From Sydney Prescott in Scream to Laurie Strode in Halloween, you definitely know a “final girl” if you are a horror film fan. They are the girls who survive until the end, who prove to be more powerful than they believe, and manage to defeat all forces of evil. So where do they come from, and how do they rule the horror genre?
At the dawn of horror cinema, women could only be victims. They were damsels in distress who had to be saved. Take, for example, any Alfred Hitchcock movie. Destined to die, or to be saved by a man; their fate was all mapped out. It would take a few decades for women to begin fighting to save themselves without the aid of a man.
The term “final girl” was first used by professor Carol J. Clover in her book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film (1992). Defined as the last girl still alive after the final confrontation, the final girl became a staple of slasher films (those films where murders committed by a masked killer follow one another) throughout the 70s and 80s. Although the final girl can take different forms, several common traits make her an immediately recognizable character. The character is a virgin and refuses to engage in sexual relations (which generally condemns the other female characters). Slightly different from the other girls, she is socially withdrawn and morally superior to her peers. Alcohol and drugs do not interest her. She’s the perfect survivor, in part due to her intelligence and vigilance. Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in the Halloween series, is a perfect example. She is not interested in boys, she is a keen observer, which sets her apart from her superficial friends.
The Scream Franchise
The horror genre has been built on many formulas, beginning with the final girl. In 1996, Wes Craven had fun offering a meta-commentary on a genre he had previously built, thanks to films such as The Hills Have Eyes and A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the Scream franchise, the viewer follows Sydney Prescott, a teenager in mourning and tormented by a masked killer. For the first time, the final girl is no longer so innocent: Sydney can lie, become angry and even have sex… and still survive. Throughout the film, Sydney has control over her own destiny, and opens a new era for all final girls. Take Buffy, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer series: from a shy and virginal young girl, the survivor becomes a blonde cheerleader who hunts vampires each night.
Race as a factor
Despite the evolutions that the final girl has undergone, the character is still constrained by certain aspects, beginning with the color of her skin. Most final girls are white, as the ninth season of American Horror Story sarcastically points out. A 2017 study by the Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality notes that adults perceive black women as less innocent and less vulnerable than white women. Alfred Hitchcock said, “Blondes make the best victims. They are like virgin snow that makes the blood stains stand out.” The concept of the black guy dies first is almost as notorious as that of the final girl, as black characters are often the first to disappear in horror films.
With each new horror film, the concept of the final girl is revisited and corrected, in parallel with the cultural evolutions we are experiencing. From damsel in distress to complex and not so innocent character, the final girl has gained in power and depth. As long as we live in a world that is violent towards women, the final girl will remain relevant.
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