Editorial · 6 films
Best final girls
Carol Clover named her in 1992. These are the ones the films actually earn.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre1974 · Tobe Hooper · USA · 83m
Sally survives and is not remotely triumphant about it. The truck-bed shot is the honest version of the trope.
Banned
Halloween1978 · John Carpenter · USA · 92m
Laurie Strode, the babysitter who checks the doors. Curtis was 19 and it was her first film.
A Nightmare on Elm Street1984 · Wes Craven · USA · 91m
Nancy sets traps and researches. The only final girl in the cycle who solves the problem rather than outlasting it.
The Descent2005 · Neil Marshall · UK · 99m
Sarah, in the UK cut, which is the only version where the ending means anything.
Ms .451981 · Abel Ferrara · USA · 80m
The inversion: the survivor becomes the threat and the film does not pretend that is a happy ending.
Scream1996 · Wes Craven · USA · 111m
Sidney knows the rules, which was funny once and has been imitated to death since.