mental health, Sidney certainly knows how to survive the odd serial killer or two.

Laurie Strode is one of the first examples of the “final girl” trope. Despite that now being a cliché aspect of slasher films, Laurie broke the mold and provided viewers with a fresh and highly intelligent protagonist who they could root for. She begins the series as a meek high school student, but she could still hold her own in a fight with Michael by using her brain, like when she fashioned a weapon out of a wire hanger. When she reappears later in the series, she is the badass heroine, taking the fight to Michael and defeating him in an epic showdown of brains and brawn.

#5: Michelle “10 Cloverfield Lane” (2016)

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In this movie, Michelle finds herself in quite the predicament: she is locked in a bunker with two men, one of whom tells her that the air outside is now polluted and that she needs to stay with him for her own safety. So, yeah, he’s crazy. It’s a horrifying situation to be in, but Michelle definitely makes the most of it. She feigns flirtation during their dinner in order to steal the key. She manages to escape Howard and destroy a massive alien ship using nothing but a Molotov. She even fashions a freaking Hazmat-like suit out of things found in the bunker! Yeah, we say she’s pretty darned smart.

#4: R.J. MacReady “The Thing” (1982)

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The greatest thing about this disturbing movie is that the characters do everything right, but they still lose. Now that’s the sign of a fantastic and intelligent horror movie. MacReady ensures that safety measures are in place throughout the movie. He manages to break back into the station when the others have isolated him out of fear. And, most importantly, he’s the one who decides to perform the copper wire and blood experiment, which actually works and exposes the Thing. He does everything he can, but in the end, he’s left stranded in a dark and dreary Antarctic night. Now that’s scary.

#3: Chris Washington “Get Out” (2017)

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“Get Out” is one of the most original and entertaining horror movies in years, and protagonist Chris Washington is a big part of that. When his girlfriend takes him to her parents’ house, he immediately begins to notice that things are off, despite their protests: the groundskeeper and housekeeper are a little weird, and he feels uncomfortable when their guests begin to take a particular interest in him. When things inevitably end up going off the rails, Chris uses a brilliant tactic of plugging his ears with chair stuffing to block out hypnotic commands and then singlehandedly takes on the entire household.

When you can puzzle out the riddles of Hannibal Lecter, you know you’re pretty damn smart. Throughout the movie, FBI agent Clarice Starling needs to consult with the highly intelligent Hannibal Lecter, and watching the two in discussion is extremely fascinating due to their chemistry and mesmerizing back and forth. Starling has a very quick mind and can make connections that others can’t, and she even takes on a dangerous serial killer in the dark by herself, singlehandedly saving the girl and the day. She is now a cinematic icon, and it’s not hard to see why. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Nancy Thompson “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984) Peter Washington “Dawn of the Dead” (1978) Selena “28 Days Later” (2002)

#1: Ellen Ripley “Alien” (1979)

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Ripley is perhaps the most influential heroine of all time, and for good reason. Ripley shows intelligence from the very beginning of the first movie, when she deduces that the SOS signal picked up by the Nostromo may be a warning rather than a distress beacon. She’s also the one who refuses to let Dallas, Lambert, and Kane back on the ship, fearing contamination, and we all know how that turned out. The last one standing, she successfully jettisons the alien out of the escape pod at the end of the movie. Ripley is often regarded as the character that challenged and changed established gender roles in horror movies, and her intelligence throughout the film series is why.