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4[[quoteright:350:[[Film/Halloween1978 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/imageedit_9_8206668253.jpg]]]]
5[-[[caption-width-right:350: [[CaptainObvious No points for guessing which one survives]].]]-]
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9
10->'''Benny:''' But I still want to know what happens!\
11'''Buffy:''' Everyone gets horribly killed except the blonde girl in the nightie who finally kills the monster with a machete but it's not really dead.\
12'''Jennifer:''' Oh my God. Is that true?\
13'''Buffy:''' Probably. What movie is this?
14-->-- [[ExecutiveMeddling Cut dialogue]] from ''Film/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
15
16The simplest definition of this is "[[DwindlingParty the last character]] [[SoleSurvivor left alive]] to confront the killer" in a SlasherMovie. The character in question tends to follow a certain set of characteristics. The most obvious one is being (almost) AlwaysFemale (MenAreTheExpendableGender after all). Especially in older works, she'll also [[TokenWholesome almost certainly be a virgin]], remain fully clothed, avoid sex (because SexSignalsDeath), and probably won't [[TheScourgeOfGod drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or take drugs]], either. Finally, she'll probably turn out to be more intelligent and resourceful than the other victims, occasionally even [[ActionSurvivor evolving into]] a type of ActionGirl by the movie's end. Looking at the SortingAlgorithmOfMortality, you could say that the Final Girl is a combination of TheHero, TheCutie, and the DamselInDistress -- which obviously gives her a very low deadness score. The Final Girl is usually but not always brunette, often in contrast to a [[SlashersPreferBlondes promiscuous blonde who traditionally gets killed off]].
17
18The term was coined by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book ''Men, Women, And Chain Saws: Gender In The Modern Horror Film'', a critical examination of slasher movies.
19
20The character is ultimately the last one left to tell the story. If the Final Girl appears in a sequel to the movie she survived, there is a very high chance that she will fall victim to SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome.
21
22It's also interesting to note how the Final Girl can be interpreted in film theory. On one hand, the character seems to be the living embodiment of stereotypical conservative attitudes of what women "should be". On the other, feminists have noticed that through this device, the males in the audience are forced to identify with a woman in the climax of the movie. In practical terms, the makers of a horror film want the victim to experience abject terror in the climax, and feel that viewers would reject a film that showed [[MenAreTheExpendableGender a man experiencing such abject terror]].
23
24This trope has seen a growing number of subversions, aversions, and parodies in recent years, which suggests it may be slowly weakening. Then again, the ActionSurvivor's replacing the ActionHero points in an interesting direction.
25
26Thank God for MonsterThreatExpiration.
27
28Often overlaps with TokenWholesome. Compare and contrast KillTheCutie and MenAreTheExpendableGender. Has nothing to do with LastGirlWins, which is about romantic pairings. A villainous (and [[SpearCounterpart usually male]]) variant might show up as part of a MookHorrorShow.
29
30!!As this is both a {{Death Trope|s}} and an {{Ending Trope|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
31----
32!Examples:
33[[index]]
34* FinalGirl/LiveActionFilms
35** [[FinalGirl/LiveActionFilmsSubversionsAversionsAndParodies Subversions, aversions, and parodies]]
36* FinalGirl/LiveActionTV
37** ''FinalGirl/AmericanHorrorStory''
38* FinalGirl/VideoGames
39[[/index]]
40
41!!Straight Examples:
42
43[[foldercontrol]]
44
45[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
46* Kaori Tanaka, though not inherently a main character, ends up the most prominent female survivor of ''Literature/{{Shiki}}''. She survives her final confrontation and subsequently safe from any danger, as she's shown to escape in the end.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Comic Books]]
50* The comic book ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' stars a former Final Girl who becomes a slasher-hunter. She gradually meets up with other (mostly female) slasher survivors, ultimately assembled in the finale story arc as the All-Final Girl Team.
51[[/folder]]
52
53[[folder: Fairy Tales]]
54* Literature/LittleRedRidingHood, who (at least in versions where she isn't rescued by a conveniently placed male) either ends up the killer's final victim or fights him off herself.
55* Gretel from ''Literature/HanselAndGretel'' (which is likely the template for ''Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre''), who not only survives but saves her brother from the killer as well.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
59* Played out in ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'' (1997), in which the evil UsefulNotes/{{Rasputin|TheMadMonk}} curses the Romanov family whom he feels betrayed him and aids in a revolt that ultimately kills the entire family ''except'' Anastasia, who manages to escape with her life but is now an amnesiac who calls herself 'Anya'. Once he finds out that Anastasia is alive, Rasputin vows to kill the last Romanov to fulfill his dark purpose.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Literature]]
63* ''Literature/{{Clown in a Cornfield}}'': Downplayed; Quinn is the main character and has all of the hallmarks including GenderBlenderName. After she [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]], she manages to survive and kill multiple Frendos, but [[PapaWolf her father]] and [[TheNotLoveInterest both of the leading men]] surive. Though, [[PreserveYourGays Cole]] only survives because of [[BigDamnHeroes her efforts]].
