The 10 Best Final Girls In Horror Movies

4. Sidney Prescott – The “Scream” Series
By the time Sidney first picks up her phone to hear that cackly, sardonic prank call from Hell, you can tell that something’s different. Rather than immediately fall for the trap or begin the understandable hyperventilation, she questions it. She, at first, thinks it’s her Mr. Movie: Horror Edition pal Randy. Though, she slowly learns, no, it’s Ghostface, and her troubled days are here again. Though, it’s the way she continues to answer this spine-chilling speaker on the other line. It’s not with fear; it’s with ferociousness. The “Scream” series was never going to have a typical final girl, and Sydney is no typical final girl. She’s strong-willed, a bit innocent but never naive, empathetic-but-guarded, perhaps even dangerously headstrong, like in the case of, as we later know, falsely accusing someone of her mother’s murder. As “Scream” hacks away at the tired tropes that nearly put the horror genre six feet under, it must establish a universe where Randy’s rules for surviving a horror film mean about as much as dignity in the face of devastation to a crowd of rowdy high school jocks. It’s a film that was made to disrupt, to critique, to lampoon, but also to honor and aspire to, its genre. Neve Campbell, in her finest role to date, gives Sidney an ironclad backbone to lean back on, which, outside of her intelligence and good character, allows her to survive four different encounters with the masked murderer (and the perils of gotcha journalism). Her family story (a further homage to Laurie Strode, the base for Prescott, and her Myers Family Reunion) frames a series devoted to pointing out the stupidity of family stories, a stroke of genius for Kevin Williamson’s now-legendary scripts (save “Scream 3,” which, you know, tries). Through bad and ill-fated boyfriends and good friends and the never-ending string of slashers, Prescott doubles down and gives this meta-series both a final girl that pushes against the hackneyed helpless heroines of yesteryear and honors the ones who always fought back. She might not ever escape the grasp of a deranged family member who wishes her dead, but she’s always ready to look the Ghostface in the eye and make sure she’s there for the sequel. – Cory Woodroof

3. Lana Winters – “American Horror Story: Asylum”
Ryan Murphy absolutely owes me money for everything he did to his lesbian protagonist in the sophomore season of “American Horror Story,” but damn if Sarah Paulson doesn’t play this role like an absolute motherfucker. Mired in the homophobic hell known as 1960s New England, Lana is a determined reporter who puts her life on the line to uncover the suspicious goings-on at Briarcliff Mental Institution. Unfortunately, Lana becomes a patient herself and is subjected to some of the most horrifying, misogynistic, homophobic torture scenes ever committed to the small screen. Psychiatrist Dr. Oliver Thredson (Zachary Quinto) murders Lana’s lover (Clea Duvall!!!), kidnaps her, and tries to “fix” her sexuality through rape and conversion therapy. Despite all these horrors, Lana ends up on top by the end of the series, resulting in the most satisfying middle finger delivery I’ve ever seen. Maybe she ranks so high on this list because she’s an incredible survivor; maybe it’s because I think Sarah Paulson is somewhat of a final girl IRL for working with Ryan Murphy so much. Either way, here’s to you, Lana. –LW

2. Laurie Strode – All the “Halloween” films
It’s hard to pinpoint the most important film to any genre, let alone one as varied as horror, but it’s not hard to make a case for John Carpenter’s “Halloween” as the defining horror film. “Halloween” was the origin of dozens of tropes that have become indispensable to the genre as a whole, from Carpenter’s use of POV to the concept of the unstoppable killer. The most important of these, though, may be the establishment of the final girl trope, thanks to a phenomenal performance by Scream Queen icon Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode. Over the course of five films (three of which have been excised from the canon by David Gordon Green’s latest entry), Curtis has built one of the most compelling character arcs in film history, developing Laurie from a frightened babysitter to a stone-cold killer ready to fight back against Michael in any way possible. If the $77 million opening of the new “Halloween” is any indication, Laurie is as popular and as necessary to the zeitgeist as she was forty years ago. Though there have been a few characters that have taken Laurie’s example and surpassed it (she is only number two on this list, after all), Curtis’ performance throughout the “Halloween” series has cemented her final girl legacy. – JN

1. Ellen Ripley – The “Alien” Series
Ellen Ripley wasn’t supposed to be the hero of “Alien.” After all, she was just an engineer on the Nostromo, off on an exploration mission. In space, though, no one can hear you scream, or jump into a role of final girl. As soon as that dastardly Xenomorph pops out of poor John Hurt and begins to pick off the Nostromo crew members one by one, Ripley is revealed to be the most cool-headed, tenacious and ready to survive the space night. In “Aliens” she not only takes on the Alien Queen and all of her awful offspring but corporate malfeasance on the side of Weyland-Yutani. In the other “Alien” movies, she takes on Aliens on a ravaged penal colony and Aliens while being a clone of dead herself. Poor Ripley’s been through it with these acid-drooling, double-mouthed killing machines, but she’s always able to come out on top. Sigourney Weaver entered the Horror Hall of Fame with her portrayal of courage under fearful fire, becoming an iconic figure to take on the bump in the night with as much fierce determination and intellectual prowess as any in horror history. Ridley Scott did a fantastic job in the original in allowing the film slowly zero in on its eventual hero and showing her strengths, and James Cameron did an equally-fantastic job of turning Ripley into an unwitting survivor to a full-blown action movie badass, ready for a bug hunt at any moment. Ripley’s got a nobility to her that makes her stand out amongst her peers, and she’s not immune to nightmares about the creatures and in letting folks know full-well the dangers that lie ahead. She’s so powerful because she’s so human and gives us all shades of her character to latch onto. Ripley’s the best of us, and it’s why she’s the ultimate finals girl. She’s the one you’d want to lead you to another morning in the face of the Alien and all of its dangers. – CW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq6u3eA0KZg