TOP 13 FINAL GIRLS

13. BETH-HOSTEL PART 2 (2007)
Played by Lauren German
Say what you want about Hostel 2. Even though I personally found it to be a vast improvement over it's predecessor. But Beth is one bad b*tch.  At first a smart but seemingly harmless wall flower. She morphs into a monster during the film's final 15 mins. of which the last five will never be forgotten by anyone whose seen it. In a nutshell she turns the table on her captor, castrates him and feeds his privates to a dog and than goes after the people who entrapped her and her friends to begin with. Lauren German plays the role with a subtle strength and is more than believable during her memorable cinematic evolution.

12. CLARA-REC 3: (2012)
Played by Letecia Dolera
Now I know most fans of the franchise find this to be the weakest entry. I however think it's the strongest. It's definitely not the scariest but it is the most emotionally resonant. One huge reason for that is the romance between Clara and Koldo. Centered around their wedding day which finds their reception over run by a raging zombie virus. Clara and Koldo fight to get to one another but she really takes the reigns . Starting off the film as a happy blushing bride she soon transforms into a wedding dress clad warrior. The most impressive scene has her fight down a horde of vicious zombies with a chainsaw and a self inflicted slit wedding dress. It's without a doubt something to be hold as she decapitates and decimates in the name of Love. Making her one of filmdom's top final girls.

11. MARYBETH DUNSTAN-HATCHET 2 AND 3(2010/2013):
Played by Danielle Harris
It's no doubt that the original Hatchet is the best film of the series but Marybeth Dunstan doesn't really become her destined bad ass self until she's played ferociously by the one and only Horror heroine Danielle Harris of the Halloween films. Picking up right where the original leaves off our hero Marybeth continues to fight back this time being the aggressor. After being forced back into the swamp she finds herself face to face with Victor and the results are astounding attacking him with chainsaws, knives and axes and culminating with a truly insane face fisting. Legendary.

10. ELVIRA-ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK(1988):
Played by Cassandra Petersen
Known by her fans as the Mistress of the Dark. Back in 1988 she got a wide release theatrical film which is without a doubt one of the best of it's kind. A horror comedy in which Elvira plays herself as her origin is revealed and she battles a demonic Uncle. It could have been easy to take on the damsel in the distress role but when she's not starting bar fights and fighting monsters. She's an independent, strong minded, fiercely funny horror heroine. The last battle is one for the books to be sure from iron breaking breasts, to flying stiletto heels and a bazooka. Elvira keeps on fighting whether it's her fantastically funny and diverting one liners or a fierce kick in the nuts! There's no question why the immensely talented and gorgeous Elvira is still around today!

9. TINA SHEPARD-FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII THE NEW BLOOD(1988):
Played by Lar Par Lincoln
In 1988 Jason Voorhees went up against his fiercest foe and the only one who gave him a real run for his money, well at least until Freddy. Why you may be asking yourself. Because Tina has telekinetic powers. And despite a slightly hammy premise it is executed in a very serious and believable tone. Tina spends most of the running time thinking that she's crazy seeing the horrific masked man murdering sexed up teens. There are a few explosions of telekinetic anger but it all leads up to a truly epic battle. As Tina struggles with her emotions and control and finally ends up going one on one with Jason. Defending her hunky would be boyfriend Nick she bends tree roots, flings TVs, throws couches and lots of other cool shit. All the while Jason looks perplexed as Tina continues her reign of telekinetic terror upon him which culminates with a resurrection. It's my favorite Friday of the bunch, maybe it's nostalgia or maybe because it tried something new. But regardless Tina kicked some major hockey mask ass.

8. ALICE -RESIDENT EVIL 1-6 (2002-2017)
Played by Milla Jovovich
Few horror heroines manage to balance beauty with brawn as well as Milla Jovovich does. From her first moments in 2002's surprise hit Resident Evil. Alice is portrayed with subtle bad assedness by Milla. She cuts, shoots, decimates, decapitates and blows up her undead enemies. From horrific zombies to grotesque creatures with giant tongues and hulking madmen with giant axes. Through five and an upcoming sixth film she increased her take no prisoners skill set from being an expertly trained warrior to a mutated heroine with telekinetic powers. Despite each challenge thrown at her she continuously prevails and always looks amazingly stylish dong it.

