As Halloween approaches, I find myself watching more and more horror movies. More than I usually watch- which is saying a lot. Horror/thriller is my favorite genre of movies so as you can imagine, Halloween is my favorite time of the year. I sometimes wish fall was as long as summer or winter. There is just something so nostalgic and comforting about autumn. The cooler weather rolling in, the leaves turning pretty hues of red & orange, wearing jeans & sweatshirts, and the sun going down earlier. Fall is the time of the year when I always have 80s music on repeat and I love rewatching all the classic horror movies such as Halloween, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and more.
A lot of horror films follow the “final girl” trope where there will usually be one girl remaining by the end of the movie that has fought off the killer successfully. This is one of my favorite tropes ever because it shows women in a powerful and courageous light. As I am truly getting into the Halloween and fall spirit, I wanted to highlight my favorite scream queens and final girls in this article.
Sidney Prescott/Neve Campbell
Starting off strong, I have to include Sidney Prescott (played by Neve Campbell) from the Scream series. Sidney has been in every Scream movie besides the sixth one which came out in 2023. Sidney somehow always escapes ghostface and is always ready to fight back. She also has been through so much trauma but persists as a confident, powerful woman.
Gale Weathers/Courtney Cox
Following the Scream theme, I had to include Gale Weathers (played by Courtney Cox.) Every time I’m watching Scream I can never get over how amazing Courtney Cox looks. Her outfits and looks, especially in the first movie, are to die for. Gale is a cut-throat news reporter who reports and writes specifically on murder cases. Although Gale and Sidney are enemies at first, Gale and Sidney end up saving each other in the end.
Laurie Strode/Jamie Lee curtis
Next, I must include the ICONIC Laurie Strode (played by the ultimate scream Queen, Jamie Lee Curtis.) The original Halloween movie came out in 1978 but there have been a total of 13 Halloween movies and the latest one came out in 2022. Laurie somehow has the energy to fight off Michael Myers throughout 7 of the 13 movies and still fights him off as a grandma. She is the most badass final girl there is.
Maxine minx/mia goth
A more recent trilogy: X, Pearl, and MaXXXine stars Mia Goth in all three. In X and MaXXXine Goth plays Maxine Minx, an adult film star who believes she is destined for Hollywood. X is based in 1979, where Maxine and an adult film crew set out to film at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. The crew start getting murdered one by one by the scary old woman named Pearl who lives next to them. Maxine is the final girl and drives away from the murder scene at the end of the movie. Her story picks back up in MaXXXine in 1985 where she has moved to Los Angeles in hopes of pursuing her dreams as a Hollywood star. All I have to say is… SHE IS A STAR!!
Dani ardor/florence pugh
One of my favorite psychological horror movies is Midsommar. I think what makes the movie so creepy is that most of the movie is in broad daylight because it takes place in Sweden during a time when it is always sunny outside. Most horror movies are filmed entirely during nighttime and/or mostly have the scariest scenes take place in the middle of the night to make it more scary. But Midsommar does not follow this rule and instead is filled with a lot of bright, pastel colors and florals. In the movie, Dani is grieving the loss of her sister and parents and goes on a trip to Sweden with her boyfriend and his friends. They find out they are guests of a dangerous cult and have to fight to stay alive.
tara carpenter/jenna ortega
Looping back to the Scream series, Jenna Ortega plays Tara Carpenter in the most recent Scream films. Ghostface stalks Tara, her sister, and their friends. Tara and her sister make it out alive of the two most recent Scream movies; coining them as final girls. Jenna Ortega is one of my favorite modern scream Queens because of her dark and macabre roles like Wednesday Addams in the Netflix series Wednesday and as Astrid Deetz in the new Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. She also played Lorraine, a camera crew girl in the movie X but she unfortunately was not a final girl in that film. I’m excited to see what other roles Ortega takes on in the future because she suits the horror genre very well.
deena johnson/kiana madeira
I have watched the Fear Street trilogy at least 3 times. It is one of my favorite modern slashers and I love how the three movies take place in different decades; the first one being 1994, the second being 1978, and the third being 1666. In the first movie, Deena and her friends fight off a killer who seems to be almost unstoppable. It turns out there is a curse on their town of Shadyside where one random person in the town becomes possessed and goes on a killing spree every decade.
Pretty much every horror movie has a final girl- it is essential for the plot. Final girls are empowering and embody independent women. I recommend you watch these movies if you haven’t already!
What is your favorite scary movie?