Written by: Maria Rocha, LMSW

Content warning: This article contains descriptions of violence including physical violence, stalking, and death. This article also contains spoilers for the films Halloween (1978), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Scream (1996).

“What’s your favorite scary movie?” A quintessential line from Scream (1996), this question is a popular one this time of year. October brings Halloween, haunted houses, and, yes, scary movie marathons. Horror movies come in many flavors from psychological, slashers, supernatural, and more. One of the most iconic tropes found in horror films is the Final Girl. In this article, we’ll explore the Final Girl trope, what she stands for, and what we can learn about ourselves through her.

Who is the Final Girl?

The Final Girl is a film trope first identified by Professor Carol J. Clover, a researcher in film history and theory. The Final Girl is the last-surviving protagonist in a horror movie. The antagonist (usually a masked serial killer) has killed her friends and loved ones and is poised to kill her as well. After a hard-fought battle, the Final Girl emerges victorious over the antagonist by skillfully eliminating him (usually by subduing him until authority figures arrive or killing him herself). In Clover’s words, the Final Girl “is intelligent, watchful, level-headed; the first character to sense something amiss and the only one to decide from the accumulating evidence the patterns and extent of the threat; the only one, in other words, whose perspective approaches our own privileged understanding of the situation” (Clover, 1987, p. 207). She is virtuous, strong, brave, smart, and unafraid to scream. Some examples of Final Girls are Laurie Strode from Halloween (1978), Nancy Thompson from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), and Sidney Prescott from Scream (1996).

From a Feminist Theory Lens

The Final Girl has some standard characteristics across films with some variations. She is intelligent, resourceful, and conventionally attractive. She is set apart from other girls because of her devout propriety. She stays away from drugs and alcohol, and she says no to sex. She is dedicated to her family and home and loyal almost to a fault. She is masculine, feminine, and a survivor. 

Feminist therapy is a psychotherapy theory and model that started in the 1960s alongside the second wave of feminism (Brown, 2018). It takes sex, gender, and race into account when looking at a person’s life. It recognizes that certain identities have historically been advantaged over others and takes interest in amplifying experiences that have been historically marginalized. 

Women have historically been encouraged to embrace domesticity, piety, and safety. Author Barbara Welter (1966) wrote about standards for middle-class nineteenth century American women, typically referred to as The Cult of True Womanhood. Women of this time were lauded for embodying four characteristics: “piety, purity, submissiveness and domesticity” (Welter, 1966, pp. 152). These values have extended past the nineteenth century and are still held by many today.

Let’s take a look at the Final Girl trope using feminist therapy as a lens. Final Girls are stereotypically young, white cisgender women. They face a male or male-coded figure that methodically isolates her from her friends and family. The slain victims often did not have our Final Girls’ same virtues. They snuck out, partied, and engaged in sexual behaviors. Because they were distracted by their own vices, the killer finds targets in them. The Final Girls ultimately engage in a battle for their lives and emerge as heroes. But as Clover writes, “crying, cowering, screaming, fainting, trembling, begging for mercy belong to the female. Abject terror, in short, is gendered feminine, and the more concerned a given film with that condition–and it is the essence of modern horror–the more likely the femaleness of the victim” (Clover, 1987, p. 212). In these films, anger is coded as strength which is subsequently coded as masculine. Fear is coded as weakness which is subsequently coded as feminine. Even the term Final Girl–girl–infantilizes the protagonist of these films and reduces her to a child’s title. 

What We Can Learn About Trauma from the Final Girl

Final Girls undergo extensive violence. They are stalked, harassed, mutilated, and nearly killed by their attackers. They witness the attacks and deaths of their friends. Their senses of safety and security are utterly shattered. How is a person supposed to go on after that?

