7 Summer Slasher Final Girls, Ranked Best to Worst
Happy slasher summer! We all know and love a good summer slasher; whether it’s a vacation gone wrong, a road trip ending in disaster, or a terrorized summer camp; summer slashers are a staple. Besides the obvious appeal of the summer setting, what else makes the perfect summer slasher? The final girl.
We decided to take a look back at some of the best summer slashers and rank their final girls best to worst.
1 Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
Everett Collection
The OG final girl who survives multiple attempts on her life yet still makes it out safely. Sally spends most of the movie on the run from the killers rather than attempting to fight them, which is much more realistic. Her various escape attempts from the house and an awkward dinner party thrown by Leatherface, show her grit and will to survive. Sally gave us her iconic scream and manic laughter at the end of the movie whilst covered in her own blood; she will always be our OG final girl.
2 Alice Hardy (Adrienne King) in Friday the 13th (1980)
Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection
Alice Hardy the sole survivor of the original Friday the 13th movie and killer of Pamela Voorhees, is a true final girl. Her lack of survival instincts is frustrating, but she makes up for it with her gruesome face off with the killer ending in decapitation. She is resilient in her fights and very resourceful, making us respect her.
3 Jane (Pamela Franklin) in And Soon the Darkness (1970)
An underrated final girl. While on vacation in a foreign country abandoned by her friend who has now been killed, Jane manages to survive by relying on her wits. With a killer that blends into plain sight she consistently uses her adrenaline to save herself rather than making mistakes.
4 Katey Rose (Kate McNeil) in The House on Sorority Row (1982)
A voice of reason within the sorority, a very rare occurrence, Katey Rose is the moral compass of this film and a clever final girl. Katey consistently keeps track of clues and is incredibly resourceful. One thing that Katey lacks is the typical descent from the bubbly girl next to door, to the scared, angry, and confused final girl. Katey spends the whole movie moody about what, who knows? This makes her unlikeable but regardless a clever final girl.
5 Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) in I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
Columbia/courtesy Everett Collection
An over-hated final girl outshined by her best friend Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar). While Julie James gave us the iconic line, “What are you waiting for?” that was really all she gave. Helen’s iconic chase scene made fans feel that she would have been a better final girl than Julie, especially considering Julie was consistently making horrible decisions and lacking fight. Whilst Helen may have been a better final girl, Julie still was a final girl with heart and investigative skills that made her easy to root for.
6 Molly (Jocelyn Jones) in Tourist Trap (1979)
Compass International Pictures
A great final girl who sadly suffers immense trauma leading to her psychological descent. She manages to fight off the killer but at what cost? The final scene shows Molly driving away with the “mannequinized” dead bodies of her friends laughing to herself clearly hallucinating. Her survival is applauded even if we worry about her sanity.
7 Alice Spages (Paula Sheppard) in Alice Sweet Alice (1976)
Everett Collection
A rare final girl who was also the suspect for the majority of the movie, Alice. Alice is someone we don’t trust from the beginning, so we are not too attached to her. As for her being a final girl, she survives but for how long? With Alice locked away in a mental institution and the killer still on the loose it doesn’t feel like she did a great job at avenging her sister’s death. A sadly disappointing final girl.
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