Final Girls, a classic slasher horror movie trope, has been gaining popularity with new movies featuring final girls appearing each year. A final girl is exactly what it sounds like, the last girl alive in a slasher hit. She is usually the sole survivor who faces the killer and lives on to tell the story. The final girl is generally smarter than the other characters, more resourceful, and level-headed.
In classic slashers, the final girl is usually a virgin, stereotyped as the good girl next door. She usually has a more promiscuous friend who doesn’t last very long in the movie. Many believe that this fact demonstrates that the trope itself is misogynistic, showing that girls who exude sexuality or anything other than housewife tendencies are destined to die from vicious, gruesome deaths, while the modest girl will live to see another day.
This misogynistic aspect of the trope is changing though, with new, bolder, stronger final girls emerging in movies. Dani from Midsommar, Deena from the Fear Street Trilogy, Evelyn from A Quiet Place, Tara from Scream (2022), and many more are modern examples of final girls who don’t fit the modest, church girl stereotype of the original trope. These modern final girls show a much deeper storyline and character development than before. They are women protecting their children, overcoming their past traumas, protecting those they love, and more.
Despite its misogynistic origins, the final girl trope remains a classic, with many iconic female slasher icons. Here are my top 10 final girls!
- Sidney Prescott — Scream Franchise (1996-2022)
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Portrayed by Neve Campbell
- Laurie Strode — Halloween Franchise (1978-2022)
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Portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis
- Julie James — I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
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Portrayed by Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Maxine — X (2022)
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Portrayed by Mia Goth
- Nancy Thompson — A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
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Portrayed by Heather Langenkamp
- Deena Johnson —The Fear Street Trilogy (2021)
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Portrayed by Kiana Madeira
- Sarah Carter — The Descent (2005)
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Portrayed by Shauna Macdonald
- Scarlett — As Above, So Below (2014)
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Portrayed by Perdita Weeks
- Alice Hardy — Friday The 13th (1980)
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Portrayed by Adrienne King
- Sally Hardesty — The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
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Portrayed by Marilyn Burns
Even if you don’t agree with the origins of the traditional final girls’ trope, the classic slasher movies are still a great watch, like Friday the 13th, I Know What You Did Last Summer, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, and Halloween. All of these girls demonstrated strength and resilience in their respective movies, earning them a spot in history as some of the best final girls to ever live to tell their stories.