Penultimate Girls
TOP TEN PENULTIMATE GIRLS
Everyone knows what a Final Girl is. It's the chic in a horror movie (usually a slasher flick) who survives to the end and manages to vanquish the monster while all her friends are killed. Usually (not always) this Final girl is a virgin and doesn't do drugs (although I do think that aspect of the final girl has been a bit misrepresented, for instance Jamie Lee Curtis the most famous final girl of all time smoked a joint on her way to battle Michael Meyers in Halloween not to mention Alice from the original Friday The 13Th gets high and plays strip monopoly with Bing Crosby's son on the fateful night and manages to live to see the 14Th but I digress.
(Do not pass go. Do not live through this film. Do not have a career after this fil.HEY!)
But what about the Penultimate Girl? You know that hapless girl that almost stays alive until the end credits? Or worse yet actually manages to survive the entire movie only to be dispatched in the first ten minutes of the next installment? While it's true these almost survivor's are sometimes bland in comparison to the final girl (producers don't want the audience to like the other victims too much..these people must die!) the final girl should be the most likable character in the movie and the one we root for. Curiously the Penultimate Girl tends to be either the Final Girls closest friend (Halloween,Halloween 5,Screams 1-2) or the Final Girls arch Nemesis usually over some man (Prom Night,Friday The 13Th the New Blood,Carrie).
So if the Final Girls are the alpha females of the slasher movie then the Penultimate Girl is the #2. The Penultimate Girl is the Ethel. The Final Girl is the Lucy. The Penultimate Girl is Kelly. The Final Girl is Beyonce.
Well Screw Beyonce. Today we celebrate all The Kelly Rowlands of horror and hell maybe even a few Michelle's. (ahem)..so without further adieu I give you my Top Ten Penultimate Girls!
#10 Susan Jennifer Sullivan "Melissa"
Penultimate Cred: Friday The 13th The New Blood (1988) Status: Dead God she was such a uber bitch the entire movie to sweet Final Girl Tina I almost hated to see her go. Her original death was awesome but the MPAA slashed it within an inch of it's axe. As a big fuck you to them I included the uncut version here. She was soooo axing for it!
#9 Anne Marie Martin "Wendy"
Penultimate Cred: Prom Night (1980)Halloween 2 (1981) Status: Dead in Prom Night but alive in Halloween 2. She had 2 lines at the beginning of Halloween 2 and then basically dropped the actual Penultimate Girl off at the hospital where Jamie Lee Curtis was recovering from Halloween 1 and kept it moving (lucky bitch) but in Prom Night she was another example of the uber bitch Penultimate Girl. It's pretty much her fault that the killers sister dies in the beginning of that movie thus making all the deaths after that her fault as well. To top it off she is rude to her maid. It should be noted that the chase scene that preceded her death was pretty much the template for slasher chase scenes from that moment onward. want see it?
#8 Ellie Cornell "Rachel"
Status: Dead (scissors to the heart) Penultimate cred: Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 OK depending on how you look at it Ellie Cornel's Rachel Corruthers could either be considered the Final Girl or the Penultimate Girl who survives in Halloween 4 since both her and Daniele Harris shared much of their screen time and both survived the film.
In Halloween 5 however the idiot director decided to kill off Rachel and spare (for the most part) her annoying and useless friend Tina whom most genre geeks vote the worst Final girl of all time. I don't mind if a Final Girl is killed off in a subsequent sequel just make sure her replacement is not half as cute, interesting or capable because then it becomes tedious.
#7 Patricia Arquette "Kristen"
Penultimate Cred: Nightmare On Elm street part 3 (her character appears recast in 4) Status:Dead I'm sure bigger slasher geeks than me will argue that Arquettes Kristen was THE Final girl in Nightmare On Elm Street not the Penultimate Girl but I disagree. Nancy who is Freddy Krugers arch enemy in 3 NMOES movies is presnt and although she does indeed die she manages to vanquish Freddy first which makes her in my mind the Final girl by seniority alone. Patrica refused to appear in part 4 so they recast and killed the character. The Kristen in part 3 was tough, smart, likable and cute and had the ability to draw others into her dreams. the Kristen in part 4? not so much.
#6 Kelly Jo Minter
Penultimate Cred: Nightmare On Elmstreet 5,Popcorn, The People Under The Stairs Status: Alive in NMOES and People Under The Stairs but I'm sure she died in Popcorn.
