Howdy friends!
I just wanted to discuss a small topic: Halloween seems to be known as the first slasher flick, or Jamie Lee Curtis is mentioned as the first final girl. (Literally, just read an online article deeming so.)
I’m curious as to why this is something that’s been portrayed; what about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Some people even consider Pschyo as the first true slasher flick. Are these movies maybe not heralded as true slashers in that sense there’s one specific killer? (With multiple kills or always seems to be able to come back?)
It depends a bit, maybe Nora Davis from Mario Bava’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much. There have been other female survivors of body count movies that have “old dark house” premises (like the film The Old Dark House, or Agatha Christie adaptations), Psycho also had a female survivor in Lila Crane, but those survivors are part of an ensemble and there are also male survivors of equal note (The Old Dark House has five survivors, the doctor and Mrs. Claythorne were equal survivors in And Then There Were None, though Mrs. Claythorne could be considered for the first “final girl”), plus those survivors usually weren’t the main focus (Lila Crane shows up after 1/3 or more of the movie is done and she shared time with Martin Balsam’s character and Sam Loomis (not our Sam, but who he was named after). And Then There Were None was an ensemble and Mrs. Claythorne didn’t become a more focused character until the final act. Nora Davis was the main focus of the film and the final survivor in a body count horror-mystery-thriller and the first giallo, so I’d nominate her.
Lol. Seriously, though. DarknessBDJM just smashed this thread in a single comment. His knowledge of the subject is amazing. Super cool to see that depth of knowledge around here. I think we might need to start a thread in the off-topic section on Agatha Christie. I’m a fan of hers.
I know Halloween likes to claim it kick-started the '80s slasher movie craze, but I would argue that Texas Chainsaw Massacre already lit the kindling four years prior.
And even then, Psycho could probably claim to be the first modern slasher movie, starting many of the tropes we’ve come to associate with slasher movies (crazed costumed killer attacking young women and the young men that try to protect them).
I think in terms of “final girl” there are more factors than just the last woman standing. JLC is considered the first or most popular because she actually fights back against the killer. Sally in Chainsaw didn’t really fight back, she just escapes. She’s pretty much under control by the family until she sees an opening to flee.
This is probably why JLC is considered the first true final girl. She put forth effort to protect the kids and she fought back against the killer when she was able to.
There are probably other horror films that came before where that was the case, but Halloween is the most mainstream and well known.
