Out Loud | The Coup by Kacie Tergesen + Final Girls
Girl In Trouble Out Loud: for your listening pleasure, we present the audio version of The Coup. Plus, why we love a Final Girl.
Toni Lewis
Toni (she/her), is an American actress, best known for her role as Detective Terri Stivers on Homicide: Life on the Street (ed. note: available now on Peacock for the first time ever on streaming). She is also known in smaller circles as the mother to the writer of this tale.
Final Girls of My Heart (Light Spoilers)
In case you aren’t familiar with the term, a “Final Girl” refers to, in the most basic definition, the lone survivor in a horror movie, particularly a slasher. Traditionally this character is, as one would imagine, a girl. Specifically a smart, bookish girl with a more chaste sensibility. You can see it especially in a film like Friday the 13th— Slashers hate it when teens have sex. The girls that don’t make it in these scenarios are often brutalized while in a state of undress to really drive the point home. Well, you may be thinking, that seems like a pretty outdated concept. Why celebrate the term “Final Girl”? And I say, because of the evolution! Then I go off on a really long tangent, and you start looking for someone else at the party to talk to. So I’ll keep this (relatively) succinct.
Starting as early as the 1970s, the concept of the survivors needing to be pure was already being turned on its ear. Slasher trailblazers like Halloween and Black Christmas featured respective Final Girls that were clever, resourceful, and sure, brunette… but there’s a realness there, too. Jess from Black Christmas is a particularly unique example of a Final Girl, especially for her time: Her personal through-line revolves around the discovery of her unplanned pregnancy by her pianist boyfriend. He’s overjoyed by the news, but she’s not ready. She wants to finish school and start a career, and there is neither a baby nor a husband in that picture. The rage her boyfriend exhibits over her impending abortion only serves to heighten the already tense mood of the film. Sure, we know who the murderer is (or who it isn’t), but it could just as easily be the furious boyfriend who thinks that Jess’ freewheeling sorority sisters are a bad influence on the would be mother of his child. Sometimes it’s more comforting to think that there’s a motive (seriously, pop this one on in December, it’s a Canadian classic).
Whether they’re forced into the role (think The Cabin in the Woods) or come upon it naturally, a Final Girl doesn’t even necessarily have to be the lone survivor. Adelaide makes it out of the main conflict of Us with her whole family, but only by destroying a part of herself for good. We root for her, but there’s a dark secret there that makes it hard to leave the movie feeling completely settled. Reiko Asakawa from Ring has a similar arc— a way out, but at a very steep price. What decision would you make? If you were Bridgitte Fitzgerald from Ginger Snaps, would you be able to do what is “right” if it meant betraying the person closest to you?
Listen, dude, Final Girl is a state of mind. One of my all time favorite characters in this archetype happens to be Ashley Williams of the Evil Dead franchise. A regular guy that is driven to violence and madness through the sheer terror of his supernatural circumstance. He is, for all intents and purposes, a Final Girl. Not to mention, wielder of one of the most iconic weapons in horror history.
Okay, I can feel you searching for that other person at the party to talk to, so if nothing else, I hope I gave you some solid recs in the pantheon of Final Girl cinema. I was excited to write my own version of a Final Girl in Nicola Peters, and I hope I get to revisit their story some day. I’ll leave you with this—
Let your Final Girls be, occasionally, a big jerk. Let them love sex or let them hate it, but don’t let it define them. Let them make hardcore decisions that you can’t imagine yourself making, as long as you understand why. Just make sure that above all else, they’re prepared to survive !!!!at all costs!!!! That’s the Final Girl energy that resonates!
Also, let’s get some more Final Girls of color in the mix, okay? Teenage me is yelling with me across time for this one. I tried to insert the “I’m doing my part” screenshot from Starship Troopers but it made the post too big.
Toni is amazing!!! She brought an already brilliant story to life! This is so cool.
Fantastic! Love this story - and now I have to watch Child’s Play again.