Back in 2020, I threw together one of my very first big lists when I set out to rank the greatest female horror characters. I was pretty green at list-making back then, but after stumbling across it again recently, I figured it was prime time for an update. A ton of killer new entries have come along since then, while I also updated my catalog with some previously unseen classics.
This time around, I approached it fresh, like the original list didn’t even exist. I brainstormed and ranked every character I felt deserved a spot, without peeking at the old version. I wanted to see what ranking would happen naturally: Which newer ones would force their way in? How would the old favorites reshuffle in the rankings? Would any get the axe entirely?
Once I had my new list locked in, I finally compared the two side by side… and there were some real shake-ups. I ended up adding 18 new entries, which meant cutting 18 to make room, and a few of those cuts hurt.
For each entry now, you’ll see a “Previously Ranked” note at the bottom showing exactly what happened. Did it climb, drop, stay put, or get dropped altogether? Tracking the biggest risers, fallers, and cuts was honestly a blast.
Hope y’all enjoy this refreshed take on the baddest, most iconic women in horror! Drop your own thoughts in the comments!
100. Elizabeth/Frakenhooker (Patty Mullen) | Frankenhooker (1990)
Who doesn’t want to see a lost loved one at least one more time? Especially after losing them to a tragic event like being chopped up by a remote-controlled lawnmower. Well, Jeffery doesn’t want to only see his deceased girlfriend; he wants to resurrect her, and the only way he can is by using the body parts of prostitutes. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Frankenhooker.
Once this previously innocent and sweet girl is brought back to life, the hooker parts take over, and she can only repeat phrases from the ladies of the night. “Wanna date? Got any money?” You know, the classics. She is just a working girl walking the streets doing what she knows best, but don’t worry, Frankenhooker and feminism win in the end.
Previous Ranking: #100
99. Pauline (AnnaLynne McCord) | Excision (2012)
Excision is an under-the-radar horror comedy worth watching for AnnaLynne McCord’s performance alone as Pauline. She is a deeply disturbed, socially isolated teen obsessed with becoming a surgeon, with her dreams and fantasies revolving around graphic medical procedures, mutilation, blood, and necrophilia. You know, your normal teenage girl.
What seems like a typical coming-of-age story spirals into darker territory as her surgical fixations turn to horrifying extremes as her fantasies begin to blur with reality. AnnaLynne McCord delivers a transformative performance, with her unflinching commitment to the character’s delusion and rage, making Pauline both repulsive and weirdly funny, yet ultimately memorable.
Previous Ranking: New Entry
98. Kim Bok-nam (Seo Young-hee) | Bedevilled (2010)
Bok-nam is a desperate woman at the end of her rope. She was left behind as her best friend went off to the city and ignored her letters, which were cries for help. She is treated like a slave by her abusive husband and the women of her village. She plans to save her daughter and take her away to the city, but during a struggle with her husband and his goons, her daughter is killed.
Morgan Freeman voice “It was at this point, they realized, they had royally screwed the pooch.” Bok-nam snapped by going on a murderous rampage with a sickle, cutting down all who had wronged her. Vengeance would be hers, and all that made her suffer would pay the ultimate price.
Previous Ranking: #99
97. Emerald “Em” Haywood (Keke Palmer) | Nope (2022)
Em is the bold, charismatic, heart and soul of the family business, who is tired of being stuck in her brother OJ’s shadow. When a massive, UFO-like entity starts abducting their horses and people, Em doesn’t cower as she sees an opportunity to go viral.“We’re gonna get that Oprah shot!”
Keke Palmer delivers an electric performance with infectious energy, making Em instantly lovable with her rapid-fire one-liners and refusal to back down even when the alien presence turns deadly. She’s resourceful and fearless, and fiercely intelligent, who carries the film’s emotional weight that makes her one of the best horror heroines of the 2020s.
Previous Ranking: New Entry
96. Rhoda Penmark (Patty McCormack) | The Bad Seed (1956)
Those are the eyebrows of a killer if I ever did see one. Rhoda is a murderous and sociopathic 8-year-old whose inherent evil is, well, inherited. She views murder as a necessary means to protect her villainous ways, and because it’s a little fun. Dogs, the elderly, and kids her age have all met their fate at her hands. She tries to prance around like a delicate little flower till the live-in gardener sees through her facade. So, of course, Rhoda dispatches him, and not even her own mother could stop her path of destruction. She gives Damien a run for his money in the evil kid department.
Previous Ranking: #94
95. Sister Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) | The First Omen (2024)
Sister Margaret has that wide-eyed innocence with a troubled past, having been tucked away in an orphanage upbringing, and a genuine desire to help the kids at Vizzardeli Orphanage. However, the universe has other plans for her. What starts as a simple gig before becoming a full nun spirals into nightmare fuel as she bonds with a mistreated orphan girl named Carlita. She spots creepy drawings, witnesses a nun’s fiery self-immolation, and uncovers a dark conspiracy right in the heart of the Church itself. Powerful holy men are engineering the birth of the Antichrist to scare the faithless youth back into the fold.
Nell Tiger Free is phenomenal as Sister Margaret, transforming her from a meek, faithful young woman into a feral, righteous force of nature who refuses to be just another pawn in the devil’s (or the Church’s) game. She’s terrified, violated, betrayed by those she trusted most, forced to confront her own horrifying origins and an unimaginable pregnancy, but she fights back with raw fury and a fierce desire to protect Carlita and her own doomed child.
