A-Z of Horror: F is for Final Girls

An homage to the kick-ass women in books and cinema

There are some horror tropes that make you roll your eyes as soon as you see them, such as the car not starting or someone falling over when they are chased. Many are old and tired, but the final girl trope is one that we, in my humble opinion, need a whole lot more of. In my life, I am surrounded by strong, independent women, so it irritates me when females are reduced to shrinking violets waiting for a man to come and rescue them. Fuck that!! Let the strong ladies take control.

How Did the Final Girl Come About?

There will be some arguments about who the original final girl was, but for me, the definitive answer is Olivia Hussey’s character in Silent Night, Bloody Night in 1972. Yes, she predates Laure Strode in Halloween, and you could also say that Laurie was not necessarily a true FG, as she relied on some help from Dr. Loomis to escape Michael Myers.

That being said, though, the final girl trope has evolved over the years. Initially, it was often the brainy or virtuous girl who made it to the end, relying more on survival and escaping that taking charge of the situation. In my book, it was Ellen Ripley who changed all that in Alien. She didn’t just run and hide from the xenomorph, she challenged that bitch head on and won.

From that point forward, we tended to lean more into FG’s who were ready to fight back as opposed to running and hiding. THIS, for me, is exactly how they should be, and if they are a little flawed, too, all the better. Like all characters in books and movies, final girls should not fit a tidy little template that is the same every time.

How Final Girls Influenced My Writing?

As I mentioned earlier, I am surrounded by strong women, so they tend to play a role in how I create female characters in my stories. I can’t think of any of my books that don’t have at least one strong character, and I very often like to build everything else around fierce women. They sit at the center of my literary universe, and all the other characters are in orbit around them.

Books and Movie with a Final Girl Vibe

I have a couple of cool suggestions here, starting off with The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. This is a bit of a comedic take on the trope, but it also plays into it perfectly. As for a movie, I am going to go with Ready or Not, which I thought was great fun. Samara Weaving as a kick-ass blushing bride taking on an entire family was a blast. Now that I’ve said that, I need to immediately watch the sequel.

That’s it for this week. Next week, we will continue our journey through the horror alphabet with G is for Ghosts.