Final Girls

This week, we’re spotlighting the one and only Emerald Haywood from Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022) — a Final Girl who rides in late, steals the scene, and never lets go of the spotlight. As Hollywood’s skies darken with something sinister, Em becomes the beating heart of a story about spectacle, survival, and sibling solidarity. We break down how Emerald flips expectations as a Final Girl: vibrant, flawed, funny, and fearless. We dig into the film’s themes of exploitation, visibility, and legacy. Emerald isn’t trying to be your hero; she’s trying to get the shot.

Spoiler warning: This episode contains major plot spoilers, alien theories, and Oprah shots.

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She came to detox. The forest had other plans. In Fede Álvarez’s brutal 2013 reimagining of Evil Dead, Mia isn’t just fighting addiction, she’s fighting off ancient demons and the literal fires of hell. This week, we’re joined by two incredible guests and friends, Matt from Getting Offed and Katie from ShElite Showcase, to dig into Mia’s Final Girl arc and all the blood-soaked symbolism it unleashes.

We dissect how Mia’s journey flips the possession trope on its head, reframes addiction through a horror lens, and leads to one of the most cathartic rebirths we’ve ever seen on screen (chainsaw included). Plus: how her arc does/does not echo Ash’s, why the gore works as metaphor, and survival lessons we definitely hope we never need to use.

Spoiler warning: This episode is raining blood and spoilers.

Getting Offed: Youtube Instagram Bluesky

ShElite Showcase: Youtube Instagram 

You can watch our guest appearances here

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In Dangerous Animals (2025), Zephyr is a closed-off American surfer chasing freedom on the open Australian water, but when a shark diving boat operator picks her as his prey, she has to battle something far more sinister than what’s lurking beneath the surface. This week, we dive into Zephyr’s Final Girl arc from self-contained loner to reluctant warrior, and we unpack how the film delivers one of the most feral third-act fights and transformations we’ve seen in a long time.

Spoiler warning: This episode contains spoilers, gory details, and oceanic food-chain dread.

Theme by Max Anson

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This week, we're heading to Bodega Bay to talk about The Birds (1963) and our sharp-tongued, fur-coat-wearing Final Girl, Melanie Daniels. What begins as a flirty little prank quickly turns Hitchcockian nightmare when birds begin attacking violently, relentlessly, and without explanation. We dig into the gender politics of Melanie’s transformation from socialite to survivor, the icy dynamics between the women in Mitch’s life, and how the film weaponizes nature and femininity in equal measure. Is it horror? Is it camp? Is it a cautionary tale about chasing a man? Either way, Melanie earns her spot in the Final Girl canon.

Spoiler warning: We’re spoiling the plot, the pecking, and the psychological warfare. You've been warned.

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Your parents always said they brought you into this world… and in this one, they’re ready to take you out. This week, we’re unraveling the unhinged chaos of Mom and Dad (2017) and spotlighting Carly, our Gen Z Final Girl who’s just trying to survive a sudden epidemic turning parents into murderers. (And yes, that includes her own.) We dig into the film’s wild tonal shifts and what it says about generational tension and parental rage. With Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair going full feral, Carly has to outsmart, outrun, and outlast the two people who supposedly love her most. 

Spoiler warning: This episode contains spoilers, screams, and one very deranged use of a sledgehammer.

Theme by Max Anson

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They picked the wrong girl. This week, we’re heading into the blood-soaked battlefield of The Hunt (2020) to talk about Crystal, arguably one of the coolest, calmest, and most calculated Final Girls we’ve ever seen. Crystal doesn’t scream or run. She barely even blinks. And yet, she delivers one of the most cathartic, quietly feminist takedowns in recent horror history. We unpack the film’s satire of class warfare and political extremism and Crystal’s refusal to play that game. 

Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen The Hunt, you might want to pause here and go watch, because we’re spilling blood and secrets.

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When your house is haunted, but so is your marriage. This week we’re talking about Claire Spencer from What Lies Beneath (2000), the gaslit, ghost-seeing housewife who learns the call is coming from inside her relationship. We get into Claire’s eerie Final Girl arc and why trusting your gut might be the most dangerous thing you can do when your husband’s hiding skeletons in more places than one. We also dive into the film’s Hitchcockian vibes if Hitchcock ever went full ghost story, and why this supernatural thriller taps into gothic horror, gaslighting, and the terror of not being believed. 

Spoiler Warning: If you haven’t seen What Lies Beneath, go watch it before you take a bath.

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LIVE FROM GHOULIECON! ✨ We’re lost in the woods with Heather Donahue from The Blair Witch Project (1999), the chaotic queen of found footage and one of the most debated Final Girls in horror history. Is she a control freak? A victim of misogyny? Or just the only one trying to not die in the woods? We recorded this episode LIVE in front of an audience at GhoulieCon on July 20, and it was an extra special one because our Scream Things picked Heather as our Final Girl for this episode.

Spoiler Warning: If you don’t know how this one ends, bless your VHS-deprived heart.

Theme by Max Anson

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They still know what you did and we still don’t know why this movie exists. This week, we’re talking about Julie & Karla from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, aka the sequel that proves not every Final Girl deserves a follow-up. We hated this movie (not even in a fun way), but trust: it made for one of our most chaotic, laugh-out-loud episodes yet. We get into the offensively fake voodoo plotline, the zero chemistry friendship, the paper-thin plot, and why this movie aged like milk. Plus: our bafflement over White Guy Rasta Jack Black, and how this movie somehow manages to be offensive, boring, and so dumb while trying to be deadly serious.

Spoiler Warning: If you’ve seen it, you know. If you haven’t… you’re probably fine.

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Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) goes from small-town golden girl to haunted survivor in I Know What You Did Last Summer, a film that asks: what if your worst mistake came back with a hook? This week, we unravel Julie’s guilt, paranoia, and transformation from trembling honor student to one of the most iconic Final Girls of the late ’90s. We talk about the wave of post-Scream slashers, Y2K fashion, that iconic screaming-in-the-street scene, and why this movie is pure seaside teen trauma.

Spoiler Warning: This episode contains major spoilers for I Know What You Did Last Summer and the sequel that… maybe we all kinda forgot?

Theme by Max Anson

Visit us at www.final-girls.com

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