From Laurie Strode counting the days until Michael Myers returns in “Halloween” to a betrayed bride fighting off her in-laws with a shotgun in “Ready or Not,” final girls are found at the beating heart of the horror genre. In the black-and-white dichotomy of good-versus-evil, these heroes — yes, often leading ladies, but not always! — typically begin as victims in nightmarish scenarios that bloom into epic opportunities for them to best their villains and survive.
Coined and carefully considered by professor Carol J. Clover in her 1992 work “Men, Women, and Chainsaws,” the final girl trope was initially defined as the sole survivor of a slasher who confronted the antagonist in a last-act face-off and who was often ascribed some sort of moral superiority compared to other victims; virginity being the de facto example (which, yeah, yawn). Classic examples include Sally Hardesty in “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and Jamie Lee Curtis’ legendary babysitter from the masterful “Halloween” franchise: widely credited with giving final girls the cunning edge modern movie-goers know and love them for.
Thanks to the groundbreaking feminism of Bob Clark’s “Black Christmas” in 1974 — it’s a pro-choice movie, people! — and the clever spin of horror comedies such as “The Cabin in the Woods,” the final girl gradually evolved into a kind of pro-woman/pro-underdog warrior for not just slashers but all of horror. The ’90s were a time of highs and lows for the final girl, with the introduction of all-time scream queen Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in “Scream” but also the exhausting soapiness of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julie James in “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” (She still made this list, if only because Julie is a camp icon and we give credit where credit is due.)
In the 2010s, “You’re Next,” “Ready or Not,” and “Midsommar” were among a slew of breakup battles as blood-spattered as they were venomously biting. All three of Jordan Peele’s popular horror films have featured final girl types with meaningful arcs that underscore what makes the auteur’s films equally effective in messaging and crowd-pleasing. “Scream” (2022) and “Halloween Ends” come to mind as the triumphant latest at-bats for Prescott and Strode: the reining final girl/scream queen hybrids who would top this list if it were ranked.
Listed alphabetically, in honor of IndieWire’s Seven Days of Scream Queens series, these are the top 25 (32 if you divide the teams) most memorably badass final girls in horror history.
“Alien” (Ridley Scott, 1979): Ellen Ripely
What they fought: Aboard the spaceship Nostromo, Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley — a dazzlingly badass Sigourney Weaver — joins her crew in fighting off a vicious species of parasitic predator known as the Xenomorph.
How they won: Even when it seemed inevitable that every human in “Alien” was doomed to die via chestburster, Ripley never stopped trying to save herself (or the crew’s cat, Jonesy!) She’s ultimately able to use a well-timed rocket boost and the vacuum of space to escape her alien attacker: a winning physics-meets-fearlessness approach that would help Ripley survive the first sequel “Aliens,” but leave her —and her eventual clone —flapping in the breeze for “Alien 3” and the even worse “Alien: Resurrection.”
“Black Christmas” (Bob Clark, 1974): Jess Bradford
What they fought: Pi Kappa Sig sister Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) spends her winter holiday attempting to outsmart an unseen killer stalking the members of her sorority.
How they won: Although Jess’ ultimate fate is open to interpretation, this groundbreaking final girl eschewed the damsel in distress act that was typical of the genre thus far for a feminist story that included a progressive plot about abortion. Jess wins if only because she was right the entire movie, even when the police left her and her friends to die.
“The Cabin in the Woods” (Drew Goddard, 2012): Marty Milkalski & Dana Polk
What they fought: The five main characters in “The Cabin in the Woods” choose their fate — landing on “Zombie Redneck Torture Family” thanks to a profoundly creepy little girl’s diary — in this whip-smart horror comedy about an ancient ritual involving human sacrifice.
How they won: Fellow final girl Sigourney Weaver appears as The Director before Kristen Connolly’s capable Dana and Fran Kranz’s hilarious Marty, begging the only surviving would-be victims to sacrifice themselves in a bid to save humanity from the wrath of the Ancient Ones. Good for Marty and Dana for deciding a humanity cruel enough to comply with that request didn’t deserve saving: first by throwing the switch on that epic elevator scene and then by letting the world crumble beneath them as they triumphantly hold hands. (Shout out to Marty’s best and smartest line: “Alright, I’m drawin’ a line in the fucking sand: do NOT read the Latin!”)
