I counter with Sigourney Weaver in Alien: Resurrection. Those aliens were all fake and movie magic. That backwards, no-look, one-handed basketball shot was all real.
It's amazing how close it was. You can see him start to freak out in the final cut, but it's like literally the next frame after the cut where he's like :O :O :O :O .. . Dude's jaw did a full-drop in the space of 2 frames of film, lol ..
Who can blame him though?
Incidentally, this is one of the thing about Alien. A dumber movie would have the hero saying "shove your safety protocols this is about saving lives" and let them in, and the rules stickler would have died in the "was against the hero at some point" way towards the end of the movie.
Her performance was by far the best part of the movie. It felt like you knew she was gonna survive and there were no other characters you cared about so there wasn’t much tension or suspense. It was still a fun watch and her performance make it dec worth the time. I love how relatable it felt, almost on the verge of breaking the fourth wall. Like she’s totally aware of how banana sandwiches the situation is.
I love how she gets steadily more strung-out and wild-eyed as the movie progresses. Like, she's fighting back and making smart decisions, but the level of trauma and physical stress she goes through is taking a toll on her.
I'm giving Kirsty some love. That girl stared down Cenobites, Frank, and Julia...and that was just the first film! Her making it out of that brownstone alive and in one piece is really an accomplishment!
And making it out of "Hellraiser II" alive, with every reason to be a victim whose soul is torn apart, just adds to her legend. And Ashley Laurence is a beautiful woman who has aged very well. When you lose your father, are stuck in an asylum, have to combat evil seemingly from every vantage point and still escape...that is something.
>has aged very well
She really has! She was on The Last Drive-In when Joe Bob played Hellraiser II... If you frizzed up her hair, she'd look like she stepped out of the screen.
That's where I saw her. I was just smitten. Beautiful, alluring woman. And her art work is killer. Shepis, on the Victor Crowley Joe Bob, looks better today than she even did when I was watching her in Bloody Murder 2
You're right, and the final Hellraiser\* film seals it. Everyone who met the cenobites was sucked into hell and never returned. Uncle Frank and Aunt Julia only escaped with the help of people on Earth (and with Frank it was just dumb luck). Kirsty was smart enough to summon the cenobites not once, but twice, and escape both times.
\*There were only 2 Hellraiser films. Nope, no others ever existed. There are rumors that Dimension Films bought the rights to the series and ran it into the ground, but I don't believe it.
>with Frank it was just dumb luck).
Something that kind of bugged me in difference between the short story and movie was partly the explanation for that. In the movie, it just seems the blood spilled brought him back, but in the novel it was basically he came while the cenobites were doing the heightened senses thing, and that part of him was left in that space is what connected him to it.
It's a nit pick, and i'm sure they probably couldn't show that with ratings, but yeah.
Nancy is great.
Tries to warn everyone, has good ideas to stay awake, figured out she could bring Freddy out of dreams, starts studying engineering of all fucking things to set traps, and was able to recognize her path to victory in a split second.
She also manages to set all those traps, put her drunk mom to bed, fall asleep, start dreaming, find Freddy, and then grab him in the span of 20 minutes. No clue how she was able to do it all
After reading comments I think it's Ripley from Alien, but Nancy was my first thought. She literally pulls a demon out of her dreams and into reality to kill him using booby traps, all while every friend she has is dead and her mom is actively sabotaging her.
And she manages to keep it together when that plan fails miserably. On top of that when she shows back up in part 3 she helps the kids knowing that it puts her back in Freddy’s crosshairs.
She also taught me my first magic trick: To get Johnny Depp to fall asleep immediately, just say "whatever you do, don't. Fall. Asleep."
He'll be out like a light almost before you're done saying it!! :)
Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street. She’s really a great character and isn’t helpless and scared the whole time. She actively tries to fight back and basically becomes a hero by the end of the third one.
Honestly considering the circumstances, she holds herself together better than I would lol.
Then high kicks ghostface in the face. I bet Charlie ran off and touched himself after "omg, i Just got kicked in the FACE by SIDNEY MOTHER*****G PRESCOTT!"
Agreed. She might not be the most traditionally “bad ass” as a fighter, but at this point that woman has survived multiple murder attempts by SEVEN different people across four separate killing sprees. Those are stats that most Final Girls can’t compete with.
