The Final Girl trope defined characteristics of the last character left alive to confront the killer in horror films, particularly in slasher films. The rise of feminism in the 1970s became a milestone in the genre as the damsel in distress did not need a man to rescue her anymore. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the Alien franchise and Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) from Black Christmas all portrayed strong female characters who all fought back against their assailant.
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is one of the most famous final girls in the Halloween franchise that was first released in 1978 and deemed Laurie as the victim of her brother Michael Myers. As the final girl characteristics have developed, like the franchise, she no longer waits around for Michael instead is ready to fight him and is no longer a target. The baton was passed to the ’80s films that followed the trope with Alice Hardy, Ginny Field, and Christine “Chris” Higgins in the Friday the 13th franchise and Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The ’90s would continue the tradition with Sidney Prescott, portrayed by Neve Campbell as the longest-surviving and character-centered final girl of nine different assailants as the Ghostface killer in the Scream franchise. Lest we not forget Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) from Scream, who also deserves a mention, as does Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in I Know What You Did Last Summer.Â
The final girl trope may have been coined to only include slasher films from the ’70s, but before that was Lila Crane (Vera Miles) from Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, who deserves an honorable mention for surviving Norman Bates. But could the final girl be dated back even farther? Could the original final girl be Dorothy Gale, portrayed by Judy Garland in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz? Here are the facts by professor Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women, and Chainsaws, who coined the term “final girl.”Â
According to Clover, the final girl is typically sexually unavailable or virginal, avoiding the vices of the victims and occasionally the final girl will have a shared history with the killer. Dorothy is a young girl who is taunted by the Wicked Witch of the West, who represents her neighbor Miss Gulch and threatens to destroy Toto in Kansas and Dorothy, in the land of Munchkins for accidentally killing her sister, The Wicked Witch of the East, when Dorothy’s house falls on her.
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Dorothy also represents other qualities of the final girl of “investigating consciousness” and moving the narrative forward and as such, she exhibits intelligence, curiosity, and vigilance as she travels on the yellow brick road encountering obstacles along the way.
During the final girl’s confrontation with the killer, Clover argues, she becomes masculinized through “phallic appropriation” by taking up a weapon, such as a knife or a chainsaw, against the killer. In this case, her weapon is water that melts the witch after Dorothy throws it to put out the scarecrows’ flames inflicted by the witch. Dorothy ends up taking the witches’ weapon, a long wooden broom that can be determined as phallic as riding on one was a symbol of female sexuality, considering the broom was a symbol of female domesticity back in the Middle Ages.
Overall, the Wicked Witch of the West constantly terrorizes Dorothy by stalking and threatening her. She fails in attempting to poison Dorothy in the field of poppies and sends out her flying monkeys to kidnap and entrap Dorothy in her castle with the intent of killing her but Dorothy survives this abject terror inflicted on her and thus makes her an honorable final girl.
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THE WIZARD OF OZ, Dorothy Gale, 1939
Image Credit: Everett Collection Dorothy Gale, portrayed by Judy Garland, has the characteristics of a Final Girl coined by professor Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book “Men, Women, and Chainsaws,” and is potentially the original final girl.
Dir. Victor Fleming, George Cukor(uncredited,) Mervyn LeRoy(uncredited) starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Margaret Hamilton.
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PSYCHO, Lila Crane, 1960
Image Credit: Everett Collection Lila Crane portrayed by Vera Miles survives killer Norman Bates in Psycho, 1960. In Psycho II she is killed by Emma Spool, portrayed by Claudia Bryar after becoming the antagonist.
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh.
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THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, Sally Hardesty, 1974
Image Credit: Vortex Sally Hardesty portrayed by Marilyn Burns survives the cannibal Sawyer family and escapes Leatherface in one Horrors most iconic ending scenes.
Dir. Tobe Hooper, starring, Marilyn Burns, Edwin Neal and Vortex Allen Danziger.
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BLACK CHRISTMAS, (aka SILENT NIGHT, EVIL NIGHT), Jess Bradford, 1974
Image Credit: Everett Collection Jess Bradford, portrayed by Olivia Hussey survives the sorority killings by her boyfriend Billy, but the ending is left ambiguous not knowing if she survives or not.
Dir. Bob Clark, starring Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea and Margot Kidder.
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SUSPIRIA, Susanna “Suzy” Bannion, 1977
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Susanna “Suzy” Bannion portrayed by Jessica Harper is the only surviving student of a dance academy run a coven of witches.
Dir. Dario Argento, starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini and Flavio Bucci.
