10 Horror Movies That Brutally Punish Survivors

3. Camryn - Last Girl Standing

Dawn Of The Dead 2004 Sarah Polley
Blue Goggle Films

Last Girl Standing isn't a movie that just punishes its sole survivor; it's a film that spends the vast majority of its run time exploring the psychological fallout of having survived a run-in with a masked killer.

For Akasha Villalobos' Camryn, the opening act of this Benjamin R. Moody effort sees her manage to escape from the clutches of a killer who had murdered all of her friends. Following that, Last Girl Standing jumps forward to detail how this traumatic event influences Camryn's day-to-day life.

Rerunning the terrors of that fateful night in her head on a daily basis, our central protagonist here now lives a life of isolation that sees her bounce between her one-bed apartment and her laundromat job - all forever in a paranoid state about what threats may be lurking around each and every corner.

Here, audiences get to see first-hand what happens when the boogeyman is beaten and what that does to a survivor - all as Camryn's mental state declines as Last Girl Standing plays out.

If looking at films that punish their survivors, it's impossible not to shine a spotlight on Last Girl Standing, for that is the focus of a solid 90% of the movie.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.