What is a Final Girl? A traditional trope in the horror genre coined by author Carol J. Clover in the seminal Men, Women and Chainsaws, The Final Girl is the last sole survivor of a night of carnage, but they can be so much more than that. They can be a look into survivor’s guilt, trauma, empowerment, and many other topics that most wouldn’t begin to consider. Since I started writing regularly for Screen Queens at the beginning of this year I’ve been proud to bring more horror coverage to the site.

Living up to the namesake of the site, we’re bringing you ‘The Final Girls Club’, a new column for Screen Queens! This column aims to provide an analytical and retrospective look at some of the most beloved female-led horror films and how they hold up in the context of today. The first theme of programming will be 90s horror, an era that is extremely nostalgic and important in my formative years as a horror fan, but also a turbulent era for the genre. From the struggles of the death and rebirth of the slasher genre, to infamously troubled productions of major films, the 1990’s were a pivotal turning point for the genre.

Other writers from Screen Queens and beyond will be joining me in this series, each providing a very unique and different take from my own. Using this method we hope to cover as broad a spectrum as we can and look forward to sharing some fantastic writing on some of our favourite horror films. 

Horror is important to myself personally, and with the huge resurgence in modern, ‘prestige’ horror, we hope to provide a unique and fun retrospective look into the past and see how it affects the present and maybe even the future of the horror genre as a whole.

The Final Girls Club will be a bi-weekly column, posting on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month. If you are interested in contributing to the column please send a pitch to girlsonfilm@outlook.com

by Reyna Cervantes

Reyna (She/They) is located in southern California! They are an aspiring screenwriter with experience in sound design and production work, their 3 favourite films are Evil Dead 2, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Frances Ha. All of their social handles are @JFCDoomblade (twitter, insta, letterboxd).