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HALLOWEEN, Laurie Strode, 1978
Image Credit: Compass International Pictures Laurie Strode, portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis is considered one of the most iconic Final Girls surviving her knife-wielding brother, Michael Myers
Dir. John Carpenter, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle.
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ALIEN, Ellen Ripley, 1979
Image Credit: 20th Century Fox Film Corp Ellen Ripley portrayed by Sigourney Weaver survives the Xenomorph and is the final survivor of the Nostromo. She is one of the most Iconic Sci-Fi and Horror queens of the genre
Dir. James Cameron, starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt.
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FRIDAY THE 13TH, Alice Hardy, 1980
Image Credit: Paramount/Everett Collection Alice Hard, portrayed by Adrienne King, sole survivor of Pamela Voorhees’s killing spree and Camp Crystal Lake. she would become the first victim of Pamela’s son Jason Voorhees in the sequel.
Dir. Sean S. Cunningham, starring Kevin Bacon, Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King and Jeannine Taylor.
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FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, Ginny Field, 1981
Image Credit: Paramount/Everett Collection Ginny Field, portrayed by Amy Steel survives the slaughter of Jason Voorhees in the sequel to Friday The 13th.
Dir. Steve Miner, starring Betsy Palmer, Amy Steel and John Furey.
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FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III, Chris Higgins, 1982
Image Credit: Paramount/Everett Collection Christine “Chris” Higgins, portrayed by Dana Kimmell is the sole survivor of Jason Voorhees in part 3 of Friday the 13th.
Dir. Steve Miner, starring Dana Kimmell, Tracie Savage and Richard Brooker.
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A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Nancy Thompson, 1984
Image Credit: New Line Cinema/Everett Collection Nancy Thompson Portrayed by Heather Langenkamp is the survivor of Freddy Krueger. She would return in the thrid installment of the franchice to be slain by Freddy.
Dir. Wes Craven, starring Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp and Robert Englund.
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SCREAM, Sidney Prescott, 1996
Image Credit: Dimension Films/courtesy Everett Collection Sidney Prescott, portrayed by Neve Campbell is the longest surviving and character-centered Final Girl of nine different assailants in the Ghostface killer costume.
Dir. Wes Craven, starring Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.
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SCREAM, Gale Weathers, 1996
Image Credit: Dimension Films/courtesy Everett Collection Gale Weather, portrayed by Courteney Cox also survives the attacks of the Ghostface killer in the Scream franchie and sets her place in history also as one of the longest-surviving members of the Final Girls club.
Dir. Wes Craven, starring Drew Barrymore, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette.
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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, Julie James, 1997
Image Credit: Columbia/Everett Collection Julie James, portrayed by Jennifer Love Hewitt survives Ben Willis in the first film but her fate is sealed in the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.
Dir. Jim Gillespie, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr.
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I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, Jennifer Hills, 2010
Image Credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment Jennifer Hills, portrayed by Sarah Butler, survives and gains vengeance on her perpetrators
Dir. Steven R. Monroe, starring Sarah Butler, Jeff Branson and Andrew Howard.
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YOU’RE NEXT, Erin Hanson, 2011
Image Credit: Corey Ransberg/Lionsgate/Everett Collection Erin Hanson, Portrayed by Sharni Vinson survives a home invasion when they messed with the wrong heroine.
Dir. Adam Wingard, starring Sharni Vinson, Joe Swanberg and AJ Bowen.
YOU’RE NEXT, Sharni Vinson, 2011. ph: Corey Ransberg/©Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection
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IT FOLLOWS, Jay Height, 2014
Image Credit: RADiUS-TWC/Courtesy Everett Collection Jay Height, portrayed by Maika Monroe is an interesting take on the final girl status as she is followed by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter and in order to survive she must pass it on.
Dir. David Robert Mitchell, starring Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist and Olivia Luccardi.
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READY OR NOT, Grace Le Domas, 2019
Image Credit: Eric Zachanowich/Fox Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection Grace Le Domas, portrayed by Samara Weaving, is the only survivor of a family game night that turns into a game of survival that does not work out well for its competitors. Her final scene, covered in blood and laughing, is a nod to Sally Hardesty from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett starring Samara Weaving, Adam Brody and Mark O’Brien.
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NOPE, Emerald Haywood, 2022
Image Credit: Universal Pictures/Everett Collection Emerald Haywood, portrayed by Keke Palmer survives the antics of Jean Jacket and ultimately saves the day.
Dir. Jordan Peele, starring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Brandon Perea.
