10 Horror Movie Final Girls Who Defied The Typical Genre Tropes

Summary

Sidney Prescott stood out as a strong final girl in Scream, changing the traditional role of survival.
Erin Harson from You’re Next breaks the mold by turning the tables on killers, becoming the most dangerous character.
Cecilia Kass in The Invisible Man subverts victimization, emerging as a powerful final girl who takes on her tormentor.

Horror is a genre that is full of stereotypes and tropes, like the final girl, but some horror movies break the mold with extraordinary final girls. When horror films were growing in popularity, it became a commonplace practice to include one person, often a girl or woman, who would survive all the horrifying acts of the movie. As the last survivor, this final girl would then go on to tell the harrowing story.

In classic horror films, the final girl was usually more of a damsel in distress, being rescued and protected by others, and finally managed to escape. But, as cinema has evolved, the final girl trope has changed significantly to see the final girls becoming some of the most badass and brave characters on screen. Typically, the final girl has also been portrayed as a woman of some notability or significance, who may abstain from sex or alcohol as a way to distinguish themselves from the group.

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10 Sidney Prescott

Scream

Created by Wes Craven , Kevin Williamson First Film Scream Latest Film Scream 6 Upcoming Films Scream 7 TV Show(s) Scream (2015) Movie(s) Scream , Scream 2 , Scream 3 , Scream 4 , Scream 5 , Scream 6 , Scream 7 Expand

However, traditions can occasionally become tired and boring, and fortunately, horror has been a space that continues to push the limits on what is seen as normal in film. Looking back at one of the most popular slasher franchises of all time, Scream, this movie played a huge part in making final girls into active parts, rather than simply passive figures who had things happen to them. While Sidney Prescott plays the pivotal final girl in the franchise, the character refuses to be like every other female in horror.

For instance, Sidney fought and defeated multiple killers who attempted to take her life in Woodsboro, and when she started a family of her own, she escaped. Traditionally, the final girl becomes irrevocably bound with the killer, but Sidney left the legend of Ghostface and his obsessive disciples in the past. However, Scream 7 is set to see Sidney Prescott return to the franchise and become the focus of the upcoming film.

Neve Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott also played LeAnn Harvey in
House of Cards
(2016)

9 Erin Harson

You’re Next

You’re Next 4.0 RHorrorThriller

Director Adam Wingard Release Date August 23, 2013 Studio(s) Lionsgate Distributor(s) Lionsgate Runtime 94minutes

Most horror movies revolved around some monstrous murderer, and their terrifying antagonizing of innocent people. However, Erin Harson in You’re Next is not someone who is easily intimidated. Thanks to her upbringing on a survivalist camp, Erin is more than capable of holding her own and using her surroundings to her advantage for survival. However, these skills are so effective that the most brutal and successful killer in You’re Next is Erin herself.

When a group of killers encroaches on Erin and her boyfriend’s family’s vacation, Erin takes control of the situation with incredible skill. She prepares traps, and defends the home against numerous killers. By the end of the movie, Erin has killed no less than 6 people, and her traps have killed even more. In fact, judging by the bloodshed she is responsible for, there’s an argument to be made that she is the most dangerous character in the film, but it also makes her a very unique final girl.

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8 Cecilia Kass

The Invisible Man

The Invisible Man 3.5 RHorror Sci-FiThriller

Director Leigh Whannell Release Date February 28, 2020 Studio(s) Universal Pictures Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Runtime 124 minutes

The phrase, “you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” is rarely true when referencing final girls, but Cecilia Kass, played by Elisabeth Moss, from The Invisible Man might just be the perfect example of this statement coming true. Initially, Cecilia is a victim of abuse and cruelty when she is stuck in a dead-end relationship with the optics engineer Adrian. However, she manages to break free of her abuser, and shortly after, he apparently commits suicide.

Unfortunately for Cecilia, this only marks the beginning of her real horrors, as she begins to be haunted by the invisible form of her ex who obsessively stalks her and attempts to destroy her life. Despite the incredible fear she may have felt, Cecilia is intelligent, and determined to expose her ex for faking his death and now using an invisibility suit to torment her. The film has twists and turns, but it ends with Cecilia using Adrian’s spare suit against him, staging his murder to look like a suicide, and escaping with the suit.

7 Ellen Ripley

Alien

Alien (1979) RSci-FiHorror

Director Ridley Scott Release Date June 22, 1979 Runtime 117 Minutes Main Genre Sci-Fi

The Alien franchise changed the game when it came to blending sci-fi and horror, and a part of that is thanks to the incredible final girl, Ellen Ripley, who appears in the original trilogy. Played by three-time Oscar nominated actress, Sigourney Weaver, Ripley is one of the best protagonists in either sci-fi or horror. Ripley is strong-willed, intelligent, and incredibly brave.

When mysterious aliens begin wreaking havoc on the Nostromo, Ripley manages to keep her cool and survive the deadly attack. While men who are significantly stronger and larger fall prey to the monstrous Xenomorphs and their offspring, Ripley never backs down, and her incredible resourcefulness means that she becomes the soul survivor through multiple encounters with these creatures. Ripley is also smart enough to run when she needs to, and actively avoids pursuing the monsters when she can.

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6 Laurie Strode

Halloween

2.5 RHorrorThriller

Director David Gordon Green Release Date October 14, 2022 Distributor(s) Universal Pictures Runtime 111 Minutes

Laurie Strode is a unique final girl due to having several different versions of the character and her life. Across the Halloween franchise, Strode is represented by four different timelines. While some are more traditional, 2022s Halloween Ends reveals a much more complex and dynamic version of the character. Having survived an attack forty years prior, Strode feels tremendous guilt and responsibility for the massacre in Haddonfield in 2018.

