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Top Ten Final Girls to Watch Before Seeing “The Final Girls”

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The latest meta-horror-comedy, “The Final Girls,” will be released this fall—and the trailer and title give us the impression that the movie will not only be a fun tribute to the ’80s slashers, but will also offer some commentary on cliché horror conventions. And the title references one of the most talked-about horror tropes of all: the final girl. Other meta-horror movies like Scream, Cabin in the Woods and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon have weighed in on the final girl phenomenon, although never actually calling her the “final girl.” The term comes from critic Carol Clover’s Men, Women and Chain Saws, a book analyzing gender roles in horror movies.

The final girl, by Clover’s definition, is the last surviving character of a horror film. She’s the girl who survives the killer who has murdered her friends, sometimes even fighting back, and in Clover’s words, she “looks death in the face” and “lives to tell the story.”

Clover’s analysis of the final girl, first published in the late ’80s, has been an extremely influential film theory over the years. The rise of the final girl marks a shift in perspective in slasher movies that moves us away from the viewpoint of the brutal murderer to focus on the “victim-hero” protagonist. The analysis is rich and complex, with tons of power-struggles, repressed sexuality and phallic-symbol weaponry thrown into the mix. The final girl has been praised as a strong female icon, criticized for being desexualized (she’s often a virgin, sometimes a virgin with an androgynous or boyish name) and debated over for years. But she’s always seemed to draw our attention.

With the release of “The Final Girls” on the horizon, here’s a list of some of the most influential final girls to grace our screens over the decades.

 

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  1. Alice Hardy (Adrienne King)
    Friday the 13th (1980)
    Alice lays low for much of the movie, leading up to the climactic ending when she finds her friends’ bodies and the killer is revealed. Alice’s final scenes are the most beloved of the original movie. She beheads her attacker in glorious slow motion and just when she thinks she’s safe, we get and interesting final shot of her boat on the water. She doesn’t make it far into the sequel, but she fights like hell in round one.

 

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  1. Kristy Cotton (Ashley Laurence)
    Hellraiser (1987), Hellraiser 2 (1988)
    Like many classic final girls, Kristy is an innocent young woman in a corrupted world. While her relatives sink lower into corruption and cenobite-infested hell, Kristy gets tied up in the trouble while trying to look out for her cuckholded father. She accidentally summons Pinhead and his gang while playing with their puzzle box, but ends up escaping hell with all of her magically non-frizzing miracle curls intact.

 

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  1. Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns)
    The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
    The original final girl. She was the first starring female to escape her movie alive and the character that inspired Clover to write about final girl theory. Sally was subjected to one of the gnarliest dinner scenes ever filmed, hit with a hammer, chased by our most known and loved chainsaw-wielding maniac and jumped through a window. Sally may not have escaped with all of her sanity intact, but she did what it took to survive.

 

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  1. Erin (Shami Vinson)
    You’re Next (2011)
    Erin is an almost too-perfect final girl, but an effective one just for that reason. Starring in a self-aware horror movie, Erin represents the complete opposite of the typical horror movie victim. Erin never loses her head, has a plethora of survival-skill knowledge and starts fighting back at the earliest opportunity. You’re Next flipped the subgenre of home invasion horror on its head, all because of Erin’s character.

 

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  1. Ginny Field (Amy Steel) Friday the 13th
    Part 2
    (1981)
    Ginny stands out in final girl history because she didn’t just run faster, scream louder or even fight harder—Ginny actually outsmarted her killer. The psychology student expresses some empathy for Jason Voorhees early on in the movie and she has enough insight to realize that he must have some serious mommy-issues. In their final showdown, Ginny poses as Mrs. Voorhees to control Jason and keep him from attacking her. The risky move works out in her favor.

 

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  1. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver)
    Alien (1979)
    Although technically not a perfect fit for the “slasher” subgenre, Ripley is widely considered to be one of horror’s finest final girls. Ripley is a tough, ruthless fighter when she needs to be, but still has a soft spot for saving kids and cats. Also notable about Ripley is how many of her battle scenes seem to be girl-on-girl, with the most monstrous creature from Aliens being an alien mother.

