Who Is The Best Final Girl of All Time?
This March, Dread Central pits 32 of the most memorable Final Girls against one another to determine the ultimate survivor of the bunch. Similar to the men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments we used to model this competition, 32 entrants make up the field, but some definitely have better odds at winning than others.
Check out the full bracket below:
Below are some top-ranked badasses as well as many memorable Final Girls who likely aren’t long for this tournament. Still, they’re all awesome in their own unique ways. So read about our team’s faves and make sure to vote in the bracket on Twitter or Instagram.
Laurie Strode (Halloween franchise)
If Laurie Strode were a Destiny Child single, she’d definitely be “Survivor”.
When people think of the Final Girl, Laurie is almost always one of the first to come to mind. Through nine movies, she’s primarily prevailed over her murderous sometimes-brother, Michael Myers. In a franchise filled with noteworthy Final Girls, and Busta Rhymes, Laurie continues to be the unrivaled best of the bunch. Very few can say they’ve demonstrated how badassery can age like a fine wine like Laurie Strode has over the decades. She’s evolved from victim to survivor to hero over several decades–cementing her legacy as one of horror’s best characters, no matter their gender.
Sidney Prescott (Scream franchise)
Sidney Prescott is above it. Over the course of five movies, friends, lovers, and family alike have donned the Ghostface mask and endeavored to do what their forebears couldn’t—finally kill Sidney Prescott. Yet, as if she is less a person, and more an assemblage of final girl history in human form, Prescott is unkillable. A knife in the gut? Nothing. Falling from a roof? Who hasn’t? Sidney Prescott endures as a Final Girl because she carries with her the history of horror itself. She knows the rules. They just don’t apply to her. — Chad Collins
Jay Height (It Follows)
In It Follows, Jay Height bucks Final Girl norms while helping evolve the somewhat fluid classification. Jay does so by doing everything she can to live. She first flees, then fights back against the killer entity, almost putting an end to the shapeshifting, mostly unseen force. With no other options, Jay did what she had to do and passed the demon off as instructed, leaving it in the hands and crotch of someone else. In many films, that may be seen as a cop-out for Final Girls. But in Jay’s case, there was nothing left to do. If she didn’t pass it on, she’d be killed, and the next person would become the target anyway. By nearly killing the murderous STD and then passing it on when there were no other options, she did what a Final Girl ultimately needs to do: survive. — Andrew Ward
Sam Carpenter (Scream requels)
Samantha Carpenter is not your ordinary final girl. Unlike most of the genre’s beloved leading ladies, she never gets a moment to cry or wallow in helplessness. Instead, she comes out swinging and ready to fight however many Ghostfaces attempting to try her to the death, She never waits for someone to come to her rescue, she learns from her mistakes, and she makes choices that make sense. While she truly cares for the other Core Four members, she’s also filled with anger and is gleefully leaving a trail of copycat Ghostfaces in her wake.
Sam may feel like there “is a darkness inside” of her, but I think it’s a mixture of survival instinct and joy of finally finding a productive (read justifiable) place to funnel her rage. Both traits are frowned upon when found in Brown femmes, and I think her real journey is coming to terms with the fact that she’s allowed to feel her feelings. She should also be proud of her knife skills, but one breakthrough at a time. Sam stands out as the perfect final girl because she’s the character most of our favorite final girls spend so many movies trying to become. Meanwhile, Sam was already there, already strong, smart, self-reliant, and ready to wreck her would-be murderers’ plans. — Sharai Bohannon
Ana Clark (Dawn of the Dead)
Ana Clark has to be near the top of the list regarding relatable Final Girls. That may sound odd since Dawn of the Dead is a zombie flick, but hear me out. Imagine coming home from a long shift, having some lovely end-of-night coitus, only to wake up a few hours later to your partner being converted to the undead, and you need to quickly escape through the window. And wouldn’t you know it, once outside, you find yourself in an unimaginable hellscape? That sounds a lot like real life these days if you think about it. Just when you think life is good, bam, everything’s fallen to shit. Even if you disagree with her relatability, Ana survived hordes of undead runners and the stupidity of several humans, collaborating every step of the way, only to eventually reach an after-credits conclusion that kills her Final Girl momentum. — Andrew Ward
Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare On Elm Street)