64* ''Literature/{{Devolution}}'': The protagonist Kate Holland is one of only two survivors in the community of Greenloop, the other being [[ImprobableInfantSurvival the little girl Palomino]]. While she is initially naïve and conflict-averse, she [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] and is the most virtuous member of her group. She and Palomino ''may'' have died shortly afterwards, but [[BolivianArmyEnding it's left ambiguous]].
65[[/folder]]
66
67[[folder:Music]]
68* Music/RedHook:
69** "Low Budget Horror" has the singer compare herself to a Final Girl and an [[InternetJerk online bully]] to the villain of a bad horror movie.
70** "Cure 4 Psycho" namedrops a famous Final Girl:
71--->[[Film/{{Scream}} Sidney Prescott]], bitch, I'm in this for the sequel!
72** And then, "Scream 2" is a SequelSong to "Cure 4 Psycho", as the Youtube description states:
73--> Scream 2 is the next chapter in a painfully relatable horror story for anyone who has survived narcissistic abuse. It's about the aftermath of escaping the narcissist. Once you remove their power, they may continue trying to hurt you by whatever means remain available to them: vindictive mind games, smear campaigns, sending flying monkeys to do their bidding, weaponising your trauma against you. This is a song about refusing to let them draw more blood. And, unlike the ''Film/Scream2'' movie franchise, there will be no further sequels. This ends here!
74* Music/{{CHVRCHES}} has the song “Final Girl,” in which singer Lauren Mayberry assumes the titular role.
75* The video for Music/DemiLovato's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO4mFC1OIBg "Still Alive",]] released as part of the soundtrack to ''Film/ScreamVI'', has her and her friends attending a film screening that gets attacked by [[Film/{{Scream}} Ghostface]], who kills them one by one until Demi defeats him as the lone survivor. It ends with the reveal that the whole thing was actually the movie they were watching.
76[[/folder]]
77
78[[folder:Roleplay]]
79* A JournalRoleplay called ''[[http://program68.livejournal.com/ Battle Experiment Program N]]'' threw characters from various series into a ''Literature/BattleRoyale''-style program. The first group included characters like [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch]], [[ComicBook/SpiderMan Peter Parker]], Series/{{House}}, ComicBook/JohnnyTheHomicidalManiac, [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma]], Series/{{Dexter}} and [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Verbal Kint]]. The last one standing from the main group at the end of the plot? Ichigo from ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy''.
80[[/folder]]
81
82[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
83* Fully embraced by ''TabletopGame/FinalGirl'', a horror-themed card game for one where the player take the role of the, um... final girl. She tries to survive by destroying the killer responsible for all of the mayhem while rescuing as many potential victims as possible. Each individual set is a tribute to classic slasher and horror films, with titles like ''[[Franchise/FridayThe13th Happy Trails Horror]]'', ''[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet Frightmare on Maple Lane]]'', ''[[Film/Poltergeist1982 The Haunting of Creech Manor]]'' and others, and runs heavy with other HorrorTropes to boot.
84[[/folder]]
85
86!!Subversions, aversions, and parodies
87
88[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
89* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool'': Chronologically, Soshun Murasame is a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion. We see that he's the most plain-looking of the Student Council, the one who believes in his friends' ability to not cave in to murder, and he never kills anyone during the Tragedy, nor is he targeted. Perfect example of a Final Boy... until he gets extreme PTSD, fakes catatonia, and gets choked out by one of the Tragedy's perpetrators once they find out [[HeKnowsTooMuch he still remembers]] in [[Literature/DanganronpaZero the very book he debuts in]].
90* Exploited, subverted, and averted by the oneshot manga ''Manga/FinalGirl2019'', where the protagonist (who had just read a list of common horror movie tropes) wakes up inside the body of Summer, the "[[ReallyGetsAround slutty]] [[SlashersPreferBlondes blonde girl]]" who usually dies first. Summer is GenreSavvy, and sticks close by Lucy -- the sweet, demure university student [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy with no notable character traits]] and designated [[TitleDrop final girl]] -- avoiding common tropes like going to the CreepyBasement alone, SexSignalsDeath, showering alone, and being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice on exposed nails. In the end, both she and Lucy survive (and possibly the guys in the group too).
91* As of the final page of ''Manga/{{Gyo}}'', both the protagonist's girlfriend and his uncle's assistant both died (girlfriend) and are likely to die later on if not already dead (assistant).
92* {{Parodied|Trope}} in an episode of ''Manga/StrikeWitches''. An ancient fertility idol is found that creates a ZombieApocalypse that results in its victims' boobs growing to enormous size. NiceGirl Lynette Bishop ends up being the final girl and destroys the idol with her Anti-Tank Rifle.
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Comic Books]]
96* In one ''ComicBook/SurvivalGeeks'' arc, the Geeks end up in a {{slasher|film}} universe. Sam and Clive are rescued by a group of Final Girls, who call themselves the Final Girls... but they want to cast Sam and Clive as the slut and the nerd to lure out the killers. The heroes turn their traps back on them, and Sam explains at length how the slut-shaming inherent in the standard Final Girl formula ''really'' isn't feminist.