I had to have a sista on this list and let me tell you it was not easy to find a black chic who survived a horror movie much less a slasher. It's pretty much just Kelly Jo and Brandy from I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and since the fact that Ray J exists means I can't stomach Brandy any longer Kelly jo Wins by default. Every other black chic Freddy has faced is dead and that includes Kelly Roland.
#5 Danielle Panabaker
Penultimate Cred: Friday the 13th(2009) The Crazies (2009) Status: Dead Poor thing. She really is the classic example of a Penultimate Girl in that she manages to stay alive an incredibly long amount of time in both the Crazies and Friday the the 13th remakes. She is basically set up to be the actual Final Girl in Friday The 13th only to be dispatched moments before the movie is over with the Final Guys sister becoming the Final Girl (which considering she spent the entire movie chained in Jason's lair waiting for her brother and her to rescue her which they did seemed unfair. In the Crazies she got one of those awesome you think the action is over and then blam out the blue somebody gets it car wash deaths. Yeah one of those. As I said she tends to stay alive a long time for a Penultimate Girl almost as if the director really didn't want to kill her. Maybe I should have ranked her higher but I don't like typing Panabaker so she stays at # 5
#4 PJ Soles and Nancy Loomis (tie)
Penultimate Cred: Carrie,Halloween,Assault On Precinct 13,The Fog Status: Both of Pj Soles characters Lynda and Norma are dead as are Annie and Julie the characters Loomis played in Halloween and Assault however her character from The Fog survived but seemed dead inside.
Do I really need to explain why these two iconic cult actresses made the list? Just look at the movies they appeared in. Nancy Loomis was a John Carpenter day player who died in Halloween and P13 but survived The Fog. She made 3 horror classics and then disappeared from Hollywood thus cementing her cult status.
PJ Soles was more mainstream, made fun of Carrie White, got strangled by Michael Meyers married Dennis Quaid, made Rock n Roll High-school with The Ramones and called it a day. By the way in Halloween the character of Annie (Loomis) seems like she is set up to be the Penultimate girl, she spends more time with the final girl, is stalked longer even though Soles Lynda ultimately lives longer.
#3 Danielle Harris
She was almost #1. She plays Jamie Lloyd Jamie Lee Curtis daughter and Michael Meyers niece who survives but goes bonkers in Halloween 4 returns semi sane yet telepathic in Halloween 5 then recast and killed in Halloween 6.
Cut to Rob Zombies remake and he casts Danielle as the re imagined Annie who in the remake actually survives (barely) but defiantly dies in the remake of the sequel! Sigh. Still all in all a pretty mean Halloween pedigree. She was almost #1.
#2 Hayden Panettiere "Kirby"
Penultimate Cred: Scream 4 Status: Dead? She never actually stopped moving so there is a chance. Hayden Panettiere almost did too good of a job with her portrayal as female slasher expert Kirby in Wes cravens Scream 4. Every scene she is in you are drawn to her and she manages to read her dialogue ion a way that you believe everything that comes out of her mouth.
Add to the fact that her Character Kirby was a potential killer adding another layer onto her performance Pannettiere managed to create a penultimate girl who was more likable and interesting than the actual Final Girl(s). If the producers are smart and if another sequel is made she will be back.
#1 Nancy Stephens "Nurse Marion Chambers"
Penultimate Cred: Halloween, Halloween 2, Halloween H20. Lets recap. Nurse Marion Chambers first shows up in the opening moments of Halloween (1978) riding with Dr Loomis to transfer Michael Meyers out of Haddonfield Santatriom. Meyers of course escapes, attacks Marion and steals her car but she escapes with her life!
She then returns in Halloween 2 and is the person responsible for revealing that Jamie Lee Curtis is Michael Meyers sister and despite being present in the hospital showdown at the end still survives!
Cut to 1998 20 years later and Halloween H2o which not only bought back Jamie Lee Curtis but also saw the return of the chain smoking Marion. Too bad the 3rd time turned out to not be the charm as she was killed before the opening credits but the tough old broad went down fighting bless her heart.
Because she was the first female potential victim for an adult Michael Meyers and lived to tell in Halloween 1 because she revealed to Dr Loomis and the audience that Laurie Strode was Michael Meyers sister because she appeared in 3 installments over 20 years playing the same character yet in following the rules of the genre ultimately dies in the end Nancy Stephens is the #1 Penultimate Girl of all time.
(My Husband has directed 2 Halloween movies dear what has your husband directed? Traffioc?)
