The Final Girl Theory by Carol J. Clover

The Final Girl Theory by Carol J. Clover

1. The Final Girl Theory by Carol J. Clover

2. What is the theory? ‘The final girl’ is often seen in horror films (mainly slasher films). The theory suggests that there is usually a last female alive to challenge/confront the monster/killer The final girl is also supposedly the person to live to tell the tail. The theory was created by Carol J. Clover in her book called ‘Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film’ (1992).

3. Who is the final girl? The final girls usually have similar traits… They are typically, virginal (sexually unavailable), intelligent, curious and have a will to survive. The theory suggests that although the ‘last girl’ is taking the place of a stereotypical male role they themselves can be feminine. In some cases the final girl can have a joint story to the killer (i.e. Halloween 2) Scream (1996) Sidney Prescott Halloween (1978) Laurie Strode

4. APPLIED to horror

5. Friday the 13th, Part 2 (1981) ‘Ginny feild ’ In the film Ginny is shown to be a clever young women She used the skills she learnt in her Phycology major to outsmart the masked wrongdoer, Jason. She dresses up as her mother by putting on her sweater to stop the killer from getting to her Throughout the film she thinks fast and manages to attack the killer and get away. When Jason realises what she has done he goes after her, she tries to kill him, but he gets away.