'Final Girls' Make the Best Horror Movie Heroes

Horror movies frequently feature a "final girl," a female character who survives to the end of the movie when most--or all--of the other characters do not. Stephen Graham Jones, author of My Heart Is a Chainsaw, is a big fan of the final girl trope. "The final girl is to the slasher as the silver bullet is to the werewolf, as daylight is to the vampire, as a headshot is to the zombie," Jones says in Episode 482 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley says that final girls tap into our natural tendency to root for the underdog. "It's more of an accomplishment for a young woman to defeat the bad guy than if it's some experienced, buff soldier," he says.