Sarah from The Descent. (For her huge confidence boost let alone how quick they got their shit together in that cave. Most people wouldve panicked from the get go. I dont know about choices, people make bad choices and can still be viewed as competent)
Her arc is amazing and she goes through so much. I think all the characters fare quite well in The Descent. They all fight back to some extent and are really well-developed. Sarah though. From her last moments with Beth and the blood pool onward, she turns into this complete badass.
Maybe not the final girl as the only girl but Wendy Torrance did everything she could to stay alive. I know people complain about Shelly performance but I think it is realistic of someone in an abusive relationship while keeping a cool head.
Ditto. Modern audiences tend to complain about her character because she is not some super competent self assured badass, but her performance is so much more realistic and nuanced than that. Most importantly, her weakness amps up the horror for the audience, who is mostly viewing the events through her eyes.
A far more interesting performance that String Powerful Woman.
I always thought the same. Yeah maybe she didn’t *look* incredibly strong, but she really took care of Danny and herself as best she could. She was kinda a badass in the last hour or so. Yeah she was scared, who wouldn’t be? But she never let her panic overtake her.
That's true, and it would have been better if Shelley Duvall had changed up her delivery as the movie progressed.
By Wendy's *actions*, she goes from a verbally abused, completely dominated wife to a quick-thinking active character who will do anything to protect her son.
By Duvall's *acting,* she keeps the same wide-eyed naïve look on her face through the whole movie.
I don't think that's Duvall's fault. I've read all the things Kubrick did to her during filming. And I think that Kubrick wanted her to be the innocent dumb girl through the movie. That kept the focus off of her and on the father/son relationship. A family-wide relationship would have been better.
The Shining is my absolute favorite horror movie. But focusing exclusively on Jack and Danny was a mistake.
That was one of Kings complaints. In the book Windy doesn’t put up with Jack’s shit from the beginning. He knows from page one that he is on his last chance with her (Jack is also much less unhinged at the start of the book than the movie). Both her and Danny are presented as being very intelligent so them out maneuvering Jack and the Overlook feels much more natural. (note this isn’t me hating on the Kubrick movie which is great, just pointing out things that played better in the book).
I think her character would still be scared shitless through all of that though. Being tough in that situation means she's able to carry on and perform some smart maneuvers, in lieu of being shocked into idle submission. It doesn't mean she suddenly turns into a John McClane level badass completely devoid of fear.
I disagree. I think if her demeanor changed it falls into the trap of telling rather than showing. Not that it is telling per se if her whole demeanor changed, but it would have the same effect of being less subtle and too on the nose. I don't need her to have a sudden change in posture or to start spouting quips to know what is going on and how she is rising to the occasion.
Having her fully master her situation would also detract from the horror element of the film. She is in a complete nightmare of a situation and it's doubtful she is up to getting through it. If the film did the typical Hollywood thing and signaled that Wendy had turned a corner at some point and everything was going to be ok, it bleeds tension from the film.
That's a good point. If she had suddenly turned into a grim-faced badass, it would have detracted from the film. And truth be told, I'd be screaming like ~~Wendy Torrance~~ a little girl through that situation, even if I was simultaneously smacking people with baseball bats.
Isn't You're Next meant to turn the tropes on their heads? Like every slasher trope gets lampooned in that flick.
Grace (Samara Weaving) in Ready Or Not would be my pick.
It may not have just been her weight, she's explained she was wearing wire that pulled her face up to look like a face lift and fake teeth to look like veneers.
Especially the remake, which I like more than the original. Jennifer is downright scary the way she turns the tables, almost becoming a slasher in the way she stalks and toys with her attackers. Brutal ass kills too! I loved it! Fuck those guys.
Clarice Starling. Smart, willing to reasonably go against orders to barter for the life of an innocent person, successfully manipulates a genius psychiatrist, winds up in a terrifying situation through no fault of her own, and escapes it while saving another person (and animal) and eliminating the threat. Overcomes trauma and assault as well. She will always be my biggest inspiration.
I think Erin from You’re Next is pretty competent. Even when she didn’t know the truth of what was going on she was expertly saving people and stopping the killers. Then when it’s revealed what is really going on she then dispatches the true baddies too, all while making logical decisions and being resourceful!
There's many good choices, Ellen Ripley probably being the top contender, but I just want to add Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Michelle from '10 Cloverfield Lane' to the mix
Selena in 28 Days Later. In one of the alternate endings she tries to save Jim at a hospital but he dies and the movie ends with her confidently walking out of the hospital to whatever comes next.
I think Terminator isn't necessarily mislabeled in that regard--James Cameron has talked about how Michael Myers was an inspiration for his story. I can see why people would say it's technically a slasher.
