[Editorial] Five Films To Ruin Your Day: The Unfathomable Final Girl

Traditionally final girls are innocent, sweet, pure and the ones that the audience are rooting for the entire time. They are the girls on screen that had no intention of finding themselves in such horrific circumstances yet they must do all they can in their power to survive the evil that follows them. But what happens if the final girl was one that had delusions of depravity? 

Horror has inherently trained us to believe that final girls are the ones escaping from the lunatics and serial killers that want to slice through their flesh and watch them die, which for the most part is true. However, there’s a special breed of women in the more extreme horror films that want nothing more than to bathe in the blood of their victims and instill fear in men, women and sometimes, even children. 

Here are five unconventional final girls that you might not want to cheer for, but you can’t help but admit that they are pretty badass…

Nekromantik 2 - Monika 

Necrophilia is one of the biggest taboos when it comes to on-screen disturbing content, and whilst Jorg Buttgereit’s Nekromantik (1987) did venture into the depths of this dark subject, it didn’t go quite as perturbed as the second film. In the original we are focused on male character Rob who is left by his girlfriend Betty, for a ‘better’ man, one who also happens to be a corpse. 

In Nekromantik 2 (1991) the tables are turned and we are introduced to Monika - a beautiful, young and vibrant woman who has an erotic desire to make love to corpses... This fantasy cannot be tamed and she finds herself indulging secretly in her passions to try and find some form of sexual satisfaction. But we watch as her hunger grows more insatiable, and eventually Monika chops her boyfriend’s head off whilst fucking him. She is the final girl that commits one of the most heinous and disgusting acts, but finally reaches her climax.

Here’s a letter of love I wrote to Monika!

Excision - Pauline

This film holds a particularly special place in my heart as I find myself resonating with Pauline and the way she views the world. She’s a teenage girl beginning to discover herself and explore her own sexuality, but what she discovers lurking within the depths of her mind is what society would deem as ‘demented’. Her mother finds her repulsive, the girls at school don’t get her and her younger sister is dying. There’s no wonder that Pauline isn’t in the best mental state. 

But what makes Pauline a final girl is that through all of this, she is undeniably herself. Never once does she deny herself of exploring who she will one day become, and although the end results are devastating, there’s a power in who she is. You might not condone her dreams of being covered in blood and getting sexual, but you have to agree that she is inspirational in her ability to understand who she really is.

I spoke to Chandler over on The Beauty of Horror podcast all about why I love Pauline so much!

The Loved Ones - Lola

The personification of having daddy issues is Lola Stone, and that’s absolutely fine because her dad is somewhat lovable in his dedication to making his daughter happy. They don’t have the most conventional family life, but when Lola is turned down for prom after asking a boy out at school, her dad is the one she falls back on to help her get the revenge she deserves, and show that boy she’s worth a million of him. 

Lola is determined in everything she does, and shows that you shouldn’t cross a woman when scorned. I’m sure most dating gurus might advise that you don’t kidnap and torture a man if he’s just not that interested in you, but there is a form of catharsis here for those of us who have been harshly rejected. The fact that Lola carries out her reign of violence all whilst pretty in pink is admirable, and reminds us that final girls can be fucked up and also look good doing it. 

The Woman - Peggy

The choice for the final girl in Lucky McKee’s The Woman (2001), which is based on Jack Ketchum’s novel of the same name, was a tough one as we’re actually given a few options here. Going for ‘The Woman’ seemed like the obvious choice because she is evidently a final girl - she’s abducted from her natural habitat by a man with a sick desire, chained up in his shed, and forced to become ‘tame’ all because he’s actually looking for something he can stick his dick in. 

But there is another character that is a true final girl in this film, with a development that continues into later films. Peggy is the daughter of said man, Chris, and has one of the toughest rides throughout the entirety of the film. Her dad forces her to become compliant in keeping a hostage at their home, with the knowledge and understanding that both her father and younger brother are sexually assaulting this woman. Peggy has empathy for the woman and realises that whilst she might be a savage, feral woman, she is far more human than the men of her family and would rather see them dead than this woman brutalised. Peggy is the most innocent one on this list, with her morals allowing her to aid in killing the despicable men.

Hostel II - Mrs. Bathory

We can all agree that Eli Roth’s first film in this torture porn franchise, Hostel (2005), isn’t one of the most liberating films for women. I’m personally a fan of the film, but even I can agree that it has some misogynist tones that aren’t acceptable. Roth tried to redeem himself a little in his follow up Hostel 2 (2007) and whilst I won’t say he suddenly became a feminist, it did give us one of the most fucked up final girls, and one I love, Mrs. Bathory. 

Based on Countess Elizabeth Bathory who is known in history as one of the earliest female serial killers, slaughtering hundreds of young women and girls and supposedly bathing in their blood. It was believed she thought the blood held youth-restoring properties and therefore would soak herself in the visceral to stay young. Mrs. Bathory in Hostel 2 is based on this and lies naked in a bathtub, slitting the throats of women hung above her and writhing around in their blood. It’s gruesome, sensual and shows that she will always be the final girl of girls because let’s be honest, there won’t be any women left alive when she’s around.

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