A2 Media Studies

1. Clover’s Final Girl
Theory

2. 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

3. 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)

4. 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