One of the most popular and recognizable horror tropes is the Final Girl, a character archetype that shows up over and over, particularly in slasher films, as the last survivor of the movie’s bloody climax.
The horror genre plays on tropes, remixing and reimagining familiar story beats and archetypes for new audiences with each film.
The minute the confused girlfriend turns into the survivalist Terminator of You’re Next, we knew we were in for a few surprises.
The Final Girl is typically the least likely survivor: She’s nonviolent (until she has to be), virginal (usually), and has a pretty powerful scream, letting the killer think he’s about to win right up until the last second.