Thanks to sequels, we see how the Final Girl has changed and copes after her ordeals. We see her face the same or a new antagonist and cheer her on. And again, the movie typically ends with her victory over evil again and again. But as pop culture scholar Morgan Podraza explains in her TED Talk What happens to the Final Girl after the movie ends? (2022), the interest typically stops when the credits roll. The Final Girl is “defined only through the trauma of her experiences” (Podraza, 2022). These are thrilling and beloved stories, but how do real-life survivors move forward after facing comparable traumas? 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2022) study, approximately 1 in 3 women in the United States will be stalked at a point in her life. The same study found that more than 47% of women in the United States reported contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lives (CDC, 2022). 

Violent exposure is traumatic. It is played up in these movies for shock value, but your trauma is not a source of entertainment for the masses. These fictional characters can offer a release and a vicarious experience for survivors to confront their traumas head-on. While we may not get extensive insights into what happens to the Final Girl after the movie ends, you get to see how your story continues. Unlike the Final Girl, you are not a trope defined and identified by traumatic events.

Edwardo Rodriguez, LCSW, a clinician at Deep Eddy Psychotherapy, reflected that people who have undergone traumatic experiences have had their trust and security deeply betrayed (E. Rodriguez, personal communication, October 25, 2024). When beginning a therapeutic alliance with trauma survivors, it is important to emphasize that they are safe and in control of the therapeutic process. The therapist is there to be a healing guide rather than an authoritative figure. After being wholly out of control in a situation, trauma survivors get to be in control of what therapy looks like for them. By recognizing that clients are the experts of their own stories and narratives, therapists can help build a safe and brave space. 

So What?

The point here is that these movies have a lot to offer. They are triggering for some and thrilling for others. The Final Girl trope is an inspiration to some and a fantasy to others. The trope is just that: a trope. It’s a common thread found in horror movies that represents challenges to gender identity and societal expectations. These movies encourage watchers to get curious about what they are afraid of, how they face their fears, and who is historically represented as a hero on the big screen.

So Can I Still Watch These Movies?

Watch away if you feel like it! Sidney Prescott is my own favorite Final Girl, and I enjoy watching the Scream movies every October. It’s exciting to watch Final Girls take down their villains. Whichever horror movie is next in your marathon, get curious about the Final Girl and how you fight your own antagonists.

Recap

• The Final Girl is a film trope that involves a lone surviving female protagonist at the end of horror movies. She is resourceful, smart, virtuous, and the one to take down the antagonist. 
• Audiences are historically entertained by the Final Girl because she toes the line between masculinity and femininity. Therapeutic models like feminist therapy are useful to analyze this character archetype (who she is, her motivations, her values, etc.). 
• The trope is confined to the violence the character experiences. Women in the U.S. face high levels of interpersonal violence. Systems like therapy and interpersonal support can help survivors address their traumas and learn to live with them.
• Horror movies are entertaining to some and upsetting to others. The Final Girl trope can be a rousing symbol to survivors of hope and resilience. Your sources of entertainment this Halloween are up to you!

Resources:
Brown, L. S. (2018). Introduction: Feminist therapy—Not for cisgender women only. In L. S. Brown, Feminist therapy (2nd ed., pp. 3–10). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-001

Carpenter, J. (Director). (1978). Halloween [Film]. Compass International Pictures, Falcon International Pictures.

Clover, C. J. (1987). Her body, himself: Gender in the slasher film. Representations, 20, 187–228. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928507

Craven, W. (Director). (1984). A nightmare on Elm Street [Film]. New Line Cinema, Media Home Entertainment, Smart Egg Pictures.

Craven, W. (Director). (1996). Scream [Film]. Woods Entertainment.

Podraza, M. (2022, December 27). What happens to the Final Girl after the movie ends? | Morgan Podraza | TEDxOhioStateUniversity. YouTube. Retrieved October 22, 2024, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI3-SCQv8T8 

Smith SG, Basile KC, & Kresnow M. (2022). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Stalking [4 MB, 32 Pages]. Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Welter, B. (1966). The cult of true womanhood: 1820-1860. American Quarterly, 18(2), 151–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2711179