Final Girl

The final girl is a trope in the horror genre. It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story. It is generally believed that Jess Bradford from the slasher film, Black Christmas (1974) originated the trope, though there are some earlier examples that serve as precursors to her as an example.

Features

 * A woman who is the only survivor of the group of people pursued by the killer(s).
 * She gets a final confrontation with the villain(s) (either she kills him herself or is saved at the last minute by someone else).
 * That she is special because because of her implicit moral superiority (no sex, no drugs, no alcohol).
 * The final girls often survive, but in the sequel, they may be killed or institutionalized.
 * The final girl will often have a shared story with the killer.

The final girl's trope has evolved over the years to the more-modern final girls who are more likely to survive due to their own abilities.

In Scream

 * Sidney Prescott: Sidney debuts in the original Scream (1996) and is the ultimate Final Girl of the Scream film series. As the primary target for the first four massacres (Scream and its sequels, Scream 2, 3 and 4), and a survivor of the first five massacres (including Scream 5), she amasses the greatest survivability and character centrism of all known Final Girls in the horror genre. While some of her precursors, Halloween 's Laurie Strode and Alien 's Ellen Ripley have died by the second or third sequel, Sidney has managed to endure and be a figure of resilience.
 * "Don't fuck with the original."


 * Jill Roberts: The character was a fake protagonist, they introduced Jill as a new heroine, the Sidney of the new generation but in reality, she was the mastermind behind the anniversary murders as she always intended to be the only survivor, like Sidney herself but this time without Randy (Charlie in this version).Jill Roberts A Hero.jpg
 * "Sidney this and Sidney that and Sidney, Sidney, Sidney! You were always so special! Well, now I'm the special."


 * Kirby Reed: She initially appears to serve as the best friend archetype for Jill, and an amalgam of both Tatum Riley and Randy Meeks, two of Sidney's closest friends in the original film. However, towards and by the end of the film, she seems to be based on Sidney herself; the two work together against the later-revealed mastermind killer, Jill, and she shares Sidney's survival instincts and similar circumstances. She becomes the sole teenage survivor of the Second Woodsboro Murders (2011), known as the "Woodsboro Massacre Remake".Kirby.jpg She accidentally gained what her envious antisocial best friend Jill desired in her pursuit to be the perfect victim — fame as a sole survivor.
 * "Before you get in the car, you have to promise not to kill me."
 * Samantha Carpenter: She is the true "reboot" successor of Sidney, after Jill Roberts was initially created to be the original successor until she was revealed as a villain.S22-Unmasked-53.jpg Sam is chosen by Ghostface as she is the illegitimate daughter of the original antagonist Billy. her conversation with Sidney subtly implies that Sidney successfully "passes the torch" to Samantha as the new "final girl" when she tells him that "eventually" she will be okay.
 * "Never fuck with the daughter of a serial killer."
 * Tara Carpenter: She is considered the true final girl (by fans) of the new franchise, convincing Casey Becker and Sidney Prescott.S22-Unmasked-56.jpg The fact that she survived despite her harsh injuries and became a final girl further connects the hybrids of Casey and Sidney between these two characters in the movie's recollection. This fulfills the original intent of what Wes Craven wanted Drew Barrymore (Casey) to play as a final girl.
 * "I still prefer The Babadook."