“The Descent” (Neil Marshall, 2005): Sarah Carter
What they fought: An ill-fated group of friends attempt to repair their relationship with a spelunking trip, but the regrettable choice to venture into an unmapped cave system — that just so happens to be full of vicious monsters — leaves final girl Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) fighting for her life.
How they won: Never forget, never forgive. Sarah defeats the blood-thirsty Crawlers of “The Descent” with relentless caution and, when necessary, unbridled brutality. But her real victory comes in the form of murdering Juno: an untrustworthy secondary antagonist whose past betrayal and contribution to the current conundrum push our final girl over the edge.
See AlsoThe Final Girl and Male vs. Female Representation in Horror FilmsEvery Final Girl In The Halloween Franchise, Ranked Worst To BestLaurie Strode and the legacy of the final girl | ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry DataAn Oral History of Halloween's Laurie Strode With Jamie Lee Curtis and John Carpenter“The Evil Dead” (Sam Raimi, 1981): Ash Williams
What they fought: Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams would go on to become one of the most recognizable characters in horror history, embodying the final girl trope among many, many others. In Sam Raimi’s first “Evil Dead” film, Ash, his sister, and their undergrad classmates awaken a demonic presence at a remote cabin.
How they won: Ash triumphs over the Deadites in the first “Evil Dead” by thinking fast and burning that goddamn book at exactly the right time. In susbsequent films, he of course just needs one thing: chainsaw!
“Final Destination” (James Wong, 2000): Clear Rivers
What they fought: After deplaning Flight 180 with clairvoyant classmate Josh at the beginning of James Wong’s “Final Destination,” actress Ali Larter’s Clear Rivers tries to evade death’s design (aka a bunch of Rube Goldberg-esque freak accidents.)
How they won: Both Alex and Clear qualify as this franchise’s first final girls, technically. That said, Clear takes the cake for consistently staying on her feet to survive the original, and then successfully stalling her fate in “Final Destination 2” by brilliantly using a psychiatric hospital as a fortress. If only series newcomer Kim hadn’t lured her outside.
“Friday the 13th Part 2” (Steve Miner, 1981): Ginny Field
What they fought: The first “Friday the 13th” victim to actually go up against Jason Voorhees, Amy Steel’s charismatic psychology student Ginny Field boasts remarkable insight into her slasher stalker before uncovering the plot that brought him back to Cramp Crystal Lake.
How they won: Ginny wins dang near the entire “Friday the 13th” franchise as one of the series’ most memorable heroines. Intuitive when considering her opponent and unwilling to surrender, the camp counselor slices Jason with his own machete before he makes his own shadowy escape.
“Get Out” (Jordan Peele, 2017): Chris Washington
What they fought: Thanks to his remarkably terrible taste in women, Chris Washington —brought to life by a career best Daniel Kaluuya —visits the well-to-do home of a wealthy family where a heinous cycle of metaphysical theft has gone on for years.
How they won: Rod Mother Fuckin’ TSA! Chris prevents the Armitage family from turning him into a ride-along meat puppet by successfully resisting hypnosis, battling through a surgical scene from hell, and always remembering to tell his friend where he was going.
“Halloween” (John Carpenter, 1978): Laurie Strode
What they fought: For Jamie Lee Curtis’ singular Laurie Strode, the devil is Michael Myers. To this point, the masked slasher villain has (sloooowly) chased the scrappy babysitter across three timelines, including into the event horror title of the 2022 spooky season: David Gordon Green’s “Halloween Ends.”
How they won: Ever since Michael took that first stab, Laurie hasn’t let her guard down. That proved essential in “Halloween Kills”: the latest Haddonfield outing to indicate the serial killer is more super than natural. No amount of bunker supplies or Christmas sweaters could save Laurie’s daughter Karen, but if Laurie keeps up with her own scoreboard, there’s no way she’s losing this battle.
“Happy Death Day” (Christopher Landon, 2017): Tree Gelbman
What they fought: After getting trapped in a time loop that repeatedly ends in her untimely demise, “Happy Death Day” protagonist Tree — played by the incomparable Jessica Rothe — must solve her own murder before her metaphysical clock runs out.