Nancy Thompson is a standout character, not just in the Elm Street franchise but in the horror pantheon. She is easily one of the most resourceful Final Girls in horror history. Nancy proactively devises a plan to pull Fred Krueger out of the dream world and into ours. She thinks on her feet and uses logic to outwit the Springwood Slasher. More importantly, she does all of this as a high school student. That’s nothing short of remarkable. Some final femmes make it to the end of a film by luck or by happenstance. But Nancy survives A Nightmare on Elm Street because she fights her way to the end and refuses to admit defeat. — Tyler Doupé
Julie James (I Know What You Did Last Summer)
If comparing quality using ’90s Chris Farley-David Spade buddy films, Julie James is the Black Sheep to Sidney Prescott’s Tommy Boy. There’s no denying that I Know What You Did Last Summer is the lesser version of Scream, but it’s still a great ’90s teen slasher. Final Girl Julie James is the primary reason it remains a solid watch, even if she doesn’t come anywhere close to Sidney in terms of strength and resourcefulness. Some would even argue Helen was more of a Final Girl type had she lived. Still, over the two films, Julie progressed from a hit-and-run collaborator to a victim and finally into a survivor capable of taking down the remaining branches of the Willis family tree. And let’s not forget the iconic scream brought to life by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Does it make her a great Final Girl? No, but she is memorable. — Andrew Ward
Sally Hardesty (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre)
As a native Texan, Sally Hardesty, played by Marilyn Burns, is the ultimate, end-all-be-all Final Girl. Surviving the scorching Texas sun and grandpa’s hammer is almost more impressive than outrunning Gunnar Hansen’s flailing chainsaw in the final seconds of Tobe Hopper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. I had the honor of spending time with Burns at the actual Chainsaw house in Kingsland, TX for the 30th-anniversary celebration. When asked why she was the lone survivor, Marilyn simply said that she somehow managed to out-crazy the craziest family in horror history.
Kristen McKay (The Strangers)
Kristen McKay is arguably the most realistic Final Girl in this tournament, in terms of relationship struggles and the randomness of violence. The Strangers sees Kristen likely to die alongside her husband, James, and his buddy Mike as the three masked killers close in for the final strike. But like a few miraculous real-life acts of violence, Kristen survives to tell the tale. Unlike many on this list, Kristen didn’t evolve much to become a badass survivalist. Nor did she find a way to outwit her attackers. Like what would happen to most of us in this scenario, she did her best, tried to humanize herself to the killers, and never gave up. — Andrew Ward
Kyle (Child’s Play 2)
Kyle has tournament spoiler potential written all over her. She’s a badass through and through just wanting for her rightful acknowledgement. In Child’s Play 2, Andy Barclay’s foster parents are killed, leaving older foster child Kyle to step up and become the young boy’s only line of protection from the possessed killer doll, Chucky. Despite her initial skepticism, Kyle eventually came around to provide Andy with the support and protection he needed during another traumatic, life-threatening encounter.
When push came to shove, Kyle saved Andy, remained calm during two hostage situations, and helped deliver the final death blow to Chucky, even if she was knocked out in the last moments. After a long layoff, Kyle’s back to beefing up her Final Girl credentials as part of the Chucky TV series, further cementing her status as a tough contender. She may not win this tournament but like a lower-seeded team from a small college, Kyle has all the potential to upset a few better-known contenders. — Andrew Ward
Jamie Lloyd (Halloween 4 and 5)
Nobody can outshine Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode in the Halloween franchise. But who’d have thought a child like Danielle Harris would come so close with a refreshing, terrifying portrayal of Halloween’s Final Girl? At ten years old, Harris’ superb acting portrayed Jamie Lloyd as a vulnerable child who could use her cleverness, love, and wit to escape the clutches of her possessed killer uncle. Sadly, Curse of Michael Myers undoes a significant portion of Jamie’s legacy as a survivor. But looking at Halloween 4 and 5, she no doubt stands out as a fresh take on the Final Girl. Like Kyle, I got money on Jamie surviving a few rounds in this year’s tournament. — Andrew Ward
Tory Reading (Leprechaun)
Admittedly, Tory has absolutely no chance of winning this tournament. But someone has to go to bat for the horror-comedy classics, right? Tory falls into most run-of-the-mill Final Girl tropes in early ’90s horror. She goes from a naive, weak city girl to a capable, strong enough survivor who helps her friends melt the Leprechaun into what might’ve been the first instance of a Shamrock Shake. There’s not much else to say about Tory. She’s fine but doesn’t break the mold, push boundaries forward, or leave you thinking–which is precisely what the Leprechaun franchise does well, and I say that as a die-hard fan. Plus, it was Jennifer Anniston’s second-ever film role, so that’s cool. — Andrew Ward
Who do you want to win? Who do you think is the best final girl in horror history? Let us know on Twitter or Instagram @DreadCentral!
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