One of the most famous Horror Movie tropes of all time is that of the final girl. From Laurie Strode to Sidney Prescott, these are the female protagonists who outlive the other characters in their respective movies.

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While they don't always survive their ordeals, many final girls are left to fight another day with the possibility of returning in future sequel(s). That being said, not all final girls who return for sequels are quite so lucky the second time around and finally meet their makers.

Karen Davis (The Grudge)

Karen in the grudge

Karen, an American nurse living in Japan, begins looking after the elderly Emma when she finds herself embroiled in a deadly curse. She soon begins to feel a presence in the house and finds herself stalked by the ghostly Kayako.

Although her boyfriend is killed and she only narrowly escapes herself, Karen returns in The Grudge 2. As she is the focus of the first movie, most viewers would be expecting the same in the sequel. However early on into the second movie, the curse comes for Karen while she is in hospital and she shockingly falls to her death from the roof, leaving her sister to take over as the new protagonist.

Lila Crane (Psycho)

Lila Crane screaming at the end of Psycho

Psycho features one of the most shocking horror movie plot twists but final girl Lila Crane does manage to survive. In the sequel, Norman Bates is released following his crimes in the original and Lila attempts to have him recommitted with the help of her daughter.

When Lila prepares to dress up as Mrs. Bates to taunt Norman and drive him to snap, she is attacked and killed by someone else in the guise of 'Mother.' As Norman killed her sister in that now-famous shower scene, it's understandable that Lila is rattled by his release. That being said, Lila's desperation for revenge ultimately leads to her death and her daughter's.

Alice Hardy (Friday The 13th)

Alice Hardy After She Kills Pamela - Friday The 13th 1980

Alice is the original final girl of the Friday the 13th franchise and after some unusual events, she horrifyingly wakes to discover all her friends have been murdered. She later discovers that the killer is Mrs. Voorhees and after a terrifying showdown, she decapitates her in self defence.

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Alice is traumatized following her ordeal as is seen in the opening scene of the sequel. During the scene, she is horrified to discover Mrs. Voorhees' rotting head in her fridge and is then stabbed in the head by an adult Jason. Despite being the final girl of the original, Alice isn't particularly memorable in her own right, so her death here acts as a shock misdirect without sacrificing a beloved character.

Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare On Elm Street)

Nancy Thompson standing in a corridor in A Nightmare On Elm Street

One of the horror movies that deserves a legacy sequel is A Nightmare on Elm Street. In the original, Nancy and her friends are stalked by a razor-fingered serial killer named Freddy in their nightmares. Although she does survive, the character doesn't return for the sequel.

However, Nancy is brought back in the third instalment when she is working as a psychologist and uses her knowledge to help a new group of Freddy's targets. Nancy teaches the group how to use 'powers' within their dreams in order to fight against the infamous killer. Sadly, towards the end of the movie Freddy finally kills Nancy and although it's heartbreaking to see the character go, it feels like a fitting ending for her.

Sarah Carter (The Descent)

Sarah escapes the cave in The Descent

The UK ending of The Descent, which is one of the best horror movies of the 2000's is deliciously bleak and suggests final girl, Sarah isn't long for this world. Despite the semi open-ended nature of this ending being one of the best things about the original, it is revisited in the inferior sequel. The second movie picks up from the US ending and Sarah has escaped the cave system and the deadly Crawlers.

As her friends are still missing and she can't remember anything, Sarah becomes a murder suspect and is forced to accompany the police back down into the caves. By the time her memories start to return, it's already too late for Sarah and she finds herself in another fight for survival. Although her death still isn't seen on screen, Sarah screams to alert the Crawlers and a huge horde run at her; her original ending in the UK version of the movie is far more subtle and fitting for the character than her death in the sequel.

Clear Rivers (Final Destination)

Clear and Alex in Final Destination

After death stalks the survivors of Flight 180 in Final Destination, Clear is the only character to live long enough to make it to the sequel. Following her experiences with death, Clear becomes highly paranoid and locks herself away in a padded room. When a new string of survivors begin to be picked off, she reluctantly agrees to come out of hiding and help them.

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Clear uses her deathly expertise to help Kimberly and the others but in a cruel twist of fate, she is killed out of the blue in an explosion. Although it's a solid twist to remind viewers death always wins, it's one of the more lacklustre kills from the series which is disappointing for a fan-favorite character like Clear who certainly deserves a more elaborate demise.

Laurie Strode (Halloween)

Jamie Lee Curtis looking over her shoulder in Halloween

Laurie is an unusual case as she's been killed twice and 'resurrected' twice within the Halloween franchise. After surviving Michael's reign of terror in the first two movies, she 'dies' off-screen prior to the events of the fourth movie. This is retconned in H20 and it is revealed that Laurie previously faked her death; however, the following sequel then controversially kills her in the opening scenes.

Luckily for fans of the character, her death is reversed in the reboot series which follows directly on from the original movie and ignores all of the subsequent sequels. This new version of the character is considered one of the best horror movie final girls of the 2010's and despite the many sequels within the franchise, Laurie's reluctance to stay 'dead' shows just how popular she is within the horror community.

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