Top 10 Smartest Movie Monsters

Who knew you could do so much with a little bit of electricity and a few spare body parts? Unlike most other adaptations of Frankenstein’s monster, this version sticks deathly close to the original from Mary Shelley’s novel. In this rendition, the “Creature” can do more than just stumble around and groan; he teaches himself how to read and speak, and then becomes a walking, talking, and rotting thesaurus. The surprisingly well-spoken brute is in touch with his emotions and yearns to be loved. Also, he’s got the whole “seeking revenge against his creator” thing down to a tee.

This fire-drake from the North might be obsessed with gold, but he has a tongue of pure silver. With just a few questions, he sees through Bilbo’s lies and is able to surmise so much more. Smaug finds out what Bilbo is in search of, who he works for, and if the men of Lake-town had helped him. It’s tough to notice how sharp his mind is when we’re too focussed on how sharp his teeth and claws are. Even though he’s been slumbering under the mountain, he knows exactly what’s happening in the “abandoned” stronghold of “Dol Guldur.”

The dreadful Pennywise can contort his body into a slew of monstrous shapes and sizes, but It remains a cunning adversary through and through. The cold-blooded clown is a master of exploiting the fears and insecurities of whatever It intends to eat. It nearly meets its end the first time It tries to deal with the Losers Club all together. This is why It chooses to separate and trap them the second time they fight. Using both its menacing form and insights from their past, Pennywise manages to let them stew in terror. It even concocts agonizing scenarios to torment its victims until they’re dripping with dread, just how It likes ‘em.

You can’t be dull if your whole shtick is being the deadliest hunter in the galaxy. There’s a lot going on behind that mask, and we’re not talking about those creepy mandibles. The Predators - or the “Yautja” - are a race of extraterrestrials that exist solely to stalk and kill the toughest prey. Their technology is incredibly advanced, and their hunting tactics are brutally efficient, but what keeps them alive is their adaptability. The Yautja observe their prey and gather information about them before they strike. Whether it’s police officers, commandos, or other extraterrestrials, the Predators have ritualistically outsmarted them. So, if you see three dots on you, it’s already too late.

The Houdini of murderous dinosaurs was unfortunately bred to be every zookeeper’s nightmare; it’s deadly, it’s an escape artist, and it’s always got something up its sleeve. The Indominus rex was created using a cocktail of DNA, so it has way too many abilities and it knows how to use them. The devious dino ignores its lunch, tricks the thermal cameras using its frog genes, scratches up the wall to mislead the staff into thinking it already escaped, and then it’s rampage time. To make matters worse, it has raptor DNA in it too, and those clever critters figured out how to use door handles.

We’ve seen smooth-talking monsters, but what about a plant with a great set of pipes? Audrey II is creative enough to come up with a catchy song that nearly won an Academy Award! But seriously, its sinister singing is the last thing you should worry about. Throughout the movie, it manipulates its poor owner Seymour by exploiting his hidden desires and self-doubt so it can feed on people. Once it’s strong enough, it even has a plan to take over the world. An electrical cable does get in the way of its grand schemes, but it is crafty enough to preserve itself for a potential sequel.

Unlike the other entries on this list, the Omega has no way of protecting itself except by using its brain. However, it’s in no way defenseless. This hive mind takes multitasking to another level, by coming up with battle strategies while also commanding an entire army of alien drones called “Mimics.” It has the ultimate “do-over” ability where it can test different approaches and rewind time whenever things fail. This way, the Omega polishes its game plan until it’s perfect, and only then does it move on to the next one. No wonder it nearly brings humanity to its knees.

When moviegoers first laid their eyes on a Xenomorph, they must’ve assumed that it was just animalistic. But they use their heads more often than you think… no, not that one. With every iteration, we learn more about the way they think. Their ability to stalk and kill their prey rivals that of the Predators and they tend to think out of the box to survive; like when a Xenomorph uses its own corrosive blood to melt the floor and escape, when several of them cut the power before swarming, or when one senses danger and tries to stow itself onto an escape shuttle.

This paranormal field agent might seem like a fish out of water over here, but not all the monsters on this list have to be nefarious - some are just plain nice. Abe Sapien distinguishes himself from the rest because he has a brilliant intellect as well as a love for the finer things in life. He’s regarded as the brains of the group, but when he’s not solving cases that stump the BPRD, he’s listening to classical music, eating rotten eggs, or reading four books at the same time. Abe also has psychic and psychometric powers, which only add to his genius-level intelligence.

The more it kills, the smarter it gets. This alien entity can absorb and assimilate any living being, which means that it can look, act, and think like whatever it wants. Which is how it goes from being as smart as a dog to being as smart as a human. It’s an extraterrestrial parasitic organism that can flawlessly mimic its host’s speech patterns and body language. What’s even more terrifying is that to avoid being identified, it can improvise dialogue and instill distrust in the group. The breakneck pace at which it understands and later maneuvers its way through social interactions is jaw-dropping.