The Final Girl Theory

The Final Girl

The Final girl refers to the last female character in a slasher film, who usually confronts the killer. The final girl tends to be the one who tells the story or it is seen through her eyes. 

The Final Girl is usually presented as intelligent and very aware compared to the people around her. She usually is young, with pretty features and sometimes can be confused with being the damsel in distress. The Final Girl is always very brave and is likely to be the last character alive or the only character who stays alive.

Women in films are usually portrayed as weak and timid characters. Women in films are always tended to be sexualised. Always being the ones who are saved by the man. The Final Girl Theory goes against this stereotype. The Final Girl tends to be a strong, independent female who is likely to be sexually unavailable.

This theory came from Carol Clovers book "Men, Women and Chainsaws". She states that the final girl is the "investigating consciousness" of the film. She moves the narrative forward. According to Clover, the final girl may usually have a unisex name like "Billie" or "Sydney". They sometimes have a direct connection to the killer, for example, in Halloween, the final girl who is Laurie Strode is actually the sister to Michael Myers.