Final Girls

SARAH'S BIRTHDAY EPISODE! New girl Sarah Bailey is giving peak 90s witchcore. But once she finds her coven, things go from light-as-a-feather to dark-as-hell. This week on Final Girls , we revisit the iconic teen witch masterpiece that made every girl want to call the corners. Spoiler Warning: There’s magic in these spoilers—handle with care. Visit us at www.final-girls.com

Undercover cop Judith Gray walks into a poorly planned illegal arms sting in Demonic Toys (1992) and ends up trapped in a possessed toy warehouse with a demon fetus and a bunch of pint-sized murder machines. This week, we salute the bonkers brilliance of Demonic Toys and the sadly ineffective badassery of our Final Girl, who fights her way through it with a gun in one hand and a grudge in the othe...

It’s all fun and games until the bodies start dropping. Sophie and Bee walk into a hurricane party in Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) and end up in a full-blown bloodbath. This week, we break down their Final Girl stories and the messy, brilliant satire of A24’s Gen Z slashe cell phone lighting and all. Spoiler Warning: Someone turned the lights out and the Wi-Fi’s down, so listen at your own risk. If...

Mia Farrow’s iconic Rosemary Woodhouse Iin Rosemary’s Baby (1968), doesn’t scream, slash, or run through the woods. But make no mistake: she’s a Final Girl. This week, we sink into the psychological horror of isolation and bodily autonomy as Rosemary endures the slow unraveling of her life. And we gush over that cute pixie cut she gets halfway through the movie. Spoiler Warning: This episode conta...

This week, we're covering the glitchy Final Girl story of Gemma in M3GAN (2022). Gemma is a brilliant roboticist AND a cautionary tale wrapped in code, the actual villain and Final Girl of her own story. When she takes in her orphaned niece Cady, Gemma does what any emotionally unavailable tech genius might: she outsources parenting to an AI. Spoiler Warning: This episode contains M3GAN spoilers—a...

🌟 Final Girls Double Feature (Part 2)! 🌟 Next up: Death Proof (2007) Abernathy, Zoë, and Kim are taking the wheel and fighting back. In Death Proof , Quentin Tarantino flips the Final Girl trope on its head, giving us three fearless women who absolutely wreck the killer. This week, we break down why this trio’s friendship and fury make them some of the most satisfying Final Girls in horror histo...

🌟 Final Girls Double Feature! 🌟 First up: Planet Terror (2007) Cherry Darling might have started the night as a go-go dancer with a broken heart, but by the end of Planet Terror , she’s packing heat and leading the charge against a zombie outbreak. This week, we dive into Cherry’s wild, blood-soaked Final Girl arc and how Rose McGowan’s performance and later activism turned fiction into somethin...

You can’t fight what you can’t see, unless you’ve already survived the worst. The Invisible Man (2020)'s Final Girl Cecilia Kass escapes an abusive relationship… only to be haunted by a presence that no one else believes exists. This week, we dive into Cecilia’s chilling Final Girl journey, unpacking how the film turns gaslighting into a literal monster and how Cecilia’s transformation feels real...

Never split up!!! The Cabin in the Woods , Dana thinks she’s headed for a weekend of fun with friends, but ends up in a bloody, mind-bending fight for survival where the real horror is who's pulling the strings. This week, we dig into Dana’s role as the archetypal Final Girl in a world that literally demands sacrifice, exploring how the film deconstructs horror tropes and leaves you with plenty of...

In space, no one can hear you scream! In Alien (1979), Sigourney Weaver redefined what a Final Girl could be: smart, resourceful, emotionally grounded, and completely unafraid to torch a xenomorph when it comes down to it. This week, we board the Nostromo and break down Ripley’s iconic status and why her legacy still looms large over the Final Girls canon. Content Note: There is a discussion about...

This week, we sink our teeth into one of horror’s most iconic sister duos, Brigette and Ginger from Ginger Snaps (2000). We explore how Brigitte’s quiet loyalty and desperation to save Ginger make her a deeply compelling Final Girl. We also dig into the film’s darkly brilliant metaphor for puberty and how Brigitte’s journey forces her to navigate the blurry line between codependence and survival....

