Making the Cut: Ranking Final Girls
Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) battles it out with other female horror icons in our final girl rankings.
It’s hard to be a final girl. You’ve gotta best the bad guy (or give it your best shot), survive your encounter, and keep your cool under some truly awful situations. Hardest of all, they have to win over the audience, who is watching horror movies to see kills.
And if they can do all that, and the movie is a success, they’ll likely get thrown into the same situation in a whole host of sequels so they can do it all over again. While killers like Michael Myers or Jason end up being the faces of the franchise, they’d be nothing without a strong woman willing to stand up to their nonsense.
These fifteen women have left an indelible mark on the final girl title and it’s time we give them a little attention without making them flee a deadly menace.
NOTE: WE’RE DISCUSSING THE ENDS OF MOVIES AS WE LOOK AT THE FINAL GIRL ARCS, SO IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN UNSPOILED, SKIP THIS LIST.
15. Sally Hardesty, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Poor Sally (Marilyn Burns), she just wanted to make sure her grandfather’s grave was desecrated! But the best of intentions leads her into a den of psychopaths, including Leatherface and his chainsaw. Though she’s got a creepy corpse-looking guy sucking blood out of her finger and a behemoth wielding a chainsaw menacing her, Sally stays focused on escape.
So why is Sally ranked so low? Two reasons. First, Sally doesn’t make much of an impression throughout most of the film. Most people only really remember poor Sally when she’s laughing hysterically while leaving Leatherface in the dust. Second, most of Sally’s escape plans hinge on dumb luck. Yes, she makes the most out of the mistakes of her unhinged captors, but she doesn’t so much have a plan as a good reaction instinct.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre is rated R and available on Showtime, Tubi, AMC+, or Freevee.
14. Ginny Field, Friday the 13th – Part II (1981)
Ginny (Amy Steel) uses her brain to battle one of the most fearsome killers in horror history. Applying her child psychology background to the mind of Jason Voorhees might seem like an exercise in futility, but it works! Amy’s ability to empathize enables her to see that what Jason needs most in the world is a mom.
Donning Pamela Voorhees’ white sweater, Ginny impersonates Jason’s mom to pacify the beast. And when the spell breaks, well, she’s not above a good machete chop to the neck. But while Ginny makes a few smart choices, she’s a rather underutilized part of the Friday the 13th franchise, which is a shame, because Jason could really use some therapy.
Friday the 13th – Part II is rated R and available on AMC+ and Philo.
13. Jess Bradford, Black Christmas (1974)
Arguably the template for the final girl that John Carpenter used for Halloween, Jess (Olivia Hussey) is a self-possessed modern woman. She tells her boyfriend she won’t be forced to have his baby, she turns down his proposal because it’s not what she wants, and she tries to work with the police to solve the strange goings on in her sorority house.
Most importantly, Jess is an incredibly brave woman. When the police tell her to flee the sorority house because the killer is inside it, she refuses, because her friends are still in the house. She swallows her fear and sets out to save her friends.
Unfortunately for Jess, her bravery doesn’t do much to save her, and her fate is left ambiguous by director Bob Clark (yes, the dude who directed A Christmas Story). Her possibly fatal flaw? She has way too much confidence in a ludicrously incompetent police department. That’s how she ends up sedated and alone in a house with a murderer as the credits roll. Remember kids, if the police tell you they caught the killer and you’re clear to stay in the murder house alone — DO NOT LISTEN.
Black Christmas is unrated and available on Plex, Pecaock, Fawsome.tv, The Roku Channel, Xumo, Crackle, and Tubi TV.
12. Kate Fuller, From Dusk Til Dawn (1996)
Kate’s (Juliette Lewis) entire world is upended in 24 hours. While mourning the death of her mother with her brother and preacher father, the entire family is taken hostage by the fugitive Gecko brothers. And while, sure, one’s George Clooney, the other, Richie (Quentin Tarantino), is a violent sexual deviant who is a constant threat to her person.
But Richie is the least of Kate’s problems. It turns out that the strip club rendezvous the Gecko Brothers drag the family to is actually the feeding grounds for an army of vampires. Kate goes from frightened kid to practical warrior in the course of one evening, effectively killing vampires and even her own family members when they’re bitten.
Bloody and triumphant at the end of the movie, Kate’s won the respect of her cohorts and becomes a strong woman. Plus, she shoots her shot with George Clooney, and I think we can all respect that.
From Dusk Till Dawn is rated R and available to rent/buy on your favorite VOD service.
