How Horror’s Favorite Trope Became a Feminist Icon

In an era where horror is undergoing a renaissance, from the latest movies “Him” to “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, one trope seems to never die: the Final Girl. She’s been stabbed, chased, and traumatized but still comes out on top. Tobe Hooper’s, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, shaped storylines for modern horror movies with his infamous final girl, Sally Hardesty. Once rooted in stereotypical sexist characteristics, this type of character has proven itself to be a complex feminist icon: a symbol of resilience, agency, and female rage. 

Typically underestimated as the “good girl”, the Sydeny Prescott’s of our favorite horror movies have shown themselves to be the type of woman that can outsmart even the deadliest of killers. From the beginning, the final girl was represented as modest, innocent, and even studious which created a defining difference compared to her more carefree friends. These characters weren’t allowed to be complex or messy, instead they were meant to be a blueprint of how society believed women should act. But even with those confines, cracks began to show. Laurie Strobe, Nancy Thomspon, Grace Le Domas, these women didn’t survive off of luck, but because of their wit, survival, and refusal to be passive. They may have started “good girls” but they soon became fighters, reclaiming control of the narrative designed to silence them. 

Nancy Thompson from “Nightmare on Elm Street”, was able to trick Freddy Krueger, the notorious dream stalker, by dragging him into the real world and setting traps to end the ongoing nightmare. Similarly, Laurie Strobe, who was portrayed as a shy babysitter who possibly couldn’t hurt a fly and over time became a hardened and vengeful character throughout the Halloween franchise. 

As horror movies continue to evolve, we can recognize how filmmakers have been able to use the Final Girl as a vehicle to explore trauma, rage, and survival, all emotions women have been told to repress. Grace Le Domas from “Ready or Not”, fights to survive a deadly night after her in-laws throw her into a game of death. The film begins with her happy in a beautiful white wedding dress and ends with her soaked in blood and angry from betrayal. Grace rejects the idea of women being sweet and sane, she faced a violent and messy path leaving her unapologetic for survival. 

What makes the Final Girl so powerful today is how much she has grown. She erases the idea of  “damsel in distress” and resists the boxes she was put in. Where she was once praised for being quiet and pure, she is now allowed to scream and display rage. She shows us that we as women do not need to conform to sexist ideologies and instead be okay with taking up space. Embrace your fears and frustrations, be loud once in a while, and stop apologizing for your survival. The Final Girl reminds us that strength doesn’t always look heroic, sometimes it looks like crying trembling in fear with a weapon clutched to your hands and a will to live. She is not just a survivor, but she is a determined fighter, a symbol for a genre that was once criticized for exploiting women, and is now giving them the final word.