Favorite Non-Final Girls

A while ago I did a blog post about my favorite “Final Girls” and even talked about “Final Guys” which is rare but they are out there in the genre. So I recently was on youtube on my feed and I came across the video from either WatchMojo or MsMojo and it was about the “non-final girls” and I didn’t watch but I was intrigued by the idea.

Who are some of my favorite “non” final girls and there is one specifically that I think should have been the final girl but I have the feeling I am not alone in that choice.

So here is MY list of favorite “non” final girls or at least how I see them! And then I’ll possibly watch the video later to see if we matched!

October is coming soon! Are you guys ready??!?

Helen Shivers from I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997): She, to me, is the ultimate non-final girl who should have been the final girl. No offense to Jennifer Love Hewitt and her performance as Julie, I connected more with Helen and she was more fascinating as a character who really did evolve. I think Julie is the only character who did not evolve enough for me to care about. Sarah Michelle Gellar gave a great performance and she should have lived, okay??

Tina Gray from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984): Tina is the first person we see in A Nightmare on Elm Street and we immediately care for her. Her death is possibly one of the more gruesome in the first film (it’s a tie between her and Johnny Depp’s character) and her death does set the entire film in motion. I do think Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is one of the best final girls of all time but I think Tina (Amanda Wyss) is a great addition to the film.

Tatum Riley from Scream (1996): Scream is just one of those movies where some say it’s overrated but we cannot take away what Scream really did to the genre, breathing in some new life. With the teen scene of horror taking shape (like Urban Legend, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Bride of Chucky, Valentine), we get some very iconic characters who aren’t the perpetrator(s) or the final girl. Tatum Riley, played by Rose McGowan, is a fun character in Scream. I loved her fashion sense, how supportive she was for Sidney, little sister to Dewey, she was a really cool part of Scream and her death, another iconic death in the Scream franchise.

Tiffany from Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988): I would consider Tiffany as a non-final girl compared to Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence). Hellbound is a worthy follow up to Hellraiser and introducing Tiffany was a great way to go a different route. We still have Kirsty and we also have Julia Cotton but Tiffany represents the naivety and innocence in this world of pain and pleasure and sadly those qualities were used against her but she too managed to survive the film so in a way, she can be a “final girl” but she is “second” compared to Kirsty. 

Clear Rivers from Final Destination/Final Destination 2 (2000): When I think about the first Final Destination film, I do forget that Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) is just as important a character as our lead in Devon Sawa (playing Alex Browning). We do get to her as a character, the choices she makes and how she supports Alex throughout their various brushes with literal DEATH. I think she’s underrated, to be honest.

Taryn from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987): She’s the only other female character that would be on the same “playing field” as Kristen (Patricia Arquette) and not as an adult character like Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street (1983). I liked Taryn’s energy, she was the funner, life of the party and she had one of the cooler deaths of the film (we know what is number 1; TV) ever.

Marion Crane from Psycho (1960): The reason why Drew Barrymore’s character in Scream truly worked out. I would say Marion Crane (played by Janet Leigh) is the TRUEST and original non-final girl in horror. She, along with Anthony Perkins has top billing, we follow her character before and during her eventful stay at the motel and we see how it ends. I think it was shocking for audiences to see your main protagonist, the face of the film, to pretty much be taken out halfway into the film.

Barb from Black Christmas (1974): One of the few sorority sisters that we get to know throughout the film. She was quite outspoken, brash, had a recognizable face (Margot Kidder) and her death was quite savage and tragic. She was a great juxtaposition against our final girl in Jess (Olivia Hussey). If you haven’t seen the original Black Christmas, please do so! It is one of the few horror films where the ending truly pissed me off. 

Annie from Evil Dead 2 (1987): She’s a great surprise and addition to the Evil Dead franchise. The second one is almost a re-do of the first one… almost? I mean it’s an exact duplicate of the first and then it goes into a great mixture of comedy and horror. Annie is a “no taking shit, tough” kind of girl and definitely kicks Ash’s ass around for a bit. But she’s a well rounded partner against him, compared to the first film where Ash was kind of meek until he was pushed and pushed and pushed to the edge by the end of the film. I like Annie a lot, she went out as a hero.

Lisa from A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985): Sooooo does Lisa count as a non-final girl because the movie isn’t set around her but she does final girl things and gives off final girl energy. We have our first and only final guy in Jesse (Mark Patton) but Lisa (Kim Myers) is the true final against Freddy. I mean, she basically saves Jesse and defeats Freddy and figures shit out. She was a necessary character to tie up all the loose ends.

Jenna from Friday the 13th (2009): I have only seen Friday the 13th one time and I did enjoy it and I think it is one of the better remakes (along with Evil Dead) and I did enjoy Jenna (Danielle Panabaker) and was kinda bummed she didn’t make through the film but she did make it pretty far.

Karla from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998): Ahh, a black character in a horror movie that LIVES! It’s a big deal, alright? Also it’s Brandy, we can’t do that to her! I really liked her as a character, she was needed to basically chill Julie the fuck out. Granted, she did have trauma and nothing gets rid of that. But it was a great surprise when Karla appeared at the end of the film.

So that is my list of non-final girls and honestly, these are all great facets of a final girl who may survive the film along with the “official” final girl or succumb to the antagonist. They share similar qualities to the final girl which is important to look at but there’s always a line that they cross that most final girls do not which determines their fate.

What other non-final girls did I miss? Who are your favorites? Leave a comment below!