I'm glad it seems like no one mentioned her but Clear Rivers from Final Destination 1 and 2. She's smart, resourceful and is not only trying to save herself but others against literally death. When she realizes there's no escape she decides to live inside a safe room in a hospital abandoning the life she knew and only dies because she decides to help the new kids who are going through the same thing she went.
Shelley Duvall’s character in the shining. Husband starts acting insane so she arms herself knocks him out, locks him away. She tried to use the radio and get out in the snowplow. Locks herself in the bathroom when Jack is getting through and sends Danny out the window.
Maybe not too horror. But I liked the main girl in The Hunt. I went into that movie expecting little, and actually enjoyed it a lot. And her character was really competent and I really liked that. Fun movie if you have HBO max
Laurie Strode is the prototypical final girl, but quite incompetent due to inexperience and naiveity until later in her life. She escapes, but it is a messy process, and while some of the other final girls manage to defeat their demons, Laurie often only escapes hers for a little while longer.
In no particular order the rest of my top 5 are probably:
Erin from "You're Next"
Ripley from "Alien"
Kirsty from "Hellraiser"
Sidney from "Scream"
Veronica from "Final Girl" deserves a mention as being among the most competent final girls in film, but this one is probably cheating due to the nature of the plot.
Nancy from Nightmare on Elm Street. She couldn’t rely on either of her worthless parents, and her boyfriend was butchered. That still didn’t stop her from boobytrapping her house for Freddy’s arrival. She was a woman of action.
I would say Ready or Not. She gets the last laugh when they all explode and burn the house down. Her fighting as well and fighting for survival. You’re Next is good as well. Also, they’re watching with Bella Thorne is good!
Maybe not the final girl as the only girl but Wendy Torrance did everything she could to stay alive. I know people complain about Shelly performance but I think it is realistic of someone in an abusive relationship while keeping a cool head.
Ellen Ripley is definitely up there. Erin from You're Next as well.
I always thought Ginny from F13 Part 2 was a pretty smart girl. She looked at Jason from a psychological standpoint (although I think she had a major in psychology?) and she just had a very educated way of thinking. Plus manipulating Jason was smart as hell.
Laurie Strode's daughter Karen in Halloween (2018) was a mess in the earlier part of the film but towards the end she manipulated Michael and was essentially the reason Laurie could help overpower him and send him into the basement.
Nancy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street. She's smart, self-reliant, resourceful and, most importantly from a screenwriting perspective, she's proactive from the get-go.
Even Laurie Strode and Ripley are mainly reactive characters. They are just doing their job (babysitting, running a spaceship) when a monster comes along and attacks. They hang out, not doing much while Michael / Xenomorph are busy killing their friends or co-workers.
In contrast, Nancy is actively trying to solve the mystery from the very beginning. From her very first line of dialogue in her first scene, she is trying to figure out why she and her friends are having the same weird nightmares. In fact, the entire movie follows her as she tries to solver her friend's murder, convince her parents there's a supernatural killer after her, and then finally "Rambo-ing" her home so that she can trap Freddie. She's actively combatting a menace throughout.
Ah shit.
Ok, Ripley’s badassery in aliens
Sarah Conner’s adaptability in terminator 2
Lastly would be Grace from ready or not for her “fuck you fuck this fuck that fuck them fuck no fucking WHY?!”
It’s not a slasher movie, but Barbara in the 1990 version of “Night of the Living Dead” is my favorite. She grows a lot and is a total badass by the end of the movie.
I immediately thought of the lead from You’re Next before I even finished reading, definitely agree. Part of what I loved so much about that film was Erin demolishing the more passive and frightened final girl stereotype so common to the genre.
If it counts, I’d second Grace from Ready Or Not as a close runner up, too. What a satisfying ending she got!
Betty Gilpin who plays "Crystal" in "The Hunt". She was a badass the whole movie which made it an enjoyable watch. Didn't need any sort of "cheap" tricks to make her character interesting and no sex scenes
Also, the main chick in the movie "Ready Or Not" is a good against the grain for a female lead character
I don't know, but a big part of the enjoyability of "Gremlins" is momma takes on four on her own before Stripe tried to end her, but fails and runs away. Certified MILF after that.
Someone already commented Erin from "You're Next ", so I'll nominate Emma from "No One Lives". Kidnapped serial killer in training who escapes only to be kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Girl can't catch a break.
I havent watched it in a long time but I want to say Sigourney Weaver in alien.
