We are all familiar with the typical blonde, screaming virginal girl in horror who meets a bloody end that due to poor character development and unlikability, is not much of a loss at all. Also familiar to the horror audience is the ‘final girl’ trope, defined by her survival until the movie’s credits and her heroic, yet relatable, personality. Stacie Ponder, writer of horror blog Final Girl (http://www.finalgirl.rocks/) comments: “It’s a woman who’s ultimately victorious”. And so, here is a short guide to a small selection of some of horrors finest final girls, spoilers ahead!
1. Halloween (1978) – Laurie Strode
There is a reason that Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) appears first in all of these final girl lists. Hailed as a classic of horror cinema, Halloween follows Laurie as she is stalked by knife-wielding Michael Myers as she tries to have a quiet night in babysitting. Laurie’s determination and creativity (I’m talking about the knitting needle specifically) in her seemingly never-ending chase with Michael captures the audience’s attention as we are all rooting for her. Therefore, Laurie’s likeability stems from her continuous fighting back, she does not stop to play the victim at any point. After all this time, Laurie’s chase is still going evidently, as seen by the release of Halloween this year (see Claire’s article for some more depth on that).
2. It Follows (2014) – Jaimie “Jay” Height
Existing as a more modern example of the final girl, Jay (Maika Monroe) works with her friends to rid themselves of an aggressive entity that relentlessly follows them around town whilst taking different physical forms. This ‘entity’ is kind of like a demonic STI, as the only way to get rid of it is to have sex to pass it on. I know it sounds wild but It Follows quickly established itself as a modern horror success, along with its seriously atmospheric score by Disasterpiece the film has strong characters and its sleepy 80s-esque town is the perfect backdrop. Paying homage to the original horror girl referenced before, Jay subverts this by using her sexuality as a way to fight back against the evil in the film. The ambiguous ending of the film further fuels some of the films messages, but the climactic end ‘battle’ solidifies Jay’s position as a final girl completely.
3. As Above, So Below (2014) – Scarlett Marlowe
Another example from 2014, albeit lesser known, As Above, So Below is an arguably underrated handheld horror flick set in the Catacombs of Paris as a group of explorer’s search for the philosopher’s stone (yes the same one from Harry Potter, the stone is actually a ‘real’ historical legend!). Within the incredibly claustrophobic viewing experience, As Above, So Below presents Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) as an ambitious final girl with a relentless need to explore after the death of her historian father. Obviously, determination is becoming a theme in this list, and Scarlett has plenty of determination as she crosses the literal threshold to hell deep underground in her search for the stone, even after most of the group perish in violent circumstances along the way.
4. The House of the Devil (2009) – Samantha Hughes
In ANOTHER babysitting scenario, Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) stumbles upon a number of clues in the strange mansion that piece together to reveal that the house is being used for a bizarre satanic ritual with Samantha as the sacrifice. Using a very simple plot, the last 20 minutes or so hold most of the action for Samantha rather than the extended movie-long chase of other final girls. Although ending up more 80’s style over substance, The House of the Devil has you rooting for Samantha as much as any other final girl; proving that even mediocre films deserve some credibility for their use of the trope. Also, Greta Gerwig is equally as charming as Samantha’s goofy friend Megan and that itself is a solid selling point.
5. The Cabin in the Woods (2012) – Dana Polk
Watching The Cabin in the Woods for the first time makes for an incredibly entertaining experience, as the film subverts every horror movie trope in the book. The ‘big twist’ sees our final girl Dana (Kristen Connolly) briefly off-screen, assumed dead, only to return for the final act alongside the archetypical stoner/loser character Marty (Fran Kranz) in a stand-off with ‘The Director’ (Sigourney Weaver). Although technically dead due to the movie’s conclusion, Dana surpasses her assigned trope of virginal and weak as she fights a ludicrous onslaught of every type of horror villain you could imagine in a mysterious facility. Part horror and part comedy, The Cabin in the Woods satirical plot works for the final girl, as the whole of humanity crumbles as a result of the mess the facility creates.
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