final girl
noun
plural final girls
: the protagonist of a slasher horror movie or novel who is typically a young woman, who is the last of the serial killer's intended victims to survive or remain, and who ultimately confronts the killer
The "final girl" is a trope familiar to film scholars and horror-movie fans. She's the young woman who makes it out of the slasher flick alive, the one who lives to tell the tale.—
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But this scream queen is far from a final girl.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 17 May 2026
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Brian Truitt, USA Today, 17 May 2026
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“Final girl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/final%20girl. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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