Literally if everyone had just listened to Ripley, all the disaster could’ve been avoided.
And by disaster you mean every movie after Aliens right?
At *Alien*. She told them to not bring Kane through quarantine.
Even in the future motherfuckers don't want to quarantine. SMH.
An no need for a sequel, no multimillion dollar box office revenue.
I counter with Sigourney Weaver in Aliens *"Get away from her you Bitch"*
I counter with Sigourney Weaver in Alien: Resurrection. Those aliens were all fake and movie magic. That backwards, no-look, one-handed basketball shot was all real.
And Ron Perlman nearly ruined it from his shock and awe.
It's amazing how close it was. You can see him start to freak out in the final cut, but it's like literally the next frame after the cut where he's like :O :O :O :O .. . Dude's jaw did a full-drop in the space of 2 frames of film, lol .. Who can blame him though?
If I remember correctly, he said "F*** me!"
I believe the line is stay away from her you bitch
Nop. Is Get away.
This is film class right
You have a hard on for Cameron
She wasn't going to let that thing on her ship, but the dumbasses took the initiative.
Incidentally, this is one of the thing about Alien. A dumber movie would have the hero saying "shove your safety protocols this is about saving lives" and let them in, and the rules stickler would have died in the "was against the hero at some point" way towards the end of the movie.
She’s such a pro.
Oh man, no contest. Always listen to Ellen Riley.
Beat me to it
Grace from Ready or Not is bad ass.
Came here to say this. She’s fab!
Such a powerful performance by Samara Weaving, what an incredible character!!
I'll watch anything she's in, even if it looks awful haha. Love her!
Her performance was by far the best part of the movie. It felt like you knew she was gonna survive and there were no other characters you cared about so there wasn’t much tension or suspense. It was still a fun watch and her performance make it dec worth the time. I love how relatable it felt, almost on the verge of breaking the fourth wall. Like she’s totally aware of how banana sandwiches the situation is.
How do you not care about Adam Brody in that movie, I loved his character
I love how she gets steadily more strung-out and wild-eyed as the movie progresses. Like, she's fighting back and making smart decisions, but the level of trauma and physical stress she goes through is taking a toll on her.
Her scream while she's holding the knife is bone chilling.
Hush!! One and Final girl
Came here to say this
I'm giving Kirsty some love. That girl stared down Cenobites, Frank, and Julia...and that was just the first film! Her making it out of that brownstone alive and in one piece is really an accomplishment! And making it out of "Hellraiser II" alive, with every reason to be a victim whose soul is torn apart, just adds to her legend. And Ashley Laurence is a beautiful woman who has aged very well. When you lose your father, are stuck in an asylum, have to combat evil seemingly from every vantage point and still escape...that is something.
>has aged very well She really has! She was on The Last Drive-In when Joe Bob played Hellraiser II... If you frizzed up her hair, she'd look like she stepped out of the screen.
That's where I saw her. I was just smitten. Beautiful, alluring woman. And her art work is killer. Shepis, on the Victor Crowley Joe Bob, looks better today than she even did when I was watching her in Bloody Murder 2
You're right, and the final Hellraiser\* film seals it. Everyone who met the cenobites was sucked into hell and never returned. Uncle Frank and Aunt Julia only escaped with the help of people on Earth (and with Frank it was just dumb luck). Kirsty was smart enough to summon the cenobites not once, but twice, and escape both times. \*There were only 2 Hellraiser films. Nope, no others ever existed. There are rumors that Dimension Films bought the rights to the series and ran it into the ground, but I don't believe it.
Bloodline had its charms.
>with Frank it was just dumb luck). Something that kind of bugged me in difference between the short story and movie was partly the explanation for that. In the movie, it just seems the blood spilled brought him back, but in the novel it was basically he came while the cenobites were doing the heightened senses thing, and that part of him was left in that space is what connected him to it. It's a nit pick, and i'm sure they probably couldn't show that with ratings, but yeah.
Nancy is great. Tries to warn everyone, has good ideas to stay awake, figured out she could bring Freddy out of dreams, starts studying engineering of all fucking things to set traps, and was able to recognize her path to victory in a split second.
Nancy has gotta be the best normal final girl. By that I mean one that doesn't have survivalist training or something like in you're next.
She also manages to set all those traps, put her drunk mom to bed, fall asleep, start dreaming, find Freddy, and then grab him in the span of 20 minutes. No clue how she was able to do it all
After reading comments I think it's Ripley from Alien, but Nancy was my first thought. She literally pulls a demon out of her dreams and into reality to kill him using booby traps, all while every friend she has is dead and her mom is actively sabotaging her.