7. ERIN- TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2003):
Played by Jessica Biehl
It's not hard to see why this voluptuous leading lady landed on the top of the list. Her portrayal of Erin was as bad ass as they come. With only a tied up tank top, a pair of fitted jeans . She battled a 300 lb. Leatherface and R. Lee Emery as one of the most sadistic characters ever in a horror film. No doubt her greatest enemy was just trying to stay dry in the movie she tried to save each and every one of her friends. Even going so far as to try and carry one and making the ultimate sacrifice of morality in murdering another instead of leaving him suffering. When she finally faces off against one of the villainous fiends she lops his arm off with a hatchet and when she faces off against the other she hits him with a car. Again, and Again and again. Biehl never was able to repeat her success in the horror genre. But Erin will go down as one of the most fierce female horror heroines of all time.

6. BARBARA-NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990)
Played by Patricia Tallman
When portrayed by Judith O' Dea in the original shocker. Barbara was a demure, silent victim who spent the film in shock until her gory demise. But in 1990's superb remake Barbara is a complex, smart, strong woman as portrayed brilliantly by Patricia Tallman in one of the strongest performances in genre cinema. After being attacked in a cemetery and losing her brother Barbara makes her way to the infamous farmhouse. And after a quick bout of shock her survival instincts kick in and she decimates a zombie with a fire poker. As the film moves along she becomes stronger and stronger always clever and a step ahead everyone else. She is deservedly the only survivor never giving into the drama and keeping her focus.

5. NANCY/HEATHER- NIGHTMARE ON ELM ST. 1, 3 AND NEW NIGHTMARE (1984-1994)
Played by Heather Lagenkamp
I met Heather Lagenkamp a few years ago. She still looked great and was a very sweet lady. As most of you now she's still very active in horror community. She's the narrator of the recent, brilliant Nightmare on Em st. documentary Never Sleep Again and she also was the focus of her own documentary I am Nancy. When she starred in the original Nightmare so many years ago she portrayed Nancy as a normal, nice girl at first but when her friends start getting murdered by that infamous dream stalker it's hard to think of any other genre heroine who was as smart and innovative when facing her opponent. At times she wasn't just equally matched but seemed to excel her situation researching bobby traps, protecting her friends the best she could, unraveling the mystery and facing down her fear in the most clever way possible. She had grown from a mousy girl next to door to the ultimate survival girl. She continued her heroics as she faced down Freddy again in Nightmare 3 trying to help the surviving kids of Elm St. now in a psychiatric ward face down their nightmarish, wise cracking foe. Unfortunately, she wasn't as successful the second time around and ended up being killed but not before saving the others and supplying the information so that Freddy would be laid to rest. Obviously it didn't work because Freddy returned again and again but never had a match quite like Nancy until New Nightmare when she would meet him again this time as her actual self Heather Lagenkamp. The brilliant, underrated seventh entry is one of the best and smartest horror films ever made and she manages to reconnect with the things that made Nancy so strong to begin with. This time around defending her son and putting Freddy to bed once and for all. Nancy is without a doubt one of the most complex and kick ass horror heroines to ever grace the silver screen.

4. LORI STRODE-HALLOWEEN 1,2,7,8 (1978-2002)
Played by Jamie Lee Curtis
Everyone knows that Lori Strode as portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis is the original Scream Queen and set the bar for all the kick ass smart girls to follow. John Carpenter's classic is still a masterpiece and one of it's biggest charms is it's leading lady. At first introduced as the smart, shy, good girl next door she soon takes charge when attacked by the Shape. Using everything in reach to fight back from knitting needles to wire hangers Jamie Lee struck Michael again and again. She than faces him down again in a near vacant hospital as the night continues. Drugged up she still manages to escape him time and time again but it isn't until 20 years later when she returns once again in H20 and this time she means business. After discovering he's her brother in the second installment she has gone into hiding and has a teenage son. She's the principal of a secluded, privileged high school. And than he finds her but this time around there no running as she becomes the aggressor facing him down once and for all. All leading up to a decapitation after some much needed battle. Unfortunately they made a sequel and in this chapter in the film's opening scene she meets her demise but not after staging a trap for her monstrous brother. Through her over twenty year career tangoing with the cinematic madman Jamie Lee made Lori an iconic self sufficient, smart, horror heroine well deserved of her iconic status.

