8 Final Horror Movie Girls Who Ended Up Dying Anyway
They really killed Laurie Strode, Sue Snell and Ripley. Or did you forget?
A popular horror movie trope, the so-called final girl, is the last female -- and, often, the only main character -- left alive to confront, outlive and otherwise escape the killer at the film's conclusion. More often than not, she is the main character, and uses a combination of cunning, brute force and luck to make it out alive.
But, while the expectation is that the final girl will always triumph over evil and save the day, some horror franchises, and especially the slashers amongst them, have made a nasty habit of doing their heroines in to give their sequels a bit of a twist or kick. Whether the material has gone stale, the audience need a shock, or the actress has simply had enough of being the series' figurehead, some of the most important final girls have ultimately met an unfortunate end.
These eight undisputed badasses were unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, hey, this is the fickle world of horror movie-making -- chances are, they won't be dead for long.
8. Nancy Thompson – A Nightmare On Elm Street
One of Freddy Krueger's very first would-be victims, and a frontrunner of a new breed of empowered horror movie heroines, Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) was the final girl by default twice within the same film -- A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984).
A teenage Nancy outwitted Freddy by bringing him out of the dream world and into the real one, where he kills just about everyone except her, before Nancy defeats him and resets everything back to normal. However, in a twist ending, the clawed cretin returns and kills Nancy's mum right before the credits, leaving Nancy the final girl once again.
Fast forward seven years, to Nightmare 3: Dream Warriors (1987), and Nancy is back, this time as a twenty-something therapist dedicated to studying dreams, treating nightmare victims and keeping that red and black striped sweater at bay. This time, Nancy almost makes it to the end of the film, taking a sojourn into the dream world to kill Freddy for good. Unfortunately, he pulls a fast one and stabs her in the stomach, leaving her with just enough life to impale him on his own glove.
Sure, Nancy died, but what better way to go than putting an end to the big bad once and for all? At least that was the idea...