I'm not a huge fan of slasher films, and their more contemporary cousin, torture porn horror movies (think Saw). Despite not loving the genre, I've seen most of the classic slasher films from the 1970s and 1980s. One of the tropes of slasher movies is the final girl. The term was coined by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. A final girl is the last girl standing in a horror film. She's usually the one who kills, or at least horribly maims, the villain and goes on to live forever in sequels. Or to die tragically in the second or third movie to make way for a younger version.
I recently read Grady Hendrix's novel The Final Girl Support Group and it got me thinking about the final girls. The book is not my favorite; I've also read The Southern Book Club's Guide to Vampire Slaying, which was pretty good. The final girl book had such promise, but it fell flat. Like the genre itself, it was incredibly misogynistic and lacked the real strength the final girls I like most. It also reiterated for me a very important thing: sometimes the final girl sucks.
Anyway, my favorite final girls are, in no particular order, Laurie Strode from Halloween, Sally from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Sue from Carrie, Ripley from Alien (she's considered a final girl), and Nancy from A Nightmare of Elm Street. Nancy's an interesting final girl; she's the nerdy one who after defeating Freddy in the first movie decides to become a dream psychologist so she could figure out how to defeat him once and for all (because there's always a sequel). She eventually sacrifices herself to save others, but her work helps those left defeat Freddy again. I based the main character of my short story, House of Peeps, on Nancy. When my main character, Margaret, confronts the killer in Return of the Peeps (Part 1 and Part 2), it's reminiscent of the final scene in the first Nightmare which inspired today's piece. Honestly, even if you're not facing down Freddy Krueger, I'd recommend using this as a mantra against people who steal your energy. They don't deserve you.
Who's your favorite final girl?
Details:
Stitches: back stitch, French knots
Thread paletted: DMC C3799 (2, 4 strands)
Recommendations: There are so many movies featuring final girls. I focused on my favorites. I also stopped watching slasher films after Scream 2 came out, so you'll have to look to someone else for more recent recommendations.
- Movies: Halloween, Friday the 13th (I only like the first two), A Nightmare on Elm Street (I prefer 1-4), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (the original is the best one), Carrie (technically, Sue is a final girl), Black Christmas (starring Olivia Hussey - yes, Juliet), Final Girls - there is a movie with a similar title that came out in the same that's terrible, so make sure you watch Final Girls
- Books: I don't have a ton of book recommendations for this one, but I will recommend Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The main character, Noemi, isn't technically a final girl, but she's pretty darn close. It's a fantastic novel.
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