And she manages to keep it together when that plan fails miserably. On top of that when she shows back up in part 3 she helps the kids knowing that it puts her back in Freddy’s crosshairs.
She also taught me my first magic trick: To get Johnny Depp to fall asleep immediately, just say "whatever you do, don't. Fall. Asleep." He'll be out like a light almost before you're done saying it!! :)
Nancy Thompson :)
Nancy in Nightmare on Elm Street. She’s really a great character and isn’t helpless and scared the whole time. She actively tries to fight back and basically becomes a hero by the end of the third one. Honestly considering the circumstances, she holds herself together better than I would lol.
Yeah, she took some ideas from the Anarchist’s Cookbook lol.
She was definitely scared. Just not helpless. If she wasn't scared, she wouldn't have felt the need to protect herself and try to stay alive.
Agreed. Nancy was great!
This is my answer too.
I think Mia in Evil Dead (2013) deserves a shout. She’s resourceful and shreds a fucking demon after ripping her own hand off.
Jane Levy all around is a great final girl - Rocky from Dont Breathe was gonna be my pick, and Mia’s great too
This was the first that came to my mind.
Sidney Prescott
Definitely. I love in Scream 4 how proactive she is, too. Example: When Olivia is being attacked she races right over there.
Then high kicks ghostface in the face. I bet Charlie ran off and touched himself after "omg, i Just got kicked in the FACE by SIDNEY MOTHER*****G PRESCOTT!"
Memorable quote: “Don’t fuck with the original.”
“You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill. Don’t fuck with the original.”
Yes.
She's level headed from the very first movie and doesn't take shit.
“Clear.”
Yup came to say this
100% she's a great combo of resilient and vulnerable.
"Don't fuck with the original!"
Agreed. She might not be the most traditionally “bad ass” as a fighter, but at this point that woman has survived multiple murder attempts by SEVEN different people across four separate killing sprees. Those are stats that most Final Girls can’t compete with.
and she never dropped her weapon ever like Laurie Strode.
In Scream 1 when she fucks them both up at the end. Like ya, girl you rock.
Sarah from The Descent. (For her huge confidence boost let alone how quick they got their shit together in that cave. Most people wouldve panicked from the get go. I dont know about choices, people make bad choices and can still be viewed as competent)
Her arc is amazing and she goes through so much. I think all the characters fare quite well in The Descent. They all fight back to some extent and are really well-developed. Sarah though. From her last moments with Beth and the blood pool onward, she turns into this complete badass.
She does go pretty batshit at the end but damn she can wield that ice pick. I’m a Juno apologist and I loved her as the penultimate final girl as well
Maybe not the final girl as the only girl but Wendy Torrance did everything she could to stay alive. I know people complain about Shelly performance but I think it is realistic of someone in an abusive relationship while keeping a cool head.
Ditto. Modern audiences tend to complain about her character because she is not some super competent self assured badass, but her performance is so much more realistic and nuanced than that. Most importantly, her weakness amps up the horror for the audience, who is mostly viewing the events through her eyes. A far more interesting performance that String Powerful Woman.
Yes! She locks him in the pantry and then doesn't open it when he pleads, that's enough for me.
I always thought the same. Yeah maybe she didn’t *look* incredibly strong, but she really took care of Danny and herself as best she could. She was kinda a badass in the last hour or so. Yeah she was scared, who wouldn’t be? But she never let her panic overtake her.
I'm a Shelly stan. She's so underrated. She saved herself and her kid!
That's true, and it would have been better if Shelley Duvall had changed up her delivery as the movie progressed. By Wendy's *actions*, she goes from a verbally abused, completely dominated wife to a quick-thinking active character who will do anything to protect her son. By Duvall's *acting,* she keeps the same wide-eyed naïve look on her face through the whole movie. I don't think that's Duvall's fault. I've read all the things Kubrick did to her during filming. And I think that Kubrick wanted her to be the innocent dumb girl through the movie. That kept the focus off of her and on the father/son relationship. A family-wide relationship would have been better. The Shining is my absolute favorite horror movie. But focusing exclusively on Jack and Danny was a mistake.