 

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  1. Vanita “Stretch” Brock (Caroline Williams)
    The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
    The sequel to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre opened to mixed reviews. Tobe Hooper amped up the comedy here, creating one of the earliest self-aware, meta-horror movies to exist. Stretch was a new kind of final girl. She didn’t just escape—she also kicked some ass along the way. Clover noted how Stretch saves herself after her would-be rescuer, Texas Ranger Lefty, epically fails. Similar to Sally, Stretch also was invited to dine (or be dined on) by the cannibalistic Sawyer family, and was Leatherface’s first crush to boot. Plenty of weapons-as-phallic-symbols imagery in this one. But Stretch comes out on top.

 

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  1. Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis)
    Halloween (1978)
    Laurie was the first final girl to fight back and one of the most iconic in the genre. Jamie Lee Curtis played a number of final girl roles, but Laurie is by far the most well-known. This classic final girl stabs Michael Myers with a knife and a coat hanger to protect herself and the kids she’s babysitting. Dr. Loomis steps in to deliver the final blows (and lines) but it’s Laurie’s plight that sticks with us.

 

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  1. Nancy Thompson (Heather Lagenkamp)
    A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
    Clover called Nancy the “grittiest” of the final girls. In the documentary on making the Elm Street films, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Robert Englund himself said that Freddy saw Nancy as a “worthy adversary.” In Nancy’s final scenes of the original, she plans an elaborate defense against Freddy Krueger. She booby-traps her house and even full-on tackles the slasher to bring him out of her dream and into her world to fight him on her own terms.

 

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  1. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell)
    Scream (1996)
    A meta-horror classic, Scream not only put slashers back on the public radar in the late ‘90s, but it did it with self-aware style. Sidney was meant to be a final girl, perfectly fitting into the conventions of the trope at some points and notably breaking those conventions at others. One of the toughest, most no-nonsense stars of the genre, Sidney didn’t rewrite the rules of being a final girl—she threw them out the window.

 

Honorable mentions:

Taylor Gentry (Angela Goethals) Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross) Dawn of the Dead (1979)

Dana Polk (Kristen Connolly) Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Valerie and Trish (Robin Stille and Michelle Michaels) Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) Susperia (1977)

Mia Allen (Jane Levy) Evil Dead (2013)

 

 

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New Poster Reveal For Nicolas Cage’s Survival Creature Feature ‘Arcadian’ [Trailer]

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Nicolas Cage Arcadian

In the latest cinematic venture featuring Nicolas Cage, Arcadian emerges as a compelling creature feature, teeming with suspense, horror, and emotional depth. RLJE Films has recently released a series of new images and a captivating poster, offering audiences a glimpse into the eerie and thrilling world of “Arcadian”. Scheduled to hit theaters on April 12, 2024, the film will later be available on Shudder and AMC+, ensuring a wide audience can experience its gripping narrative.

Arcadian Movie Trailer

The Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given this film an “R” rating for its “bloody images,” hinting at the visceral and intense experience awaiting viewers. The film draws inspiration from acclaimed horror benchmarks like “A Quiet Place,” weaving a post-apocalyptic tale of a father and his two sons navigating a desolate world. Following a catastrophic event that depopulates the planet, the family faces the dual challenge of surviving their dystopian environment and eluding mysterious nocturnal creatures.

Joining Nicolas Cage in this harrowing journey are Jaeden Martell, known for his role in “IT” (2017), Maxwell Jenkins from “Lost in Space,” and Sadie Soverall, featured in “Fate: The Winx Saga.” Directed by Ben Brewer (“The Trust”) and penned by Mike Nilon (“Braven”), “Arcadian” promises a unique blend of poignant storytelling and electrifying survival horror.

Maxwell Jenkins, Nicolas Cage, and Jaeden Martell 

Critics have already begun to praise “Arcadian” for its imaginative monster designs and exhilarating action sequences, with one review from Bloody Disgusting highlighting the film’s balance between emotional coming-of-age elements and heart-pounding horror. Despite sharing thematic elements with similar genre films, “Arcadian” sets itself apart through its creative approach and action-driven plot, promising a cinematic experience filled with mystery, suspense, and relentless thrills.