As a result, she desires to put a stop to the conflict with Michael by killing him, but she is also prepared to embrace death. With her entire community turning against her, and her granddaughter blaming her for the deaths of loved ones, Laurie wants to both protect her community, and leave it behind. Fortunately, her granddaughter steps in to ensure Laurie does not die alongside Michael Myers, but, Laurie remains a distinctly different final girl.

5 Maxine Minx

X And Maxxxine

The X trilogy by Ti West has had impressive success since 2022. Each of the three films in the series revolves around a central figure played by Mia Goth, and the films combine classic horror and slasher themes with a quest for fame, recognition, and notoriety. In X and Maxxxine, Goth plays Maxine Minx, a young woman with high aspirations of becoming a superstar. However, while on the road to fame and fortune, Minx finds herself being stalked and harassed by dangerous murderers.

Despite this, Minx is not a character who will simply lie down and accept their fate, as she fights hard to ensure she gets the live and fame she deserves. So, when the killers approach in both films, Minx is able to swiftly and deftly put them down. Even while being stalked in an alley in Maxxxine, Minx is never at a disadvantage and trapped, because she is willing to push back with extreme force.

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4 Sister Cecilia

Immaculate

Immaculate 3.0 RHorror

Director michael mohan Release Date March 22, 2024 Studio(s) Fifty-Fifty Films , Black Bear Runtime 89 minutes

Upon first glance, Sister Cecilia appears to have all the trademarks of a traditional final girl. The character, brought to life by Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate has had a challenging life, but she chose to turn to God and become a nun. As a result, she is an incredibly virtuous, kind, and tender young woman, who seeks to join a special convent in the Italian countryside where they care for aging nuns. However, as the story progresses, Cecilia proves that she is no damsel in distress.

When Cecilia is chosen as the target for a secretive and vile experiment, she begins to feel isolated and alone within the convent. However, she sets out to uncover the truth, and hold the people responsible to account, she is anything but timid and sweet. Cecilia makes the hard choices, and does whatever is necessary to bring the nightmare to an end. Cecilia is savage in her response to her captors, and delivers some of the most shocking acts of the entire film.

3 Kirsty Cotton

Hellraiser

Hellraiser (1987) RHorrorThriller

Director Clive Barker Release Date September 18, 1987 Studio(s) Film Futures , New World Pictures Runtime 94 minutes Franchise(s) Hellraiser

Kirsty Cotton appears in one of the most gruesome horror franchises of all time, Hellraiser. She is the primary protagonist in the first and second films, and returns to play a significant role in Hellraiser: Hellseeker, the sixth film in the franchise. However, while the Cenobites could strike fear into the hearts of many a final girl, Kirsty remains level-headed and cunning in every encounter with the demons from Hell. In fact, she even manages to outsmart Pinhead, the leader of the Cenobites.

Initially Kirsty appears like any other girl, but her cool head under pressure sets her apart. When she meets the terrifying demonic monsters from Hell, she is able to find ways to close the box, and gain the upper hand. In her first two entries, Kirsty defeats the monsters through her quick thinking and wit, and later in Hellraiser: Hellseeker, she makes a deal to ensure her safety, while also ridding herself of people in her life who have become problems. She isn’t sweet and innocent, like many final girls, and she knows how to get her way.

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2 Mia Allen

Evil Dead (2013)

Evil Dead (2013) 4.0 RHorror

Director Fede Alvarez Release Date April 5, 2013 Studio(s) TriStar Pictures , FilmDistrict , Ghost House Pictures Distributor(s) Sony Runtime 91 Minutes Franchise(s) Evil Dead Sequel(s) Evil Dead Rise Main Genre Horror Expand

The re-imagined Evil Dead movie from 2013 altered the DNA of the earlier Sam Raimi films, delivering a much darker film with less of the comical overtones. At the heart of the story, there is a group of five people in a cabin in the woods. All pretty standard for a horror movie, with no real deviations from tradition up to this point. However, the movie’s final girl, Mia Allen, proves to be anything but typical. While facing off against the terrible Deadites, Mia slowly loses everyone that was close to her, as the monsters wreak terror over their group.

The re-imagined
Evil Dead
movie from 2013 altered the DNA of the earlier Sam Raimi films, delivering a much darker film with less of the comical overtones.

When it seems like she might finally be free, the most terrifying creature of them all appears, The Abomination, and sets out to kill Mia. However, Mia grabs a chainsaw, a throwback to the iconic weapon wielded by Ash in the earlier films, and holds back the monster. Despite this, she is trapped and held in place when the creature lands on her hand. Mia doesn’t hesitate to sever the appendage that is stopping her from escaping, before turning the chainsaw on The Abomination and freeing herself from the horrors for good.

1 Nancy Thompson

A Nightmare On Elm Street

A Nightmare On Elm Street 3.0 RHorror

Director Wes Craven Release Date November 16, 1984 Studio(s) New Line Cinema Runtime 91 minutes Main Genre Horror

Finally, Nancy Thompson is another standout final girl who completely shattered expectations and redefined what it means to be a final girl in the first place. In A Nightmare on Elm Street, Nancy is one of the students who are terrorized by Freddy Krueger, but unlike her friends, Nancy is astonishingly brave and resourceful, to the point where she was able to beat Freddy at his own game. Despite Freddy ruling over the realm of dreams, Nancy was able to pull the demon out of the dream world and into reality to defeat him.

This kind of quick thinking, and thinking outside the box makes Nancy one of the rare few final girls who are able to save herself and others by taking down the supernatural monster. While Freddy, of course, comes back, and the pair face off again in the third movie, nothing can take away just how brilliant Nancy was in the first movie, when she was still just a kid in high school. Ultimately, these final girls who manage to break from tradition and redefine the trope make for some of the best and most entertaining characters in horror.