97[[/folder]]
98
99[[folder:Literature]]
100* In Creator/AgathaChristie's ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'', Vera Claythorne is the last survivor on the island, only to hang herself. Furthermore, she wasn't exactly the ''last'' person left, she (and the reader) only ''thinks'' she is.
101** Also subverted in that Vera, unlike the traditional goody-goody Final Girl, is guilty of murder herself, like everyone else on Soldier Island. However, Vera knowingly killed a ''child'', and she did so for selfish reasons to boot.
102** Played straighter in a number of theatrical and film adaptations, although there's usually another survivor too.
103* Discussed and deconstructed in the novel ''Literature/FinalGirls'' by Riley Sager. The main character, Quincy, and two other girls -- the sole survivors of three separate slasher-film-style massacres -- are dubbed "the Final Girls" by the media, and much of the book deals with Quincy struggling to cope with the physical and mental scars of being a sole survivor.
104* The Final Girls of the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' spin-off books ''Church of the Divine Psychopath'' and ''Carnival of Maniacs'' are also TheLadette.
105* Used as a theme in Jane Mendelsohn's MindScrew novel ''Innocence,'' with the main character seeing herself as the Final Girl in her own horror story. She does kill the villain - that is, her stepmother.
106* Creator/GradyHendrix's ''Literature/TheFinalGirlSupportGroup'' follows a group of women who survived killing sprees in the '80s and '90s, with most of them being parodies of specific final girls. As the title suggests, they're all going through therapy, with the novel delving into the impact of surviving multiple massacres in detail, including physical injuries, psychological scars, and unhealthy coping mechanisms. The fact that, in this universe, their ordeals became the BasedOnATrueStory source material for the great slasher movies of that time period is also explored, with many of them witnessing how their tragedies were exploited by an entertainment industry that dredged up their trauma.
107[[/folder]]
108
109[[folder:Music]]
110* "Final Girl" by Graveyard Guy is an IntercourseWithYou song about a killer and Final Girl, with the twist being that the Final Girl is just as dangerous and sadistic as the killer.
111[[/folder]]
112
113[[folder:Podcasts]]
114* Stacey from the ''Podcast/CoolKidsTable'' game ''Creepy Town'' fits almost all of the usual Final Girl requirements: she's a pretty blonde, and while she does have a history of sleeping with a lot of people she doesn't get any action in the game itself. However, she ends up being the penultimate victim, which leaves spoiled rich kid Will as the last named character. [[EverybodyDiesEnding And then Will dies at the end as well]], leaving no cast members alive.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
118* "The Fallen Flower" Kikyo thought she would be the one to end Zack Monstar's reign as RPW Top Crown Champion because "[[DiscussedTrope the female always beats the monster in the movie]]" and she had challenged him for the belt on the final REAL Pro Wrestling show of 2017. [[WrongGenreSavvy Unfortunately for her]], in RPW the towering Monstar was the baby {{face}}, Kikyo had not learned much from her loss to Women's Champion Roxy Rouge three months earlier and Chico Adams had all but ensured he would be Monstar's last challenger.[[/folder]]
119
120[[folder:Web Videos]]
121* WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd ended up being the last one to confront Freddy in his ''Videogame/ANightmareOnElmStreetNES'' review after his clones died in various ways. Instead of having the usual Final Girl traits, the one thing he had that his clones didn't was a Power Glove!
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Western Animation]]
125* A non-fatal example in the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "[[Recap/CodenameKidsNextDoorS3E8BOperationLOCKDOWN Operation: L.O.C.K.D.O.W.N.]]". During a lockdown of the Sector V Treehouse, Numbuh Five is the only operative left when her teammates are transformed into [[ComedicSpanking Spank-Happy]] [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]]. She is about to be spanked by her vampirified teammates when she is caught using the Quadruple Emergency Bypass Code, [[CueTheSun but the sun comes out in time]] and [[WeakenedByTheLight stops the vampires]].
126* A parody in ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' where ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' meets [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]]. Velma complains that she is the final girl due to the stereotype that the virgin is always the last to die.
127-->'''Velma:''' The virgins are always the last to die. God my life sucks.
128* The ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' episode "Fear Itself" had a similar premise, with a monster stalking Titan Tower and picking off the Titans one by one, using a method similar to killers used in slasher movies. Raven was the last one left because the "monster" was her own powers acting on her repressed fear - after the team had watched a scary movie, no less. Ironically, this would not only make her the Final Girl in this scenario, but technically, the antagonist as well.
129* In the episode "Failsafe" of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'', M'gann is the last of ''all the heroes'' in their battle against the invading aliens. Turns out she had to be the last one, as she was the one subconsciously controlling the YourMindMakesItReal simulation that [[GoneHorriblyWrong Went Horribly Wrong]]. Once she is 'killed', everyone awakens.
130[[/folder]]

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