Final Girl Concept

The final girl concept was originally created by Carole Clover, writing about gender orientations in horror films. Her book was called Men, Women and chainsaws. She says that the Final girl is the last woman alive to confront the killer. She is usually virginal, avoiding the vices of victims. The final girl has sometimes shared history with the killer. During the final girls confrontation with the killer she becomes more masculanised and uses a weapon against the killer. Clover points out that the villain of slasher films is often a male whose masculinity, and sexuality more generally, are in crisis. Often has a unisex name, for example Billie

halloween

How Laurie Strode (Halloween, John Carpenter) defines the final girl archetype. The first signifier is her link to academia and how she is carrying books. Later on she tells her friends she has forgotten her textbook and they laugh at her even though its a big deal for her, this is a clear indication to her more moral attributes that make her the final girl. The clothes she is wearing is another signifier to her being the final girl. She is wearing very unglamerous clothing and nothing remotely sexy and quite old fashioned. Her hair colour is brunette which is a convention that applies to a lot of final girls, unlike the majority of scream queens that are brunette. Laurie Strode also doesn't have a boyfriend which refers back to Clover's concept of the final girl being a virginal character. She seems a responsible character unlike her friends that become scream queens. When with her friends they smoke where as she doesn't and her clothes are considerably duller.

halloween

The Final girl Sidney Prescot from Scream (wes craven). She is signified as a final girl be her having brunette hair and she is wearing a long night gown which is old fashioned and quite childish to wear. Also, the first time we see her she is doing her homework so like in Halloween she seems to be quite academic. Her bedroom is also very childish with a lot of floral and framed pictures which you wouldn't expect to see on a teenagers wall. She also comes across as a virginal character when her boyfriend climbs through her window. ' I wouldn't dream of breaking your underwear rule' said by her boyfriend.