You know who we're talking about. If you've ever seen anything that leans even a little into the horror genre, you've seen her. She's the sweet girl next door , who eschews teenage experimentation - no alcohol, no sex, definitely no drugs - desperately trying to outrun the serial killer at the end of a slasher flick. Her moral superiority might just be the thing that saves her. But she'll suffer first. Oh yes. Sound familiar? There have been lots of deconstructions of this trope and some excellent subversions, but you know how the dragons like to dissect things! This week, Jules and Madeleine take a stroll this this particular trope's path, tracing it from horror to thriller to crime to SFF. Like most tropes, it's not all bad although there's definitely some less savoury aspects to this one. Under the microscope this week - Alien, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre and many more. Join us for a look at the gory origins of the Final Girl.
Title Music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 141: Spirits of the Deep and Dark - A Dissecting Dragons Hallowe'en Special
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 140: Parody, Farce and Exaggeration - Satire in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 139: That is Illogical - Murderous, Wacky and Wise-cracking AI in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 138: Streetwalkers, Courtesans and Companions - The World's Oldest Profession in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 137: This Year's God - The Human Need for Archetypes
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 136: Remus Werewolf McWerewolf Lupin - The Importance of Character Names in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Ep 135: Grimalkin, Mogget and Mr Kindly - Cats in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 134: Love Ladies Lost! Revisiting Arthurian Legend
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 133: Every Hero Needs a Sam - The Unlikely Best Friend in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 132: Stranger than Fiction - the Weird and Wonderful World of Writing
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 131: Hobbit Holes, Burrows and Secret Lairs - the Concept of Home in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 130: Masked Marauders - Double Lives and Secret Identities in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 129: Marrying in Haste - Young Love in YA Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 128: Neat Little Monsters - The Animal Companion in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 127: Crime & Culpability - Should Characters get what they Really Deserve
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 126: The Slow Death of Literature - What Readers Really Want
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 125: From a Certain Point of View - Multiple POVs, Dual Timelines and Reader Sympathies in Speculative Fiction.
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 124: Visitations and Forebodings - How Nightmares are used in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 123: From the Deep - Mystery, Suspense and Sea Monsters in Historical Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 122: Baby Doom - The Stork Visits in Speculative Fiction
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