Clover’s Final Girl Theory

Outline of the Theory• The last woman or girl alive to confront the

killer/monster • She is often the one left to tell the story of what

happened• ‘Final Girls’ are often seen in horror films• Carol Clover defines the ‘Final Girl’ as a ‘phallic/ heroine

who is only acting as a male protagonist would• The ‘Final Girl’ is often seen in horror, particularly

slasher films

Who is she?• The ‘Final Girls’ often have similar attributes• She is often sexually unavailable or virginial• She sometimes has a unisex name• Occasionally she will have shared a history or trait with the

killer• She is ‘investigating consciousness’ and exhibits curiosity,

intelligence and vigilance Ellen Ripley(Alien 1979)

Laurie Strode(Halloween 1978)

Applied to a Horror Film – Sidney Prescott (Scream 1996)

• She appears in all 4 of the films from the franchise and in the first one she is portrayed as typical good, virginal teenager• Sidney is shown to be an intelligent and resourceful

individual who gets stronger across the franchise• She fights back and ends up fighting back against the killer

by killing the first one in the first film and fighting off the others in later films