The Final Girl is a key concept within the slasher genre- the term refers to the last girl surviving in a group, where the antagonist is killing their victims one by one, and overcomes the killer or escapes. Typically, the final girl is sexually inactive or virginal and does not drink or smoke and sometimes has a unisex name. Final girls are presented through the male antagonist's point of view in a voyeuristic style and through this it makes the audience relate and root for the final girl.
Laurie Strode, "Halloween", (1978)
Laurie Strode is a teenager who is supposed to babysit a child on the night of Halloween; but she finds that she is being stalked by a masked man- who is revealed to be Michael Myers.
Costume: Laurie dresses very conservatively and comfortably with only two looks throughout the film: a turtleneck and skirt with a cardigan and a collared shirt and sweater with jeans. This contrasts with how the popular girls, who are more concentrated on their appearance and boys
than their education, who are more styled wearing platformed heels and more form fitting jeans. Also at no point in the film does Laurie undress in any sense, whereas Annie changes into an oversized men's shirt dress and Lynda is basically naked when she is murdered. This highlights that Laurie is conservative, focused and sensible, yet strong and ultimately will be the survivor.
Hair and Make-Up: Laurie wears her hair down, often covering her face; whereas other girls have their hair styled and pinned back with headbands and ribbons. Laurie wears no make up, again reflecting how she is not particularly concerned with her appearance
Alice, "Friday the 13th" (1978)
Alice works at Camp Crystal Lake as a counsellor, where the counsellors are being stalked and murdered- by a mother whose disabled son (Jason Voorhees) drowned while the camp counsellors were having sex.
Costume: Alice's attire contrasts with the more feminine and sexually active character character of Marcie who is only seen to be wearing three looks before her death: a bikini, naked in a blanket, a form fitting top and underwear. Alice tends to wear 'boyish' casual clothing- unbuttoned collared shirts and jeans; this reflects Alice's laid back practicality and physical activeness, which enables her to eventually defeat the killer by herself.
Hair and Make-Up: Alice has a short choppy hairstyle with a fringe- a hairstyle considered to masculine- again contrasting with Marcie who has longer and styled wavy hair; reflecting that Alice is more practical and cares less about her appearance.
Hair and Make-Up: Alice has a short choppy hairstyle with a fringe- a hairstyle considered to masculine- again contrasting with Marcie who has longer and styled wavy hair; reflecting that Alice is more practical and cares less about her appearance.
Nancy Thompson, "A Nightmare On Elm Street" (1984)
Nancy is a teenager who lives on Elm Street, where the teenagers are being stalked and killed in their sleep by the bladed killed, Freddy Krueger. Nancy is intelligent and practical as proved when she builds booby traps and weapons in order to defeat Krueger. Costume: Nancy tends to wear light coloured clothing- white and pink predominantly, reflecting Nancy's purity and innocence; like her pyjama outfit consisting of a collared white top and bottoms with a floral design- this contrasts to the almost sheer and less practical nightgown of Tina, who is killed Krueger. Nancy is quite conservative and dress stylishly, often wearing collared shirts, knitted sweaters and trousers- reflecting her practicality. Hair and Make-Up: Nancy has long curly hair which she doesn't style showing that she is not so concerned about her appearance to some extent and doesn't wear any visible make up.
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