3. LT. ELLEN RIPLEY- ALIEN 1-3 (1979-1992):
Played by Sigourney Weaver
There may not be anyone more bad ass in moviedom than Ellen Ripley played by the iconic Sigourney Weaver. She defined the term final girl before it was a category. She started off a little demure in the original but by the film's end she had upped her courage and beat down the title beastie with smarts by blowing it out of the airlock. Than as if that wasn't enough she was woken from hyper sleep along with her kitty for round two with a planet of the nasty E.T's this time assisted by some colonial marines. Ripley works a loading docker, drives a AV and shoots off various weaponry all while keeping up with the rest of them and maintaining a maternal instinct by protecting a young orphan girl name Newt and having a little side romance with hunky Corporal Hicks. It all culminates to an epic battle with the queen alien and Ripley in a loading dock power suit. And than for the final time is she is once again awakened out of hyper sleep after a tragic accident this time. She battles her villainous foe for the last time. This time with no weapons, a short new do and on a prison planet she faces off against a stray and the queen alien stewing inside of her. The Director's cut has a more action friendly Ripley but both feature a woman whose tired of running and in the end pays the greatest cost. The fourth disastrous sequel features a clone Ripley which isn't the same but word on the street is Ellen will get a redo as the erase the events of the third and pick up where the second left off. Ripley over three films saved countless lives and inspired a generation of fierce female roles in future films.

2. SIDNEY PRESCOTT- SCREAM 1-4: (1996-2011)
Played by Neve Campbell
Only one other ultimate final girl has gone through more heartache, loss and self growth than Sidney Prescott in the Scream series. Targeted from the first film by her boyfriend and his accomplice. Sidney fights continuously to save her life and the lives of the people she cares about. Unfortunately because she has some of the worst luck ever she doesn't manage to save many people. But she does manage to beat the crap out of and finally kill her stalkers. All until the sequel when a new couple tries her again this time in college. Although most of her friends get brutally murdered which include her best friend and her boyfriend sadly. She ultimately faces her attackers down and ends them. When she returns for the third time she's gone into hiding. Trying to minimize her interaction with people. Untrusting but smart she's taken more than a few self defense courses and is ready for anything that comes her way. But as people are attacked and murdered one by one to lure her out she eventually returns in the open to face down her ultimate nemesis. Which turns out to be her brother. A young man denied by his mother and whose been manipulating the situation from the beginning. In an edge of your seat showdown she prevails once again but barely this time taking down her villain once and for all. Years later she returned as a griseled genre veteran to battle a new group of teen attackers with motives all their own. They of course don't stand a chance as Sidney portrayed brilliantly by Neve Campbell becomes the ultimate survivor once again refusing to die.

1. BUFFY SUMMERS-BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1997-2003)
Played by Sarah Michele Gellar
Anyone whose seen the Buffy TV series knows that no one has gone through as much shit as Buffy Summers. She's experienced more loss, more pain, more heartbreak than any other genre heroine. When Buffy started out she's nothing more than a silly valley girl but after discovering her destiny and embracing it reluctantly she battled evil time and time again. She's lost many friends and family as well as making some of the toughest decisions a character has ever been faced with. A prime example would be the heart breaking finale of season 2. When she had to kill the love of her life to save the world. Going through everything, even being ripped from eternal peace in heaven in season 6 she's kept her composure and played her role. Always willing to sacrifice herself time and time again. In fact she'd died more than a few times. But like her undead enemies death can't keep this good girl down. Portrayed brilliantly by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy faced her destiny and is willing to sacrifice herself to save the world and those she loves. She's ultimately successful in her battle at the series end as she descends into hell to stop an emerging evil army. And as Sunnydale is sucked into the ground a light smile plays across her face realizing that not only is it over but she's survived and been victorious in her struggle. All of these reasons make Buffy the ultimate final girl!