14 Final Girls In Horror Movies That Really Kill It

What She Survived: On a brisk Halloween night in 1978, Laurie Strode is working as a babysitter. Elsewhere in town, a psychopath named Michael Myers is murdering people left and right. Little does she know that Michael is hunting for her and won't stop until she's dead.

How She Fought Back: After killing several of her friends, Michael stalks and attacks Laurie. Adept at finding hiding places and fighting back, she takes Michael on directly before Dr. Loomis shoots him. 

Most Bad*ss Moment: In the final showdown, Laurie stabs Michael in the eye with a coat hanger. Then, she manages to wrestle his knife from him and stab him with it. As he strangles her, she pulls off his mask to reveal the face of the killer.

What She Survived: Against the backdrop of a small town, a deranged killer uses horror movie trivia to taunt his victims before killing them. The so-called Ghostface killer murders several of Sidney Prescott’s friends before eventually trying kill her himself. 

How She Fought Back: Although she’s continuously taunted and hunted throughout the film, Sidney never gives up. She’s resourceful and uses her knowledge of the house to turn the tables on Ghostface (and his accomplice). Instead of being a would-be victim, she manages to keep herself safe during the final showdown.

Most Bad*ss Moment: At the end of the film, it turns out the killer is Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy, and his friend Stu. Sidney attacks Billy with an umbrella and gets into a brief fight with Stu, resulting in a TV crashing down on his head. In the end, she overpowers Billy by sticking her finger in his wound, after which her friend shoots him dead.

What She Survived: In this classic 1980s horror flick (and its subsequent sequels), Nancy Thompson and her friends are being targeted by the evil Freddie Krueger in their dreams. Killing them off one-by-one in creative, yet gruesome ways, Krueger finally meets his match when he goes after Nancy. 

How She Fought Back: After learning the truth about Freddie Krueger, Nancy takes the fight to him. She manages to bring him into the real world by setting several traps in her house. Krueger escapes and kills her mother, leading to the final showdown where Nancy fearlessly stands up to him. 

Most Bad*ss Moment: Amid the flames of a burning bed, Nancy smashes a chair on Krueger's flaming body. Moments later, Krueger emerges from the bed as Nancy turns her back on him. 

What She Survived: Although the film begins with the old sci-fi trope of investigating a distress signal, it quickly becomes much more as parasitic aliens begin taking out the Nostromo’s crew. It quickly becomes a race against time as Ellen Ripley tries to survive the onslaught and prevent the alien from being taken back to Earth.

How She Fought Back: Along with the rest of the crew - at least until they're all killed - Ripley hunts for the alien xenomorph. As she tracks it through the ship, she learns that science officer Ash is actually an android trying to take the creature back to Earth. In the end, Ripley sets the ship to self-destruct and escapes. 

Most Bad*ss Moment: In the escape pod, Ripley believes the coast is clear. Suddenly, it's revealed the alien is alive and ready for dessert. Ripley dons a space suit, ejects the alien through the airlock, and shoots it with a harpoon. As it desperately tries to get back into the ship, she hits it with the escape pod’s thrusters. 

What She Survived: Hellraiser is the story of a man named Frank who uses a puzzle box to summon demonic Cenobites. The man’s girlfriend starts to bring people back for him to kill and use their blood to rebuild himself. When Kirsty Cotton gets suspicious, she comes face-to-face with Frank, the puzzle box, and his otherworldly madness. 

How She Fought Back: Kirsty learns the puzzle box is an important item for Frank, so she tosses it out a window to save herself in a moment of pure ingenuity. When she accidentally brings Pinhead and the cenobites to the world, she cleverly makes a deal with them to spare her life in exchange for Frank. When the Cenobites break their deal, she figures out how to close the box and save herself. 

Most Bad*ss Moment: After accidentally solving the puzzle, Kirsty summons Pinhead and his goons. While he holds her, she proceeds to make a deal with him: she’ll give up her uncle Frank if they spare her. But they decide to go back on their deal. When they pursue her, Kirsty manages to find the puzzle box and figures out how to reverse its sequence. As she does so, the Cenobites disappear and she's finally safe - at least until the sequel. 

What She Survived: In this 1974 horror flick, Sally Hardesty and her friends decide to look into recent vandalism at the cemetery where her grandfather is buried. Along the way, they visit an abandoned house where things aren't quite what they seem. A creepy man, Leatherface, starts chasing them with one goal in mind: to turn Sally and her friends into dinner. 

How She Fought Back: When Sally runs into Leatherface and realizes what's happening, she runs, but is quickly captured. As Leatherface’s creepy family tries to kill her, she manages to break free. From there, she flees as Leatherface and one of his family members give chase. 

Most Bad*ss Moment: In the film's terrifying conclusion, Sally narrowly escapes Leatherface's pursuit by jumping through a glass window and running down the road. After being abandoned by a semi truck driver who was attacked by Leatherface, she courageously jumps into the back of a moving pickup truck and makes her escape.