Arcadian Official Movie Poster

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‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3’ Is a Go with Enhanced Budget and New Characters

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Winnie the Pooh 3

Wow, they’re churning things out fast! The upcoming sequel “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3” is officially moving forward, promising an expanded narrative with a larger budget and the introduction of beloved characters from A.A. Milne’s original tales. As confirmed by Variety, the third installment in the horror franchise will welcome Rabbit, the heffalumps, and the woozles into its dark and twisted narrative.

This sequel is a part of an ambitious cinematic universe that reimagines children’s stories as horror tales. Alongside “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and its first sequel, the universe includes films such as “Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare”, “Bambi: The Reckoning,” and “Pinocchio Unstrung”. These movies are set to converge in the crossover event “Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble,” slated for a 2025 release.

Winnie the Pooh Poohniverse

The creation of these films was made possible when A.A. Milne’s 1926 children’s book “Winnie-the-Pooh” entered the public domain last year, allowing filmmakers to explore these cherished characters in unprecedented ways. Director Rhys Frake-Waterfield and producer Scott Jeffrey Chambers, of Jagged Edge Productions, have led the charge in this innovative endeavor.

The inclusion of Rabbit, heffalumps, and woozles in the upcoming sequel introduces a new layer to the franchise. In Milne’s original stories, heffalumps are imagined creatures resembling elephants, while woozles are known for their weasel-like characteristics and a penchant for stealing honey. Their roles in the narrative remain to be seen, but their addition promises to enrich the horror universe with deeper connections to the source material.

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How to Watch ‘Late Night with the Devil’ from Home: Dates and Platforms

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Late Night With The Devil

For fans eager to dive into one of this year’s most talked-about horror films from the comfort of their own home, “Late Night with the Devil” will be available for streaming exclusively on Shudder starting April 19, 2024. This announcement has been highly anticipated following the film’s successful theatrical release by IFC Films, which saw it earning rave reviews and a record-breaking opening weekend for the distributor.

“Late Night with the Devil” emerges as a standout horror film, captivating audiences and critics alike, with Stephen King himself offering high praise for the 1977-set film. Starring David Dastmalchian, the movie unfolds on Halloween night during a live late-night talk show broadcast that disastrously unleashes evil across the nation. This found footage-style film not only delivers scares but also authentically captures the aesthetic of the 1970s, drawing viewers into its nightmarish scenario.

David Dastmalchian in Late Night with the Devil

The film’s initial box office success, opening to $2.8 million in 1,034 theaters, underscores its wide appeal and marks the highest opening weekend for an IFC Films release. Critically acclaimed, “Late Night with the Devil” boasts a 96% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 135 reviews, with the consensus praising it for rejuvenating the possession horror genre and showcasing David Dastmalchian’s exceptional performance.

Rotten Tomatoes score as of 3/28/2024

Simon Rother of iHorror.com encapsulates the film’s allure, emphasizing its immersive quality that transports viewers back to the 1970s, making them feel as if they are part of the eerie “Night Owls” Halloween broadcast. Rother lauds the film for its meticulously crafted script and the emotional and shocking journey it takes viewers on, stating, “This whole experience will have viewers of the Cairnes brothers’ film glued to their screen… The script, from beginning to end, is neatly sewn together with an ending that’ll have jaws on the floor.” You can read the full review here.

Rother further encourages audiences to watch the film, highlighting its multifaceted appeal: “Whenever it is made available to you, you must attempt to view the Cairnes Brothers’ latest project as it will make you laugh, it will creep you out, it will amaze you, and it might even strike an emotional cord.”

Set to stream on Shudder on April 19, 2024, “Late Night with the Devil” offers a compelling blend of horror, history, and heart. This film is not just a must-watch for horror aficionados but for anyone looking to be thoroughly entertained and moved by a cinematic experience that redefines the boundaries of its genre.

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