11. Brianna Cartwright, Candyman (2021)
Brianna (Teyonah Parris) is an incredibly together lady. She’s got a good job, she’s smart, and she’s got a solid relationship — or so she thinks. When her boyfriend suggests summoning the Candyman via a mirror ritual, Brianna has the good sense to say no. But when that same boyfriend begins exhibiting some truly frightening behaviors, Brianna believes she can help him.
Ultimately, it’s Brianna’s quick thinking that saves her, not just from the Candyman, but the corrupt police department. By figuring out how to wield the power of Candyman to take out a blight on the community, Brianna transcends final girl territory and becomes a vigilante hero.
Candyman is rated R and is available on Prime or Paramount+.
10. Nancy Thompson, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) definitely has the best hair of any of the scream queens, but her gorgeous mane is the least of her assets. Smart, brave, and pretty resourceful, Nancy takes on a serial killer in the real world and in her dreams. She utilizes everything she can — from caffeine to alarm clocks — to keep Freddy Krueger at bay so she can figure out how to defeat him.
Not only does she manage to beat the snot out of a serial killing dream ghost with Home Alone-style traps, but Nancy also figures out Freddy’s true weakness: He needs attention to thrive. So Nancy ignores him and fells the beast by refusing to engage.
Still, Nancy’s character is assassinated a bit when she returns to fight Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, but luckily Langenkamp gets to take back her final girl title in the meta flick Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is rated R and available on HBOMax.
9. Tree Gelbman, Happy Death Day (2017)
What makes Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) so unique is that she dies — like, a lot. Arguably Tree dies more than Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees combined. And like those killers, she keeps coming back.
Tree is trapped in a horror movie, and every time she’s murdered, her day starts over. And while Tree may seem like one of the throw-away sorority sister kills in an 80s slasher film, she’s got more grit than that. Determined not to die, Tree works to figure out who wants her dead, and isn’t above killing someone she thinks is out to get her.
But beyond being plucky and pretty much unkillable, Tree grows. As she solves the mystery of who keeps killing her, she also looks at herself as a person and makes some changes. By the sequel, she’s still stuck in a time loop, but she’s a much better person.
Happy Death Day is rated PG-13 and is available on Xumo.
8. Grace Le Domas, Ready or Not (2019)
Former foster kid Grace (Samara Weaving) has dreamed for years of being part of a family. Which is why she’s willing to accept her new husband’s family despite their quirks. The family thinks she’s only marrying into the Le Domas clan for their money, but it hardly matters, they have a game to play.
Grace, being an excellent sport, agrees to the game, only to end up in a hellish game of hide-and-seek with her heavily armed in-laws. Sometimes, being single really is better.
Grace makes the top 10 of the final girls because though she starts out sweet and vulnerable, she realizes what’s happening quickly and acts. She may want to fit in, but she’s not about to allow some snotty rich family to hunt her for sport. In a filthy wedding dress with blood streaming down her face, Grace turns out to be a formidable woman and one that could spell doom for the spoiled and rude Le Domas family.
Ready or Not is rated R and available to rent/buy from your favorite VOD service.
7. Erin, You’re Next (2011)
Meeting your significant other’s family is a real bloodsport on this list. Erin (Sharni Vinson) wants to make a good impression on her boyfriend Crispin’s family. She’s sweet and helpful, trying to make sure everyone gets along.
But then a group of men in animal masks break into the house and start killing people. Gone is the sweet little Erin who wants to make a good impression, instead Erin will settle for leaving an impression on the skulls of the men attacking the family.
Erin grew up in a survivalist cult, and she’s got a few surprises for these would-be killers. Vicious, unmerciful, and totally badass, Erin is the sort of final girl every masked killer fears. It’s not that she’ll give you a good fight. She’ll hunt you down, and she’ll win. She was only in one movie for a reason, no one else would dare fight her.
You’re Next is rated R and available on Peacock.
6. Sarah Connor, The Terminator (1984)
Yes, I know The Terminator is technically listed as science fiction, and no, I don’t care. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) spends three movies (no I’m not counting Salvation or the one Daenerys Targaryen did) being chased by an unstoppable monster, she’s earned the title of final girl.
And she earns it the hard way. Sarah starts out as a naïve, slightly ditzy waitress and becomes a super soldier all to protect the future and her son. She loses the love of her life, she gets stabbed and pummeled, but no matter what, Sarah will complete her mission. She’s like the terminator in that sense, utterly relentless in her quest to fight for humanity.
And while the franchise itself should probably be terminated at this point, Sarah remains an icon of strength and resilience.
The Terminator is rated R and available on AMC+, Philo, or Showtime.
