Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Aberdeen chapter.

Horror movies are synonymous with their blood and gore–and of course, the last woman at the end who kills her captive: this trope is known as the final girl.

The final girl is known as the protagonist in the film. We normally follow her life and she becomes a massive part of the film while typically her friends die one by one around her as the carnage unfolds. The final girl is the one to defeat her would-be murderer.

The term “final girl” was first used by Carol J Clover in her book “Men, Women, and Chainsaw: gender in the modern horror film.” The villain in the horror movies, most if not all times a man, would stalk the group of friends either through a house or through the dark, eerie woods.

The films often end with her defeating the stalker and gaining the upper hand through sheer will and determination to live, examples include Halloween (1978) and Scream (1996). The girls are stereotypically beautiful which makes you fall in love with them, eager to watch them succeed from the comfort of your sofa.

A book I highly recommend that challenges the Final Girl trope is The Final Girl support group by Grady Hendrix.

Hello! I am a third-year student studying English and International relations at the University of Aberdeen. I enjoy reading and photography.