How they won: Three words: process of elimination. By slowly chewing (ha) through the sugary sweet clues in this all-time great horror comedy, Tree is able to use the help of a one night stand to suss out her killer and survive for the events of sequel “Happy Death Day 2U.”
“Hellraiser” (Cliver Barker, 1987): Kirsty Cotton
What they fought: The sadomasochistic horror of “Hellraiser” traces back to a desperate man, a strange puzzle box, and one girl’s very horny mom. Ashley Laurence played Kirsty Cotton in both “Hellraiser” and “Hellbound: Hellraiser 2”: each of which see the teen final girl go head-to-Pinhead with demons known as Cenobites from another realm not unlike —you guessed it —Hell.
How they won: Kirsty gets out of her first ordeal with the Cenobites by offering to hunt down her creepy uncle and turn him over to his would-be torturers in exchange for her freedom. (Amazing, no notes.) In the sequel, she outpuzzles the puzzlers: using some slick timing and a revolting use of skin to disguise herself and make a getaway with Imogen Boorman’s Tiffany.
“Hostel” (Eli Roth, 2005): Paxton Rodriguez
What they fought: American tourist Paxton (Jay Hernandez) finds himself funneled into a horrifying human trafficking/torture scheme in Eli Roth’s ruthless gore vehicle “Hostel.”
How they won: Outside the obvious achilles cutting and eye burning, this 2005 fright fest is notoriously scary for its puzzle elements. As Paxton slowly realizes the pattern of the spider’s web into which his friends have already fallen victim (R.I.P. Josh and Oli!), the unflinching final guy uses the clues to hunt down one of his attackers and get revenge in a nasty public bathroom throat slitting that’s nothing if not hard to forget.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” (Jim Gillespie, 1997): Julie James
What they fought: When a group of reckless teens hit a pedestrian and run, only to receive menacing letters about the accident a year later, Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julie James discovers she and her friends are being pursued by a hook-wielding fisherman.
How they won: That ridiculous spin has to have had something to do with this chick’s survival…right? Sure, Julie is on the lower end of the final girl spectrum, but she eeks her way into our rankings by untangling the soapy drama of “I Know What You Did Last Summer” with enough charm and speed to make the ’90s slasher a worthy revisit.
“Jaws” (Steven Spielberg, 1975): Martin Brody and Matt Hooper
What they fought: Setting sail with the gruff fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) and snarky marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), police chief Martin Brody pursues a human-eating shark off the coast of Amity Island on the Fourth of July.
How they won: The final act of “Jaws” works like a suspense stress test: pitting Quint’s seafaring maverick approach against Hooper’s more studied and scientific theories. Ultimately, all that matters is action: Hooper and Brody are able to swim away because they put down their fear and pick up the explosives. (R.I.P. Quint, ya filthy bastard.)
“Midsommar” (Ari Aster, 2019): Dani Ardor
What they fought: In Ari Aster’s “Midsommar,” Florence Pugh plays Dani: a grieving woman who, along with her boyfriend and two of his friends, finds herself the guest of a dangerous cult in Sweden.
How they won: Surrendering to hallucinogens, winning a dancing contest, and then dumping his bear ass before lighting a barn on fire.
“A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Wes Craven, 1984): Nancy Thompson
What they fought: Freddy Krueger invades the dreams-turned-nightmares of one Nancy Thompson (a perfectly cast Heather Langenkamp) in this blood-splattered suburban slasher.
How they won: “Whatever you do: Don’t go to sleep.” Nancy plays it pretty close to the vest in “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” trying everything from “Home Alone” style booby traps to straight-up ignoring Freddy (which hilariously works in the end.) If we could pick two Langenkamp performances, we’d also include her twist on playing herself in “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.”
“Nope” (Jordan Peele, 2022): Emerald Haywood
What they fought: Along with brother OJ, “Nope” hero Emerald Haywood —imbued with lively lovability by the deeply entertaining Keke Palmer —attempts to capture proof of aliens when random objects begin to mysteriously fall from the sky and people begin to go missing.
How they won: From the moment she appears on the scene, Emerald is a charismatic, self-assured force to be reckoned with who will stop at nothing to achieve her goal. Where her cohorts, even the accomplished filmmaker, fail, Emerald succeeds: nabbing THE shot of Earth’s alien visitor by hopping a motorcycle, lassoing a balloon, and cranking an antique camera at just the right second.
