Collider ranks ten standout “Final Girl” characters in horror cinema, celebrating survivors who overcome extreme danger through resilience, quick thinking and determination. The article argues that the archetype remains one of horror’s most enduring and inspiring conventions, while recognising that it has evolved beyond its traditional slasher-film roots.

– Sarah Carter, *The Descent* (2005): transforms from grief-stricken survivor into a ruthless fighter against cave-dwelling creatures and betrayal.
– The list traces the archetype back to competing early examples: Sally Hardesty in *The Texas Chain Saw Massacre* and Jess Bradford in *Black Christmas* (both 1974).
– It highlights the genre’s familiar conventions, including killers who return after seeming defeated and survivors often portrayed as sober and level-headed.
– The ranking also notes more unconventional modern variations, such as Maxine Minx, alongside classic survival-horror heroines.