isn’t it refreshing when the characters
are actually smart good gun you might be
dead now
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
smartest horror movie characters before
we begin we publish new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
what we consider to be the smartest
characters throughout horror movie
history to be included the character
must show a high degree of intelligence
and display keen decision-making skills
throughout the entire movie not just
during one specific scene oh and a
spoiler alert is probably in order
always connecting the dots I’m taking
what you presented to me okay number 10
Casey cook split maybe you could sneak
me they’re trying to trick me in split
james mcavoy plays Kevin Wendel 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 running away like the others
could you help us because she uses her
brain and doesn’t let her emotions get
the best of her
Casey is able to escape the immediate
conflict there’s a man here you’ve
ducted us and he’s going to kill me
number nine Ben Night of the Living Dead
in the cellar you can be the boss down
there I’m boss up here
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 the most of the decisions it’s Ben
who’s the most resourceful and it’s Ben
who survives the night take
refuge in the basement despite earlier
having said that it was a bad idea
and what does he get for all this
trouble well you know what happens
number eight
Erin you’re next 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
ask Ruby traps with items found
throughout the house she is utterly
fearless and we love it
number seven Sidney Prescott the scream
franchise why call your bluff
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 Sydney 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 just in case
while it eventually plays on her mental
health
Sydney certainly knows how to survive
the odd serial killer or two not in my
movie number six Laurie Strode the
Halloween franchise killed her Laurie
Strode is one of the first examples of
the final girl trope
despite that now being a cliche 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
[Music]
number five Michele 10 Cloverfield Lane
I can’t were they standing there and I
can’t trust you not to burn this place
down 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 Michele 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 is pretty
darn smart
number four RJ McCready the thing I’ll
show you what I already know the
greatest thing about this disturbing
movie is that the characters do
everything right but they still lose now
that’s a sign of a fantastic and
intelligent horror movie McCready
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 no
that’s scary wait here for a while
see what happens number three Chris
Washington get out nice to meet you
Chris nice to meet you indeed 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 the brilliant
tactic of plugging his ears with chair
stuffing to block out hypnotic commands
and then single-handedly takes on the
entire household number two
clarice starling The Silence of the
Lambs dr. Lecter my name is Clarice
Starling that speak with you 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 a highly
intelligent Hannibal Lecter and watching
the two and discussion is extremely
fascinating due to their chemistry and
mesmerizing back-and-forth yes and out
there is poor little Catherine is
waiting go dad 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 single-handedly saving the girl
and the day she is now a cinematic icon
and it’s not hard to see why
[Music]
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions if we
can get back up there without them
catching on we can hold up for a while
at least long enough to catch a breath
number one Ellen Ripley alien Ripley is
perhaps the most influential heroine of
all time and for good reason
she shows intelligence from the very
beginning of the first movie when she
deduces that the SOS signal picked up by
the Nostromo maybe a warning rather than
a distress beacon doesn’t sound like any
radio signal I’ve heard she’s also the
one who refuses to let Dallas Lambert
and came back on the ship
fearing contamination and we all know
how that turned out obviously it means
killing it but we have to stick together
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 certainly why this is Ripley last
survivor of the Nostromo signing off do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and
subscribe for new videos every day
are actually smart good gun you might be
dead now
welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re
counting down our picks for the top 10
smartest horror movie characters before
we begin we publish new videos every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
what we consider to be the smartest
characters throughout horror movie
history to be included the character
must show a high degree of intelligence
and display keen decision-making skills
throughout the entire movie not just
during one specific scene oh and a
spoiler alert is probably in order
always connecting the dots I’m taking
what you presented to me okay number 10
Casey cook split maybe you could sneak
me they’re trying to trick me in split
james mcavoy plays Kevin Wendel 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 running away like the others
could you help us because she uses her
brain and doesn’t let her emotions get
the best of her
Casey is able to escape the immediate
conflict there’s a man here you’ve
ducted us and he’s going to kill me
number nine Ben Night of the Living Dead
in the cellar you can be the boss down
there I’m boss up here
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 the most of the decisions it’s Ben
who’s the most resourceful and it’s Ben
who survives the night take
refuge in the basement despite earlier
having said that it was a bad idea
and what does he get for all this
trouble well you know what happens
number eight
Erin you’re next 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
ask Ruby traps with items found
throughout the house she is utterly
fearless and we love it
number seven Sidney Prescott the scream
franchise why call your bluff
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 Sydney 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 just in case
while it eventually plays on her mental
health
Sydney certainly knows how to survive
the odd serial killer or two not in my
movie number six Laurie Strode the
Halloween franchise killed her Laurie
Strode is one of the first examples of
the final girl trope
despite that now being a cliche 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
[Music]
number five Michele 10 Cloverfield Lane
I can’t were they standing there and I
can’t trust you not to burn this place
down 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 Michele 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 is pretty
darn smart
number four RJ McCready the thing I’ll
show you what I already know the
greatest thing about this disturbing
movie is that the characters do
everything right but they still lose now
that’s a sign of a fantastic and
intelligent horror movie McCready
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 no
that’s scary wait here for a while
see what happens number three Chris
Washington get out nice to meet you
Chris nice to meet you indeed 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 the brilliant
tactic of plugging his ears with chair
stuffing to block out hypnotic commands
and then single-handedly takes on the
entire household number two
clarice starling The Silence of the
Lambs dr. Lecter my name is Clarice
Starling that speak with you 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 a highly
intelligent Hannibal Lecter and watching
the two and discussion is extremely
fascinating due to their chemistry and
mesmerizing back-and-forth yes and out
there is poor little Catherine is
waiting go dad 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 single-handedly saving the girl
and the day she is now a cinematic icon
and it’s not hard to see why
[Music]
before we unveil our number one pick
here are some honorable mentions if we
can get back up there without them
catching on we can hold up for a while
at least long enough to catch a breath
number one Ellen Ripley alien Ripley is
perhaps the most influential heroine of
all time and for good reason
she shows intelligence from the very
beginning of the first movie when she
deduces that the SOS signal picked up by
the Nostromo maybe a warning rather than
a distress beacon doesn’t sound like any
radio signal I’ve heard she’s also the
one who refuses to let Dallas Lambert
and came back on the ship
fearing contamination and we all know
how that turned out obviously it means
killing it but we have to stick together
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 certainly why this is Ripley last
survivor of the Nostromo signing off do
you agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from WatchMojo and
subscribe for new videos every day
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