- 2 days ago
Horror's last women standing have captivated audiences with their grit, brains, and resilience. From psychological endurance to fierce combat skills, these heroines redefine what it means to survive a nightmare. Join us as we explore the defining traits and unforgettable moments that make these final girls true icons of the genre. Who do you think embodies the ultimate survival spirit? Let us know in the comments!
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00:00In horror movies, the final girl is the central protagonist who outlasts her friends.
00:07But her characterization also contains carefully constructed social commentary about how a girl should behave if she's going to survive.
00:15I forgot my chemistry book.
00:17So who cares? I always forget my chemistry book and my math book and my English book and my, let's see, my French book.
00:23Well, who needs books anyway? I don't need books.
00:26Welcome to Miss Mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the most badass last women standing.
00:32Plus, we're breaking down how they've come to define or subvert the trope.
00:36You have final girl potential. The rest of us, goth, geek, gay, not a chance. We're usually the first body that drops.
00:47Number 10, Sally Hardesty, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
00:51After crossing paths with Leatherface and his cannibalistic family of creatures, Sally is a total wreck.
00:56Oh, please.
00:57Shut up.
00:58And let them kill me.
01:00Oh my.
01:01She witnesses the murder of her brother and finds the corpses of all of her friends.
01:05Sally's then subjected to one of the most unnerving sequences of torture in film history, but manages to free herself.
01:11She ultimately escapes with one of the most triumphant grins, forever changed by the terrible events that she's experienced.
01:17Though Sally and the film itself are undoubtedly iconic additions to the world of horror, this final girl ranks low because she doesn't get to do much outside of scream and run.
01:29Number 9, Maxine Minx, ex.
01:35Most final girls of the 70s and 80s abided by a specific set of rules. They were ingenues with bookish natures, they abstained from sex, and they didn't experiment with drugs or alcohol. Maxine follows none of those.
01:49In fact, we meet her as she's en route to star in a barnyard-themed adult film.
01:56I could give you a ride.
01:58This raunchy final girl, played by up-and-coming scream queen Mia Goth, does fall into the trappings of screaming.
02:04But she survives the night. Maxine is often depicted as morally ambiguous, even becoming something of a villain by the third film. This complexity sets her apart from the earnest but dated final girl mould.
02:17Number 8, Kirstie Cotton, Hellraiser.
02:21She survived a murderous mother and creepy resurrected uncle. She contended with a gang of impish Cenobites from another realm, and she actually outsmarted the final boss, Pinhead.
02:32Go to hell!
02:37Curse Steve truly went through hell and back. It takes a truly special final girl to come out on top in a nightmarish world like Hellraiser.
02:46Unlike some of the others on this list, she doesn't rely on brute force to make it out alive. Instead, she leans on her smarts and bartering skills to reverse the curse.
02:54I can make you feel and you can take him back instead of me.
03:00I want to hear him confess himself. Then, maybe, maybe.
03:07While the classic horror film is most known for its iconic villain designs, Kirstie reappears in a number of sequels to reassert her legacy.
03:14Number 7, Danny Ardor. Midsommar.
03:17What makes Danny a fascinating final girl is that she doesn't ultimately defeat the evil, she embraces it. And we're actually proud of her for it.
03:25Stop, it's fine.
03:26What? You didn't think I forgot, did you? I'm sorry.
03:34Danny's inattentive boyfriend repeatedly ignores her warnings, even after witnessing a particularly gruesome ceremony.
03:40Are you not disturbed by what we just saw?
03:43Yeah, of course I am. I'm trying to keep an open mind, though. That's cultural, you know?
03:50By the time enough of his buddies have disappeared, Danny has already conceded, beaten down by relentless psychological manipulation and, well, some psychedelic drugs.
04:00Is it tomorrow?
04:01Once she's been crowned the May Queen, though, she realises the Haga community can offer her more than the world that she'd left behind.
04:08And certainly more than her hapless man, who she's delighted to see paralysed and lit on fire.
04:18To finally be heard and felt triumphs over the chore of supporting a stupid group of comrades.
04:23So, with no family left, she finds a new one. The Haga cult.
04:28To our May Queen!
04:31Wellkommen!
04:32Skål!
04:33Skål!
04:34Skål!
04:36Number 6, Grace Ledomas.
04:38Ready or not.
04:39Grace starts the film in a white wedding dress, symbolising final girl purity.
04:44Her groom, Alex, comes from a wealthy lineage that harbours a dark secret.
04:48Throughout the night, his family attempts to murder her as part of an old ritual.
04:52Is this hide and seek? Are we really gonna play that?
04:56But, despite having no true preparation or training, she proves to be resourceful.
05:01Even weaponising her now blood-soaked gown to take down the assailants.
05:08Rather than contending with one lumbering boogeyman, Grace has to fend off the entire Ledomas family before mourning.
05:14What makes her a memorable final girl is how hard she fights to win the cat and mouse game.
05:19Grace?
05:20Yes!
05:21Plus, that final shot of her lighting a cigarette as the estate burns is pure camp.
05:26In fact, fellow final girl Margot sort of pays homage to it when she bites into that cheeseburger at the end of the menu.
05:33Number 5, Erin Harsen.
05:35You're next.
05:36You're at a lovely dinner gathering, and a group of masked murderers have just laid siege to your family's vacation home.
05:43You might imagine that you'd find yourself sliced up like the poultry on the table, and many of the characters in your next do, but not Erin.
05:50Grab anything sharp or heavy that might make a good weapon, but you need to do it fast, we gotta be upstairs.
