Top 10 Hardest Monsters to Kill in Movies

“Cloverfield” Franchise (2008-18)
When the military has to resort to an air strike called the “Hammerdown Protocol”, clearly the target can shrug off an onslaught. Rising from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, the Cloverfield monster shows up in Manhattan and proceeds to just wreck everything, leaving millions of civilians fleeing for their lives. As for the government, they’re at their wit's end over how to put this beast down. Due to the nature of the film, very little information is revealed about the Hammerdown Protocol, but it involved plenty of bombs and an "at any cost" mentality.

“The Lord of the Rings” Franchise (2001-03)
This Balrog is a survivor, having fought in several wars before taking refuge in caves beneath the misty mountains for over five thousand years. Known as Durin’s Bane, the evil behemoth is armed with a flaming whip and sword. Chasing the Fellowship through Moria, the Balrog proves to be such a threat that Gandalf essentially sacrifices himself to stop the beast. Following a trip down an abyss and a battle on a mountain that lasts for days, Gandalf eventually emerges victorious. But it speaks volumes that the Balrog pushes such a powerful wizard to his absolute limits.

“Hellraiser” Franchise (1987-2018)
Hailing from a hellish dimension and fond of chains and needles, Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites are unpredictable, powerful, and persistent. In the second movie, Pinhead is turned back into a human and has his throat slit. You’d think that would be the end of him, but this only results in the Cenobite coming back stronger and more twisted than ever in the next film. While banishing the Cenobites to hell is usually the only way to defeat them, Pinhead and his companions do eventually meet their demise in 2127. It only takes blowing up a space station to get the job done.

“The Babadook” (2014)
A boogeyman-esque creature born from a children's book, Mister Babadook's strength is directly connected to its victim's grief. When the Babadook begins to haunt Amelia and Samuel, it progressively gets more powerful as the mother is pushed further and further towards insanity, culminating in a possession. As Amelia's grief stems from the death of her husband, defeating the Babadook requires facing and accepting that tragedy. While this renders the demon impotent, the pain of the loss will always be there, meaning Amelia can never fully get rid of the Babadook.

“Phantasm” Franchise (1979-2016)
A big part of the "Phantasm" series' appeal is the lore and persistent mystery. For every tantalizing bit of information it reveals, it also holds something back—and nowhere is this more true than with the Tall Man. A being from another dimension that looks human but is anything but, the Tall Man has a degree of control over death, including his own. Killing this entity typically only results in another one showing up to take its place, although a forced embalming or a dose of liquid nitrogen can at least provide some respite. The Tall Man is hard enough to slow down, let alone kill.

“The Thing” Franchise (1982-2011)
A monster motivated by survival, The Thing can replicate other organisms, splitting itself apart into countless beings. While a flamethrower or an explosion should be able to kill a single Thing, that means little when there are other versions running around. The monster's ability to almost perfectly replicate its target makes The Thing an incredibly dangerous and difficult enemy to fight against, as its mere existence turns everyone into a suspect. Even in the unlikely situation that all instances of The Thing are killed, the survivors will still have to live the rest of their days wondering whether their neighbor is truly their neighbor.

“Evil Dead” Franchise (1981-2018)
When it comes to Ash Williams' worst nightmares, the best bet is to keep on chopping until the possessed corpse stops moving. Deadites are evil spirits that take over both the living or dead, and they tend to be pretty darn difficult to kill. As beheadings are often not enough, the complete annihilation of the head and (ideally) removal of some limbs is recommended. While Ash defeats many Deadites with his trusty boomstick and chainsaw, the groovy hero is generally just destroying the possessed bodies, causing the spirits to be sent packing but not truly destroyed.

“Aliens” (1986)
In Ridley Scott's horror classic, the Xenomorph was a single, terrifying entity. In James Cameron’s sequel, however, the titular “Aliens” get the quantity over quality treatment—at least when it comes to the monster's threat level. While the standard Xenomorphs go down relatively quickly in the sequel, the same cannot be said for the Queen. A hulking monstrosity that’s also light-footed and intelligent, the Queen brushes off gunfire and fire like they’re nothing. It takes an exoskeleton, one of horror's most badass heroes, and a trip into outer space to put the Queen down for good.

“The Blob” (1958; 1988)
Once this monster gets eating, nothing will satisfy its hunger. In both the 1958 original and the 1988 remake, the Blob is a jellyfish-like creature that devours humans to expand in size, eventually becoming absolutely massive. The Blob does not react well to freezing temperatures, which spells its doom in both films, but it’s otherwise impervious to most threats. And while the Blob can be put on ice and essentially defeated, only a small morsel of the jelly needs to escape to start the process all over again. The 1958 film doesn’t even try to destroy the monster, opting to trap the Blob in the Arctic instead.

“Godzilla” Franchise (1954-)
Godzilla is the creature to call when other nearly-unkillable kaiju like Destroyah and King Ghidorah are wreaking havoc. Over the decades, Godzilla has played the role of villain, anti-hero, and even a father; the one thing that remains constant is that killing this beast is mostly a pipe dream. In the 1954 film, it takes a weapon of mass destruction to take down the original Godzilla, an incarnation of the kaiju that does not rank among the strongest. While Godzilla has died a few times over the decades, the monster tends to shrug off most attacks, be it from mankind or other massive creatures that can level cities with a sneeze. He’s truly the king of the monsters.