Long before Dutch faced the Predator in the jungle, Naru was already rewriting the rules of the hunt. In Prey (2022), Amber Midthunder brings fierce intensity to Naru, a young Comanche woman determined to prove she’s more than what her tribe expects of her. This week, we track Naru’s journey from underestimated healer to full-fledged warrior challenging the gendered and colonial expectations place...

In Companion , Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is fighting for survival AND control over her own identity. This week, we explore how Iris’s Final Girl arc challenges ideas of obedience, agency, and self-determination, leading to Iris’s final declaration of total self-control . Spoiler Warning: Freedom comes at a price—and so does listening to this episode unspoiled. You’ve been warned! If you enjoy Final G...

Wendy Torrance, played by Shelley Duvall, is often overlooked in the Final Girl conversation, but she shouldn’t be. In The Shining (1980), Wendy is trapped in the sprawling, snowbound Overlook Hotel with an unraveling Jack and a terrified Danny. Yet despite overwhelming odds and ever-increasing terror, Wendy proves that resilience is just doing whatever it takes to protect your child. This week, w...

Sam from A Quiet Place: Day One (2024) - brilliantly and expressively played by Lupita Nyong’o - isn’t your typical Final Girl. She’s a woman facing her own ticking clock before the alien invasion even begins. This week, we follow Sam’s unique Final Girl journey through a silenced New York City with her cat Frodo and a British stranger. S poiler Warning: Stay quiet, tread carefully, and keep your...

In Drag Me to Hell (2009), Christine finds herself cursed by a vengeful old woman, stalked by a relentless demon, and racing against time to escape eternal damnation. This week, we break down Christine’s Final Girl arc from timid banker to desperate survivor and the fine line between terror and hilarity in the comedy horror subgenre. Spoiler Warning: Cross your fingers, toss some coins, and double...

A quick detour to check on a family grave turns into a nightmare for Sally Hardesty and her friends. Trapped in the heart of Texas with a family of cannibals, Sally must endure a nightmare chase that will push her to the very edge of survival. This week, we discuss how Sally embodied the Final Girl trope, the raw terror of her performance, and why The Texas Chain Saw Massacre remains one of the mo...

What do you do when the love of your life who bailed right after you survived a collective horror comes waltzing back into town a decade later… just in time for the anniversary of said trauma? That’s the nightmare facing this week’s Final Girl, Sarah ( My Bloody Valentine , 2009), played by Jaime King. As a masked killer with a pickaxe and a penchant for carving out hearts terrorizes her town agai...

Your high school BFF is sometimes your biggest downfall. Just ask Anita "Needy" Lesnicki (played by Amanda Seyfried), a Final Girl unlike any other. This week, we sink our teeth into Needy as a Final Girl in Jennifer’s Body , dissecting how the film flips the male gaze on its head and explores the intensity of female friendships. We also dig into Needy’s struggle to understand Jennifer’s newfound...

Maxine Minx is a final girl with ambition as sharp as her instincts. Played by the incomparable Mia Goth, Maxine claws her way through Ti West’s X trilogy, proving that in 1980s Hollywood, fame is about survival. With dreams of stardom and a ruthless will to succeed, she’ll do whatever it takes to secure her place on the Walk of Fame… even if it means leaving a bloody trail behind. Spoiler Warning...

Selena from 28 Days Later is the Final of all Final Girls. She slashes her way through rage-infected chaos across the English countryside alongside her makeshift family. But Selena’s journey stands apart from most final girls because her redemption arc doesn’t come from simply outlasting the nightmare. Instead, her survival is rooted in something deeper—learning to build a family unit to endure th...

Some Final Girls fight their way to survival, while others outsmart their foes. Karen Davis from The Grudge falls into the latter category, relying on her heightened intuition and resourceful problem-solving to endure a relentless, supernatural curse. Widely regarded as one of the most chilling and unsettling horror films, The Grudge delivers terror at every turn. Join us as we dive into how Karen...

What’s more badass than going feral in a blood-soaked battle for survival? In our debut episode, we’re diving deep (pun intended) into the unforgettable Final Girl of all Final Girls: Sarah from the 2005 horror masterpiece, The Descent . Join us as we break down her transformation from grieving adventurer to primal warrior. We’ll explore the claustrophobic terror and the raw power that makes Sarah...