05:55This former survivalist is more than equipped to handle these assassins, proving herself to be a formidable final girl.
06:01In fact, the killers soon regret of running into her. Think, The Strangers meets Home Alone.
06:06She avoids the cliches of a typical home invasion victim, proven to be even more cunning and savage than Ready or Not's Grace.
06:18By tapping into her training, she completely outfoxes the evil posse.
06:23Think of Erin like a sort of wish-fulfillment exercise after watching decades of weak final girls stagger to the finish line.
06:30Where's Felix?
06:31I stuck a blender in his head and killed him.
06:34Number four, Nancy Thompson, A Nightmare on Elm Street.
06:37Nancy is a staple final girl because of how closely she conforms to what early slasher directors wanted the type to stand for.
06:44Glenn, not now.
06:47She's been dealt a bad hand with absent parents, but grows throughout the film as she's forced to face off with a monster that stalks her nightmares.
06:55I've gotta see Rod Lane again.
06:57You know, I took the night shift so I could get some peace and quiet.
07:01Look, it's urgent!
07:02She's determined to retain her good girl personality, even while battling Kruger.
07:06And through pure courage and will, she seemingly vanquishes him from her mind.
07:11Nancy personifies both the tenets of her trope and the struggles of her generation.
07:20Glenn, answer the phone.
07:22Glenn's asleep, you ought to talk to him tomorrow.
07:24You've just gotta be firm with these kids, that's all. Let's go.
07:27Even if she's designed to communicate to audiences how a proper young lady should conduct herself,
07:32her proactive grit makes her one to remember.
07:35I take back every bit of energy I gave you.
07:38You're nothing.
07:41Number three, Sydney Prescott, Scream.
07:44Most viewers return to horror franchises to see the killer repeatedly rise from the dead and slay a new group of young game.
07:50But Scream does the opposite.
07:52The killer is different every time.
07:54And it's final girl, Sydney, who steals the show.
07:57I'll send you a copy.
07:59Oh!
08:00Geez.
08:01Nice shot.
08:04Bitch.
08:05A meta-horror comedy, the series pokes fun at the filmmaking conventions that had long been established into the genre.
08:11But us, we're gonna carry on and plan the sequel.
08:14Cuz let's face it, baby.
08:15These days, you gotta have a sequel.
08:18Despite this, Sydney still manages to be selfless, realistic, and clever.
08:22Trademarks of a good final girl.
08:24She appears in almost every sequel, squashing a number of ghost faces.
08:28And the series interrogates the PTSD that comes with so many near brushes with death.
08:33Really, I am the one who's been selfish and self-absorbed with all this post-traumatic stress.
08:41There simply is no Scream without Sydney Prescott.
08:45And for that, she will always be an icon.
08:47You forgot the first rule of surviving a STAB movie.
08:50Never answer the-
08:52I'm bored.
08:53Wait!
08:54Number two, Ellen Ripley, Alien.
08:56Okay, Ripley has a leg up on a lot of the other final girls.
09:00She's a flight officer aboard an intergalactic spacecraft, placing her in another league.
09:05Though she's not a soldier, she proves to be combat-ready, evolving into one of the most badass horror heroines of all time.
09:11We'll move in pairs, we'll go step by step, and cut off every bulkhead and every vent until we have it cornered,
09:18and then we'll blow it the f*** out into space. Is that acceptable to you?
09:22Even with Xenomorph's breathing hot, slimy breath in her face, Ripley proves that she has what it takes to survive.
09:28This is Ripley. Last survivor of the Nostromo.
09:33By responding to situations logically, and taking control even when she's undermined, Ripley clears the rest of the crew when it comes to aptitude.
09:40Listen to me, if we break quarantine, we could all die.
09:43Look, could you open the goddamn hatch? We have to get him inside!
09:49No.
09:50I can't do that, and if you were in my position, you'd do the same.
09:53Her strong sense of humanity carries her through the sequels, making her both believable and easy to root for.
09:59We made it.
10:01I knew you'd come.
10:04Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:07Evil Dead rises Beth, for surviving a terrifying amalgam of deadites.
10:12Praise Naaru, for doing the unthinkable to earn the title of War Chief.
10:16I know what you did last summer's Julie James, for piecing together the supernatural puzzle.
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10:37Number one, Laurie Strode, Halloween.
10:41The definitive prototype, the ultimate Final Girl.
10:45Not only is Halloween the most instantly recognizable horror franchise in history, but Laurie perfects the classic Final Girl formula.
10:52Have her call me when she gets home though, I have Lindsay here and I want to know what time to put her to bed.
10:56She's straight-laced, studious, and takes on a leadership role when required.
11:01Unlike her aloof friends, she takes her responsibilities seriously, including defending the children that she's babysitting from a serial killer on the loose.
11:09Even after stabbing him with a knitting needle, Michael Myers rises like the undertaker.
11:14But Laurie remains determined, using the entire town to create distance and buy time.
11:19Let's go upstairs.
11:20What is it, Laurie?
11:21Let's go upstairs.
11:22Get Lindsay locked the bedroom door.
11:23I'm scared.
11:24Do as I say.
11:25Hurry!
11:26In the reboot, she's a hardened survivalist, locked down in her compound until he comes for her again.
11:31Do you know that I pray every night that he would escape?
11:37What the hell do you do that for?
11:40So I can kill him.
11:42Laurie's resilience and fortitude gets her through each film, leading to an ultimate showdown that cements her legacy.
11:48Which final girl is your favorite?
11:51Comment who you'd most like to team up with below.
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