For nearly a century, horror films have told us a story—one of terror, of survival, of the inevitable confrontation between innocence and brutality. But there’s one story, in particular, that has evolved in ways both subtle and seismic: the story of the Final Girl.
It begins in the shadows, in the screams of Janet Leigh, in the wide, terror-stricken eyes of Jamie Lee Curtis. The Final Girl is the last one standing, the one who fights back, who outwits the killer, who survives. But survival is never just survival, is it? It’s transformation.
It’s a reckoning. And it’s a mirror reflecting the anxieties of the era.
In this episode of Sitting in the Dark, Kyle Olson takes us on a journey—a journey that moves from the early days of horror’s damsels-in-distress to the fierce, unrelenting heroines of the modern era. With Pete Wright, Tommy Metz III, and Kynan Dias by his side, the discussion turns to three films that redefine the trope for the 21st century: Prey (2022), Sweetheart (2019), and The Invisible Man (2020).
What do these films tell us about the evolution of gender in horror? How does the Final Girl of today differ from her predecessors? And perhaps most intriguingly, why are these stories—stories written by men—resonating so deeply with audiences yearning for something different?
From the jungles of Prey to the desolate island of Sweetheart to the omnipresent, unseen menace of The Invisible Man, this is an exploration of fear, of power, and of the ghosts that refuse to be ignored. Because in horror, as in life, survival is never just about making it to the end. It’s about what you become along the way.
Film Sundries
- Watch the movies discussed:
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- Sweetheart: Apple • Amazon • Letterboxd
- The Invisible Man: Apple • Amazon • Letterboxd
- Prey: Apple • Amazon • Letterboxd
- Her Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film by Carol J. Clover
