Pretty soon, the most famous constantly-looming cinematic killer of all time will get his send-off in Halloween Ends. Anticipation is high, as the ending of Halloween Kills subtly raised some interesting questions about Michael Myers, his mortality (or immortality), and his abilities. Like in other installments of the franchise, Myers simply appears behind a character (Judy Greer's Karen) as if he's a gust of wind that can alter itself into a solid form at the flip of a dime.
But Myers isn't alone in his inescapable nature, as there are plenty of other horror icons who seem to have the upper hand no matter what. From Hell-based bounty hunters to dream slashers and slick aliens, horror has provided audiences with a diverse array of cinematic baddies that will stop at nothing to do wrong.
Michael Myers In Halloween (1978)
Michael Myers' most memorable moments in the Halloween franchise tend to involve him materializing out of what is seemingly thin air. The original film wasn't quite like this, as Myers was still being positioned as a mortal man, but his presence could be felt everywhere.
Michael Myers is also immortal. A full clip will make him step back a few paces, but he's still going to come forward. What amounted to a firing squad even filled him with lead until he fell into a well in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. But there was still a Halloween 5.
The Xenomorph In Alien (1979)
The Alien franchise is filled with some despicable characters, but none more vicious and deadly than the Xenomorph. It also just so happens to blend in perfectly with the interior of a spaceship. If walking down the halls of the Nostromo, one could be forgiven for walking past the Xeno, as its sleek appearance allows it to blend in with any wall or corner.
Even if Ripley or someone else does spot the Xeno, it's too late to escape (even Ripley died in Alien³). The alien is quick, it is vicious, and it is indiscriminate. It has one purpose and stops at nothing to complete its constant mission: kill. Then, even if the character does evade the one Xeno, Aliens proved that there are a lot more out there, and human greed will ensure that sooner rather than later, they'll be on everyone's doorsteps.
Freddy Krueger In A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
The financially successful A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise entered a packed field just as it was dying down. The slasher franchise had started to have too many copycat installments, those that sought to mimic the tone and (more succinctly) the financial success of both Halloween and Friday the 13th. Wes Craven came in with A Nightmare on Elm Street and Freddy Krueger, effectively blowing the doors off the slasher subgenre and the horror genre at large. The key: Freddy was unique, and there was precious little chance of his intended victim escaping.
Putting a killer in one's dreamscape alters the game entirely. There are no police to call, there's probably little access to any legitimate weaponry, and the victim is standing on Freddy's terrain. Furthermore, Freddy's intended victim has to sleep eventually, making their meeting a foregone conclusion.
Jason Voorhees In Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)
Most rankings of the Friday the 13th films put the comedic Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives towards the top. Easily the smartest and most competently made installment of the series, Jason Lives also gives the hockey-masked killer the gift of immortality. Prior to Lives, Jason had gotten a machete to the head courtesy of Tommy Jarvis in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.
After the Jason-free Friday the 13th Part V: A New Beginning, Lives reunites Voorhees and Jarvis, who swiftly learns that he would have been better off leaving well enough alone. The Friday the 13th franchise's logic has always been askew, as even die-hard fans readily admit that Jason's appearance in Part II is shoddily explained away with a character's theory. But if he wasn't immortal prior Jason Lives, the lightning bolt did the trick.
The Cenobites In Hellraiser (1987)
As the one man to successfully escape the Cenobites, Frank Cotton was a unique case. However, his time on the terrestrial plain was bound to be limited. Hellraiser's Pinhead and his minions (which tend to change film by film) are essentially Hell's headhunters. If someone gets loose, they'll find them and send chains through them without remorse or second thought.
The Cenobites effectively need an invitation to become unavoidable, however. Usually, they're summoned via the Lament Configuration, and if the puzzle is complete the player is coming back with the demons one way or the other. The Cenobites don't target just anyone, but if the individual is on their radar it's not a matter of if, but when.
Daniel Robitaille In Candyman (1992)
Daniel Robitaille, AKA Candyman, is not only every bit as memorable as fellow Clive Barker creation Pinhead, but he's also just as inescapable and otherworldly. Robitaille was murdered by a lynch mob, and since then, he's established himself as the deadly guardian of a Chicago housing project.
Investigating the Candyman lore is grad student Helen Lyle. Lyle learns that not even innocence can save one from the Candyman. He was hunted and slaughtered, now he follows suit.
Death In Final Destination (2000)
Time has been very kind to Final Destination, which has revealed itself to be the opposite of what many critics felt it was: a silly, boring teen film. In reality, the original Final Destination is an inventive horror film with a legitimately perfect cast of '90s teen icons (including American Pie's Seann William Scott), and it has a series of increasingly memorable death scenes. More importantly, Final Destination knows how to build tension (as do Final Destination 2 and Final Destination 5).
Back in 2000, a prospective ticket buyer could look at the poster for Final Destination (with its fresh-faced stars lined side-by-side) and think it was another self-aware knife-wielding-killer movie in the vein of Scream, Scream 2, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and Urban Legend. In reality, Final Destination was more like a cousin to those films, and that's predominantly because it's smart enough to know it's time for a villain that's a cut above the capabilities of man.
John Kramer In Saw (2004)
Saw has one of the more interesting villains of the major horror franchises, and he's certainly the most influential. John Kramer is unavoidable for future victims because it's the idea of him that's in pursuit. And there's a crew of like-minded individuals making sure no one forgets him.
Cancer just killed the body of the man who concocted Jigsaw, but the idea of Jigsaw's purpose looms large. And as Saw 3D: The Final Chapter showed, it's almost impossible to know just who is carrying out his will from beyond the grave.
Pennywise In It (2017)
Pennywise the Dancing Clown was given a more novel-faithful adaptation with Andy Muschietti's two-part It film. The 1990 miniseries kept Pennywise's ability to intimidate and his otherworldliness, but the theatrical adaptation better conveyed his shape-shifting ability. In this is Pennywise's inescapable nature: He knows what scares you.
If you're a kid of Derry, Maine, Pennywise is targeting you. That simplicity (and the age range of his targets) makes the dancing clown outright terrifying. However, worse yet is his seeming invulnerability. In fact, if the individual is walking or riding their bike solo, there's an excellent chance Pennywise will approach, and, without the power of Losers Club's unity, they're doomed.
People Like The Armitages In Get Out (2017)
Get Out is so masterfully crafted that it even makes its most predictable twist (the Armitages aren't as progressive and kind as they appear) a shock. Jordan Peele's film is perhaps the best horror of its decade, and it manages to turn a couple of white family members into something as scary as Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or Pazuzu the demon.
This is especially true considering people like the Armitages exist (minus the body-swapping). And, like the family of the film, it's not as if they wear their true intentions and beliefs on their sleeves. The Armitages are scary because they could be anyone, and their ideas, if not their methods, are a real threat to real people.