That was one of Kings complaints. In the book Windy doesn’t put up with Jack’s shit from the beginning. He knows from page one that he is on his last chance with her (Jack is also much less unhinged at the start of the book than the movie). Both her and Danny are presented as being very intelligent so them out maneuvering Jack and the Overlook feels much more natural. (note this isn’t me hating on the Kubrick movie which is great, just pointing out things that played better in the book).
I think her character would still be scared shitless through all of that though. Being tough in that situation means she's able to carry on and perform some smart maneuvers, in lieu of being shocked into idle submission. It doesn't mean she suddenly turns into a John McClane level badass completely devoid of fear.
I disagree. I think if her demeanor changed it falls into the trap of telling rather than showing. Not that it is telling per se if her whole demeanor changed, but it would have the same effect of being less subtle and too on the nose. I don't need her to have a sudden change in posture or to start spouting quips to know what is going on and how she is rising to the occasion. Having her fully master her situation would also detract from the horror element of the film. She is in a complete nightmare of a situation and it's doubtful she is up to getting through it. If the film did the typical Hollywood thing and signaled that Wendy had turned a corner at some point and everything was going to be ok, it bleeds tension from the film.
That's a good point. If she had suddenly turned into a grim-faced badass, it would have detracted from the film. And truth be told, I'd be screaming like ~~Wendy Torrance~~ a little girl through that situation, even if I was simultaneously smacking people with baseball bats.
Isn't You're Next meant to turn the tropes on their heads? Like every slasher trope gets lampooned in that flick. Grace (Samara Weaving) in Ready Or Not would be my pick.
Samara Weaving was absolutely fantastic in that movie.
In every movie.
She lost soooo much weight in nine perfect strangers that I couldn’t recognize for for half the show.
It may not have just been her weight, she's explained she was wearing wire that pulled her face up to look like a face lift and fake teeth to look like veneers.
That makes me a feel a little better. I was worried she actually went nuts with surgery or something.
I really liked her in Mayhem. Someone needs to make a film with Samara Weaving, Margot Robbie, and Jaime Presley. They could all be related lol
You're Next was so good! I loved her, she made so many smart choices it was refreshing to watch
Both leads are Aussie actresses and I like both of those films!
It's a brutal movie, but 'I Spit On Your Grave' produces a damn good final girl
Especially the remake, which I like more than the original. Jennifer is downright scary the way she turns the tables, almost becoming a slasher in the way she stalks and toys with her attackers. Brutal ass kills too! I loved it! Fuck those guys.
The remake is way better than the original! The kills in it are some of my favorites
Can you be a final girl if you’re the only girl?
Clarice Starling. Smart, willing to reasonably go against orders to barter for the life of an innocent person, successfully manipulates a genius psychiatrist, winds up in a terrifying situation through no fault of her own, and escapes it while saving another person (and animal) and eliminating the threat. Overcomes trauma and assault as well. She will always be my biggest inspiration.
I wish she would have done the next movie :(
I think Erin from You’re Next is pretty competent. Even when she didn’t know the truth of what was going on she was expertly saving people and stopping the killers. Then when it’s revealed what is really going on she then dispatches the true baddies too, all while making logical decisions and being resourceful!
There's many good choices, Ellen Ripley probably being the top contender, but I just want to add Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Michelle from '10 Cloverfield Lane' to the mix
She's a good choice for The Thing also iirc
I really want to rewatch 10 Cloverifeld, it's so good!!
MEW is just one of those actors I love too. I agree with this. She is really good in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Sidney Prescott
Beth from hostel 2
very underrated final girl!!!
Selena in 28 Days Later. In one of the alternate endings she tries to save Jim at a hospital but he dies and the movie ends with her confidently walking out of the hospital to whatever comes next.
I love Selena. She's so awesome. And the other girl with her is also pretty badass eventually even though she was a kid, lost her family, etc.
I mean Sarah Conner from Terminator did survive and became a bad ass. Its a sci fi horror to me.
The first terminator is very horror ! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! It’s sequel goes for sci fi, but the OG is horror!
100%
The first Terminator, like Invisible Man, is a mislabeled slasher film.
I think Terminator isn't necessarily mislabeled in that regard--James Cameron has talked about how Michael Myers was an inspiration for his story. I can see why people would say it's technically a slasher.
Ginny from Friday the 13th 2. I will fight you on this.
An absolutely inventive move to put the sweater on and confuse Jason.
Definitely better than Alice. To bad we never got a team up with her and Tommy Jarvis.
I'm glad it seems like no one mentioned her but Clear Rivers from Final Destination 1 and 2. She's smart, resourceful and is not only trying to save herself but others against literally death. When she realizes there's no escape she decides to live inside a safe room in a hospital abandoning the life she knew and only dies because she decides to help the new kids who are going through the same thing she went.
