3. Nancy Thompson - A Nightmare A Elm Street Franchise
What's the one thing no one can avoid, whether they want to or not? If you said the Paranormal Activity franchise, I hear what you're saying, but here I'm referring to sleep. Legendary horror director Wes Craven exploited this essential need in one of the definitive slasher movies of the 1980s: A Nightmare on Elm Street. Think striped jumpers aren't scary? Think again. Freddy Krueger was a terrifying creation who could enter people's dreams and kill them while they slept. To defeat such a powerful monster, Craven created Nancy Thompson, a "final girl" who possessed the strength to stand up to Krueger. The unlucky gal had to face Krueger on more than one occasion, encountering the snappy dresser again in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors and Wes Craven's New Nightmare. On the plus side though, Thompson got to be Johnny Depp's girlfriend briefly. Totally worth it.