“Prey” (Dan Trachtenberg, 2022): Naru
What they fought: A lot of humans have been hunted by the Predator over the years, but in “Prey” a young Comanche warrior named Naru — played by genre regular Amber Midthunder —must save her tribe from one of the aliens on America’s Great Plains in the early 18th century.
How they won: Naru beats out Arnold Schwarzenegger’s performance in 1987’s “Predator” for this franchise’s best final girl not only because she’s easily the smartest hero the series has ever known, but because she bests her alien attacker without any of the technology Dutch requires in the original. Seriously, dude could not have gotten through this thing with a bow and arrow.
“Ready or Not” (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, 2019): Grace Le Domas
What they fought: Samara Weaving walks down the metaphoric aisle as snarky bride Grace in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s “Ready or Not”: the harrowing tale of a working class woman battling her in-laws in a game night from hell.
How they won: Knowing when to walk away from a bad relationship…even if that’s only after your back-stabbing traitor of a husband and his entire family explode into a pulpy mist as prophesied by an ancient curse. Better late than never!
“Scream” (Wes Craven, 1996): Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers
What they fought: Who’s behind the mask might change, but “Scream” heroines Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers —of course, played by the legendary Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox —are always united against one iconic villain: Ghostface.
How they won: Across their five harrowing “Scream” adventures, Gale, Sidney, and up until the last movie David Arquette’s Dewey (R.I.P. to a real one!) have used a combination of cunning and luck to evade execution. What makes their approach to escape awesome is the (generally) smart writing that sees the possible slasher victims dodging dumb decisions and traps of the trope at the most refreshing — and essential —times.
“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (Tobe Hooper, 1974): Sally Hardesty
What they fought: The first ever “Texas Chain Saw Massacre” sees Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty: one of the cheery travelers unlucky enough to find themselves up against iconic slasher villain Leatherface in Tobe Hooper’s 1974 horror masterpiece.
How they won: Never one to shy away from an opportunity at escape, Sally ran like hell, jumped out of not one but two windows, and hitched just the right ride in her final act.
“The Thing” (John Carpenter, 1982): R.J. MacReady and Childs
What they fought: R.J. MacReady (Kurt Russell), Childs (Keith David), and the rest of the researchers stationed at the unlucky outpost at the center of John Carpenter’s 1982 remake of “The Thing” are forced to confront a mutating menace hiding among them.
How they won: Probably an overly strong use of the word “win” here consider the characters’ ambiguous fates. Still, MacReady and Childs at least manage to outlast the credits of this sci-fi nightmare by assuming everyone was a suspect to the bitter end. (And you know, having a flamethrower on hand.)
“Us” (Jordan Peele, 2019): Adelaide/Red
What they fought: In Jordan Peele’s sophomore outing, Lupita Nyong’o doubles as both final girl Adelaide and her fearsome doppleganger Red in a universe where our reality is paralleled by a mysterious society below ground.
How they won: Long story short: By being remarkably opportunistic. Long story made slightly longer: By being the villain all along, choking the ever-living hell out of the real Adelaide, and accepting an unclear fate that (more likely than not) means holding hands in a field for at least the next few hours.
“X” (Ti West, 2022): Maxine Minx
What they fought: In Ti West’s “X” — the outrageously excellent first installment in A24’s slasher trilogy starring Mia Goth — a group of porn stars fall prey to a pair of evil lecherous ranchers when they come to borrow their barn for filming.
How they won: We’re only half-kidding when we say Maxine’s initial trick to getting through “X” was being a very heavy sleeper. She follows that up with a searing judgement day when she crushes the skull of antagonist Pearl (also played by Goth, and reprised in the prequel of the same name) with a truck before speeding into the night.
“You’re Next” (Adam Wingard, 2011): Erin Harson
What they fought: “You’re Next” hero Erin (Sharni Vinson) just wanted to have a nice time at her boyfriend’s family reunion. Too bad a trio of masked murderers decided to inexplicably pick them off one by one over fancy dinner at a luxurious estate.
How they won: Maybe early-age survivalist training should be…mandatory? Thanks to a badass backstory, Erin beats the ever-living hell out of her wannabe killers before finishing off her POS boyfriend with a gnarly stab to the neck/eye. Here’s hoping she beats the murder charge for accidentally decapitating that cop.