7 More Films that Feature the Rare Final Boy
Genre cinema is rife with final girls. Nearly every horror movie features one. You know the archetype, the character that must dig deep and rely on a strength she didn’t know she possessed to take on the central monster and save the day. The internet is full of listicles chronicling memorable final femmes from genre pictures. But the final boy is another story. A handful of films feature a final fella. But the final boy trope is far less prevalent than the final girl. Given that, we previously chronicled seven memorable examples of the final fella right here.
Seeing as our previous coverage of the elusive final boy struck a chord with readers, we are back with seven more final fellas that managed to punch their ticket to the end of a horror film. So read on to see which of your favorites made the cut!
Peter Vincent from Fright Night
Tom Holland’s Fright Night is one of the greatest vampire films ever made. The flick follows Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale), a young man convinced his next-door neighbor is a vampire. When no one believes his claims, Charley turns to actor and television host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall). The film deftly walks the line between horror and comedy and delivers relatable characters you actually want to see survive the ordeal they endure.
In spite of being a bit of a scaredy cat, horror host Peter Vincent is able to make it to the denouement of Fright Night unscathed. All things considered; the film has a relatively low body count. But the cast is so likable that I wouldn’t want it any other way.
If you think I forgot about Charley, think again, dear reader. Charley Brewster was chronicled in the inaugural installment of this very feature.
Tommy Jarvis from the Friday the 13th series
Tommy Jarvis first appears in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. This installment follows on the heels of the series’ third entry and finds an undead Jason Voorhees escaping the morgue to return to his old stomping grounds. From there, the machete-wielding behemoth meets his kryptonite in the form of Tommy Jarvis (played by Corey Feldman in this installment).
Tommy has a track record that rivals the likes of Ash Williams (who we chronicled in the first round of memorable final fellas). Jarvis appears in (and survives) The Final Chapter, A New Beginning, and Jason Lives. Though he comes dangerously close to death in Jason Lives, Tommy manages to beat the odds and survive, thanks to his resourceful nature, raw determination, and a life-saving assist from Megan at the end of Jason Lives.
Carter and Preacher in Deep Blue Sea
Deep Blue Sea is easily one of the best killer shark films of the past 25 years. The flick works, in large part, because it doesn’t take itself too seriously and delivers copious amounts of toothy carnage. This sharksploitation effort follows a team of scientists conducting Alzheimer’s research with mako sharks serving as their test subjects. Their efforts prove fruitful until which point the sharks get hungry and turn their human captors into snacks.
After a nerve-shredding showdown with the final mako shark that sees Dr. McCallister (Saffron Burrows) meeting an untimely end, Preacher (L.L. Cool J) and Carter (Thomas Jane) manage to defeat their toothy adversary with a harpoon. The fellas beat the odds and make it to the end of the film in one piece, meaning Deep Blue Sea features not one but two final boys.
Pat in Green Room
It’s hard for me to find words to describe how much I love Green Room. This intense tale of a punk band that runs afoul of neo-Nazis is so unbelievably intense. Director Jeremy Saulnier ratchets up the tension to the point of being nearly unbearable. And the results are nerve-shredding.
The late, great Anton Yelchin turns in a phenomenal performance, making Pat, the band’s bass player, relatable and easy to invest in. As such, it’s a pleasure to see the young musician make his way to the end of the film alive.
Andy Barclay from Child’s Play
Andy Barclay is to Chucky as Tommy Jarvis is to Jason Voorhees. He’s been a thorn in Chucky’s side since the original Child’s Play, which sees Andy’s mother (Catherine Hicks) giving him a Good Guy doll (which just so happens to inhabit the disembodied soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray) for his birthday.
Andy Barclay (played in all but one instance by Alex Vincent) has quite the track record. He manages to thwart Chucky in the original Child’s Play trilogy before making return appearances in Cult of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and on the SyFy television series Chucky. That’s quite an impressive resume, Andy.
Eddie from House on Haunted Hill (1999)
This 1999 reimagining of the William Castle feature of the same name finds a group of strangers invited to a birthday party where they are given the chance to spend the night in a haunted house (which was once an insane asylum) for a million-dollar prize. But surviving the night will turn out to be easier said than done.
In the final moments of the film, we learn that Eddie (Taye Diggs) is adopted and has no biological ancestral connection to any of the staff of the asylum. For that reason, his life is spared. By his side is Sara (Ali Larter) who gained admission to the soiree by impersonating her boss. The film’s brilliant conclusion sees Sara and Eddie making it out of the house intact but stranded high above ground level, with no obvious means of escape.
Shaun from Shaun of the Dead
Shaun of the Dead is one of my favorite horror comedies and one of my favorite zombie films. This outrageously comical tale of an aimless salesman hurled into the zombie apocalypse delivers nonstop chuckles laced with goopy effects work.
Though he starts the film as directionless, Shaun’s arc sees him digging deep and finding inner strength he didn’t know he possessed, ultimately surviving through to the end of the film unscathed. His buddy Ed (Nick Frost) also makes it to the end credits but I left him off for the simple reason that Ed is bitten and turns into a zombie.
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