5. Laurie Strode, Halloween (1978)
Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) just wanted to carve some damn pumpkins and be left alone. Everybody’s favorite babysitter wasn’t seeking greatness, it was just thrust upon her when she encountered Michael Myers on Halloween night. And she’s been surviving him ever since (we don’t talk about Halloween: Resurrection).
And while Laurie has always been a tough, inventive foil for Michael Myers, there’s one thing she just can’t seem to overcome: Trash writing in all of the sequels. Really, Halloween is lucky that Jamie Lee Curtis hasn’t sprained something carrying seven of these films. And while Curtis is reliably charming in each film, the latest trilogy might have tainted Laurie’s legacy a bit.
No one needed her to write a memoir like Carrie Bradshaw…
Halloween is rated R and is available Fawsome.tv, AMC+, Shudder, and Philo.
4. Jeryline, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995)
When we first meet Jeryline (Jada Pinkett Smith) she’s a convict on work release, complaining about having to scrub a stove. Twenty-four hours later, she’s a warrior for god, sworn to protect a key from demons. It’s one hell of a shift, but Jeryline deals with it well.
Tough, funny, and just, Jeryline is the ideal final girl. That cleverness comes into play as she outthinks demon Billy Zane several times while he tries to kill her and the other people trapped in a roadhouse with her. When she emerges from the ordeal, she’s not necessarily tougher or wiser — it’s just that she can now channel all of that into a greater purpose.
Also, the woman can resist Billy Zane, so clearly she’s got superhuman strength.
Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight is rated R and available to rent/buy on your favorite VOD service.
3. Sidney Prescott, Scream (1996)
Much like Sarah Connor, Sidney (Neve Campbell) goes on quite a journey. From sweet high school girl mourning her mother’s murder to badass final girl, Sidney gets tougher and smarter with each film. One of the few final girls to keep improving no matter what situation she’s in, Sidney goes from defenseless and screaming to trained in self-defense, gun certified, and whip-smart heroine.
You’re going to have to do better than asking her what her favorite scary movie is.
The other appealing thing about Sidney is she doesn’t let her penchant for attracting murderers rule her life. After Scream 3, Sidney decides that the worst thing she can do is allow the people who stalk her to win. So she gets herself a life. Now, she’s got a husband and kids, and she’ll still kill anyone wearing the Ghostface mask. It’s the ultimate triumph: Not letting fear (or masked killers) dictate her life.
Scream is rated R and available on Paramount+.
2. Naru, Prey (2022)
Comanche woman Naru (Amber Midthunder) is trained as a healer. Though she’s talented at healing, Naru has always dreamed of following in her father and brother’s footsteps to become a great hunter. She’s about to get her chance. When an alien race sets down in the Great Planes looking for sport, Naru must fight for survival.
But the Predator isn’t the only thing Naru has to worry about. White men have been encroaching on Comanche land. She’ll have to fight a two-sided battle if she wants to prove herself and save her tribe.
Not only is Naru an amazing warrior, but she’s also a cinematic outlier. She’s a character introduced in a franchise sequel (or prequel, if we’re getting technical) who not only saves herself but the franchise. When was the last time anyone was excited about a Predator movie?
Now, we have a new final girl, and a whole new world to explore, and critics and fans are thrilled about it. Hopefully, Naru manages to find her way into Prey’s sequel, to further impress the Predators with her fighting skills. And hey, if Arnold wants to make a time-traveling cameo, that could be fun too.
Prey is rated R and available on Hulu.
1. Ellen Ripley, Alien (1979)
The tragedy of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is that if everyone would just listen to her, there wouldn’t be any movies. In the first Alien, if they’d listened to her about quarantine protocol, they’d have gotten off that rock down a man, but alive and ready to salvage another day. In Aliens, she tells the corporation exaction what’s going to happen, and damned if they shouldn’t have just nuked it from orbit as she’d said.
Like Cassandra, it’s Ripley’s fate to be right, and have absolutely everyone ignore her.
Ripley, however, isn’t going to stand for that. In every movie she’s in, Ripley chooses to fight. She’s smart, she’s an excellent decision-maker under pressure, and she loves cats and children — what’s not to love? And like Sidney Prescott, Ripley is always learning, honing herself for the next fight. She’s not content to let Colonial Marines fight for her, she wants to know how the pulse rifle works, and show her that grenade launcher while you’re at it.
Ripley is an icon for a reason. She’s the ultimate survivor and the ultimate argument that listening to women, especially when they’re experts in their field, will save time and lives.
Alien is rated R and available on Starz.
