Scream’s Final Girls: The Real Queens of Horror

Alright folks, let’s dive right into the twisted world of Scream, where the final girls reign supreme, and the killer is probably lurking around the next corner. Remember that jaw-dropping moment at the end of Scream 4? Our gal Sidney Prescott realizes that her cousin Jill, played by the fabulous Emma Roberts, has turned to the dark side and taken up the Ghostface mantle. Talk about family drama! Jill’s been simmering under Sidney’s shadow, a little green monster fueled by jealousy from all the attention Sidney received after surviving the spooky Woodsboro Murders.

As Jill spews her bitter monologue, claiming Sidney’s days are done and she is just so ‘last season’, Sidney isn’t just sitting back twiddling her thumbs. Nope! With a swift counterattack involving a defibrillator (!), she zings back, “You forgot the first rule of remakes, Jill! Don’t mess with the original!” Now that’s what I call a family reunion!

Your Favorite Scary Movie Survivor

In case you forgot, let’s rewind to the first Scream movie where Randy Meeks, played by the ever-so-entertaining Jamie Kennedy, hands out the rules for surviving horror flicks like they’re candy on Halloween. Rule number one? No sex. And rule number two: stay away from alcohol and drugs! As his friends gasp in horror (and maybe just a little disbelief), we all know he isn’t wrong. But all these dos and don’ts come from watching the iconic Halloween, featuring the ultimate final girl, Laurie Strode, played by the queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis.

Ever since the dawn of horror films, women have been surviving against all odds. From Mary Fuller in the classic Frankenstein to Greta Schröder in Nosferatu, ladies have always held their own. But hold your applause because Carol J. Clover, in her groundbreaking 1987 article, introduced us to the concept of the final girl—a woman who doesn’t just survive; she kicks ass and takes names.

Gone are the days when the final girl needed saving by a man. We have legends like Laurie, Sally Hardesty from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Ellen Ripley from Alien, who took charge, using their guts and smarts to outwit those ghastly killers. But let’s be real, these final girls were often portrayed as pure and innocent, which was a bit misleading—hello, Laurie’s secret smoke breaks!

Hello, Sidney!

Now, let’s chat about our girl Sidney Prescott. On a surface level, Sidney seems like the textbook final girl. She bravely takes down both Billy Loomis and Stu Macher using sheer determination and wit. But compared to the dramatic demises of Casey Becker and Tatum, Sidney might seem a bit… well, dull. Sure, she shuns Billy’s advances like a pro, at least at first, but our dear Sidney is not just a random victim of circumstance—she’s a prime target for Ghostface.

While Jill frets over Sidney’s age and supposed obsolescence, Billy Loomis is ready to stab her simply because of her mother’s past indiscretions. Even in Scream 2, when Billy’s mother pops back in under a disguise to avenge her son, poor Sidney remains stuck in the shadow of her mother’s past choices. It’s like a never-ending family therapy session!

And let’s not overlook Gale Weathers, played by the fabulous Courteney Cox, who fights her own battles with her trademark sass—punching Ghostfaces left and right. But the reboot films, Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023), take the cake. Our new final girls, Sam and Tara Carpenter, showcase a relationship with their father, Billy, that comes with a hefty baggage of expectations and hallucinations—yes, you heard me right! This time, the pressure feels more personal, and it makes for an electrifying storyline.

No More Rules!

Now, let’s not forget Randy Meeks and his infamous rules about surviving horror flicks. Virtuous actions apparently saved the classic final girls! They played by the rules: Laurie babysat, Sally played it safe, and Ripley enforced all the safety protocols. But for our modern-day heroines—Sidney, Gale, Sam, and Tara—those rules are as useless as a chocolate teapot! Ghostface doesn’t care about moral dilemmas or politeness; he’s out for blood, just because he can be.

And yet, our lovely ladies still make it through, not because of adhering to outdated rules but because they are fierce, resilient women who refuse to back down. In the world of Scream, it’s not just who survives—it’s about how they do it and how they own their power. So here’s to our final girls: breaking rules and kicking butt, one chilling moment at a time!