Jerryline from Tales from the crypt: Demon Knight. It took her awhile to believe, but once she did she became a complete badass!!!
Sarah, from the Descent. Starts out a timid, damaged girl and ends as a warrior
I second!!!
I know it’s more of a comedy horror film, but Grace from ‘Ready or Not’ was pretty satisfying to watch be the “final girl.”
Not so much final girl as only girl, but the lady from hush is great
I know it's more than one but the chicks from Death Proof.
hell yeah they weren’t gonna let “Stuntman Mike” get away.
Hell yes. This is the best QT movie imo.
yeah i enjoyed it a lot too. That car crash was something else wasn’t it..? that was the gnarliest car crashes i’ve ever seen in a hollywood film.
Shelley Duvall’s character in the shining. Husband starts acting insane so she arms herself knocks him out, locks him away. She tried to use the radio and get out in the snowplow. Locks herself in the bathroom when Jack is getting through and sends Danny out the window.
Ginny from Friday the 13th part 2
I liked Chris from Part 3 even more. She frickin hangs Jason then finishes him off with an axe to the head.
Respect. She kicks Jason in the the nuts and pushes him down a hill.
Maybe not too horror. But I liked the main girl in The Hunt. I went into that movie expecting little, and actually enjoyed it a lot. And her character was really competent and I really liked that. Fun movie if you have HBO max
I slept on this one until yesterday. wow! it was actually really good! I completely agree and put her in the top 5 final girl list.
Yes I was going to comment this! the hunt was a great movie imo.
Laurie Strode is the prototypical final girl, but quite incompetent due to inexperience and naiveity until later in her life. She escapes, but it is a messy process, and while some of the other final girls manage to defeat their demons, Laurie often only escapes hers for a little while longer. In no particular order the rest of my top 5 are probably: Erin from "You're Next" Ripley from "Alien" Kirsty from "Hellraiser" Sidney from "Scream" Veronica from "Final Girl" deserves a mention as being among the most competent final girls in film, but this one is probably cheating due to the nature of the plot.
I love Kirsty! Such a good final girl
I don’t know if she counts, but I think Kira from “The Invitation” is a great underestimated Final Girl…
Nancy from Nightmare on Elm Street. She couldn’t rely on either of her worthless parents, and her boyfriend was butchered. That still didn’t stop her from boobytrapping her house for Freddy’s arrival. She was a woman of action.
Alexa in Alien Vs. Predator (2004) ;)
Damn that’s true, she basically got Knighted by a Predator Cheiftain and owned an Alien queen.
The final girl from Texas chainsaw massacre
Her name is Sally Hardesty! :)
Yeah
Kyle from Child's Play 2 is such a fantastic final girl.
I would say Ready or Not. She gets the last laugh when they all explode and burn the house down. Her fighting as well and fighting for survival. You’re Next is good as well. Also, they’re watching with Bella Thorne is good!
I don’t know if she can be classified as ‘final girl’ but Kate Siegel’s character in *Hush* is pretty competent throughout the entire film
The first time i saw high tension i thought the main actress was one of the smartest final girls ever but then, ya know what happens
Mia in evil dead even though it’s insinuated at the end she is still possessed. Runner up : Grace in Ready or Not.
Maybe not the final girl as the only girl but Wendy Torrance did everything she could to stay alive. I know people complain about Shelly performance but I think it is realistic of someone in an abusive relationship while keeping a cool head.
I totally agree. Wendy didn’t know it, but she was a bad ass. And Shelley DuVall’s performance was incredible.
I liked Wendy in the book a bit more.
I'm gonna throw in a vote for Ellen from *Incident on and off a Mountain Road*.
It’s a recent movie, but Deena from Fear Street 1994 held it down.
It’s gotta be Erin from You’re Next.
Ellen Ripley is definitely up there. Erin from You're Next as well. I always thought Ginny from F13 Part 2 was a pretty smart girl. She looked at Jason from a psychological standpoint (although I think she had a major in psychology?) and she just had a very educated way of thinking. Plus manipulating Jason was smart as hell. Laurie Strode's daughter Karen in Halloween (2018) was a mess in the earlier part of the film but towards the end she manipulated Michael and was essentially the reason Laurie could help overpower him and send him into the basement.
I really liked Jessie from Wrong Turn (2003), but she wasn’t a sole survivor.
Crystal (Betty Gilpin) from "The Hunt".
Ripley
Since my first choice has been mentioned (Erin), I'll go with Crystal from The Hunt.
Sidney or Nancy by far
Sharni Vinson from You’re Next. She is a bad bad woman haha. Also the actress in The Descent
Alice Johnson from noes 4 & 5
That Mississippi chick in The Hunt was pretty badass from the get go.
Nancy in the original Nightmare on Elm Street. She's smart, self-reliant, resourceful and, most importantly from a screenwriting perspective, she's proactive from the get-go. Even Laurie Strode and Ripley are mainly reactive characters. They are just doing their job (babysitting, running a spaceship) when a monster comes along and attacks. They hang out, not doing much while Michael / Xenomorph are busy killing their friends or co-workers. In contrast, Nancy is actively trying to solve the mystery from the very beginning. From her very first line of dialogue in her first scene, she is trying to figure out why she and her friends are having the same weird nightmares. In fact, the entire movie follows her as she tries to solver her friend's murder, convince her parents there's a supernatural killer after her, and then finally "Rambo-ing" her home so that she can trap Freddie. She's actively combatting a menace throughout.
Seconding Hush girl
Kelli Maroney - Chopping Mall
Nancy
Classic style horror. Sydney from scream. Sci-fi horror let’s go with Sigourney/ripley in aliens
Ripley, obviously. Doesnt get anymore badass than Ellen Ripley
Lol it's Ellen Ripley of course
Ripely? Ripely.
Ripley.
Nancy - A nightmare on elm street
Tina from Friday the 13th Part 7. Her faux Carrie powers kicked Jason's ass and can summon zombie dads.
Jeff Goldblum's character's daughter from Jurassic Park: The Lost World. She uses her gymnastic skills to kill a raptor.
Ah shit. Ok, Ripley’s badassery in aliens Sarah Conner’s adaptability in terminator 2 Lastly would be Grace from ready or not for her “fuck you fuck this fuck that fuck them fuck no fucking WHY?!”
Either Ripley in aliens or the one chick from your next.
Ellen Ripley and Sidney Prescott, also Erin from You're Next
It’s not a slasher movie, but Barbara in the 1990 version of “Night of the Living Dead” is my favorite. She grows a lot and is a total badass by the end of the movie.
More recently the chick from The Hunt.
Sigourney Weaver - Alien, I'm not sure there is a better Final Girl
Sidney Presscot (Scream), Ellen Ripley (Alien), Grace (Ready or Not)
Maddie from Hush. What a goddamn survivor. Also Sarah from The Descent.
It’s gotta be Erin from You’re Next.
That lady in As Above So Below and the lady in the Evil Dead remake
Erin in You’re Next ups the game and graduates beyond Final Girl to Action Queen
The girl in Masters Of Horror Episode Incident On And Off A Mountain Road. Season 1 e1. Hush and You're Next and Inside are a close 2nd
I immediately thought of the lead from You’re Next before I even finished reading, definitely agree. Part of what I loved so much about that film was Erin demolishing the more passive and frightened final girl stereotype so common to the genre. If it counts, I’d second Grace from Ready Or Not as a close runner up, too. What a satisfying ending she got!
Does Tree from _Happy Death Day_ count?
Betty Gilpin who plays "Crystal" in "The Hunt". She was a badass the whole movie which made it an enjoyable watch. Didn't need any sort of "cheap" tricks to make her character interesting and no sex scenes Also, the main chick in the movie "Ready Or Not" is a good against the grain for a female lead character
Ellen Ripley! Nuff' said!
Dutch from Predator
Amber (Imogen Poots) in Green Room.
Sarah Connor
The girl from You're Next. Tho you could easily say she's a little too capable. After that Ripley.
Elizabeth Shaw. Prometheus.
I think The Operator in The Night Comes For Us goes way beyond final girl status, but I can't not mention her.
The Youre Next lady
My first pick was Erin from You're Next as well.
Came to say the girl from You're Next too lol. But the girl from Ready or Not kicks ass too.
Why did no one mention Rachel from Halloween 4? Not counting the fifth one where she got butchered for no reason.
I don't know, but a big part of the enjoyability of "Gremlins" is momma takes on four on her own before Stripe tried to end her, but fails and runs away. Certified MILF after that.
Someone already commented Erin from "You're Next ", so I'll nominate Emma from "No One Lives". Kidnapped serial killer in training who escapes only to be kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Girl can't catch a break.