–Sailor Monsoon
Previous Ranking: New Entry
94. Maddie (Kate Siegel) | Hush (2016)
We’ve seen a million home invasion movies. Yelling at the screen for the victim to run, hide, or grab that damn knife, but this time, the poor girl actually can’t hear your screaming. What sets this one apart is that the final girl is deaf and mute. She is a horror author living alone in a secluded cabin in the woods, writing her next book and trying to move past a rough breakup. The masked killer toys with her once he figures out her disability, stealing her phone, snapping creepy pics, and turning her silence into his playground. However, Maddie isn’t some helpless damsel. Her inability to hear doesn’t make her weak; it forces her to rely on sharp eyes, quick wits, and sheer grit to fight back against a sadistic intruder who’s way too cocky for his own good.
Kate Siegel is phenomenal as Maddie, bringing raw vulnerability, smarts, and unbreakable toughness to the role. She takes a brutal beating (crossbow bolts, stabs, the works) but dishes it right back, using everything from a corkscrew to her own blood-written defiance (“Do it”) to turn the tables. Maddie isn’t defined or held back by her disability; she’s a tough handicapale women who overcomes the odds through resourcefulness and pure survival instinct. It’s impossible not to root for her as she goes toe-to-toe with the killer, flipping the home-invasion formula on its head and proving that silence can be deadly.
Previous Ranking: #93
93. Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) | Orphan (2009)
Spoiler Alert Orphan isn’t particularly a good movie. It is essentially a ripoff of The Bad Seed, but with one massive twist that saves it from horror obscurity. Esther seems like your normal evil 9-year-old Russian kid who was adopted by an unlucky couple we have all seen at your local Whole Foods.
However, Ether gets into all kinds of mischief, like knowing a little too much about sex for a 9-year-old and bludgeoning a nun with a hammer. You know, a normal Saturday afternoon fun but what we all don’t know is Esther, and here’s the shocker, she is a 33-year-old woman with a disorder that has stunted her growth. She has gone around most of her life pretending to be a kid in order to manipulate and kill. Young actress Isabelle Fuhrman does a phenomenal job here in this role.
Previous Ranking: #92
92. Veronica (Geena Davis) | The Fly (1986)
David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly is a profound exploration of body horror, delving into heavy themes like succumbing to a terminal illness and addiction, while also capturing the devastating experience of watching a loved one slowly deteriorate and transform into something unrecognizable. Seth Brundle’s gradual mutation into the grotesque Brundlefly serves as a visceral metaphor for these losses, blending grotesque physical changes with deep emotional tragedy.
The heart of this is Veronica (“Ronnie”), who functions as the audience’s primary point of view for those on the “other side”: the caregivers and partners forced to witness and cope with irreversible decline. She is a sharp, career-driven journalist initially drawn to Seth’s groundbreaking teleportation work, but she becomes torn between her professional ambitions and her deepening love for him. Davis delivers a powerful, nuanced performance, portraying Veronica’s growing horror, heartbreak, and resolve with raw authenticity.
Previous Ranking: #81
91. Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose Depp) | Nosferatu (2024)
As a lonely young girl, Ellen prayed for a guardian angel, a spirit of comfort to ease her isolation, only to accidentally summon the ancient, grotesque Count Orlok through a psychic bond that haunts her for years. She ends up marrying the sweet but clueless Thomas Hutter as she tries to bury the connection. That is, until Thomas heads to Transylvania on business, unwittingly inviting the Nosferatu right to their doorstep. Ellen’s plagued by erotic, terrifying nightmares, seizures, and visions that the men around her dismiss as hysteria, but she knows the truth: Orlok’s obsession with her is spreading plague and death, and she’s the only one who can end it.
Lily-Rose Depp delivers a powerhouse and physical performance. She starts fragile and yearning, convulsing in bed as the vampires’ pull awakens something dark and sensual inside her, but she evolves into a fierce, defiant, unapologetic force willing to confront her own desires head-on. Far from a sacrificial lamb, Ellen claims agency over the curse she unwittingly invited. Depp nails every angle of Ellen’s character: vulnerability, erotic torment, and her righteous fury.
–Sailor Monsoon
Previous Ranking: New Entry
90. Alice Johnson (Lisa Wilcox) | A Nightmare on Elm Street (Franchise)
Alice Johnson began as a shy, traumatized teenager from a broken home, coping with her mother’s death and her father’s alcoholism through daydreams, until she inherited extraordinary dream-manipulating powers in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master. Becoming the “Dream Master”, she absorbed the souls of Freddy Krueger’s victims, turned his own power against him, and delivered one of the franchise’s most decisive defeats, banishing the dream demon and emerging as one of the few Elm Street children to truly kick his ass and survive.
Even while pregnant in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, Alice refused to yield when Freddy targeted her unborn son Jacob as his next gateway to victims. She fought back fiercely once again, protecting her “Dream Child” and ultimately sealing Freddy away for good. Among all those haunted by Krueger on Elm Street, Alice stands out as one of the rare survivors to endure multiple confrontations with the nightmare demon and live to tell the tale, transforming from a meek victim into a powerful, resilient heroine who repeatedly defied pure evil.
Previous Ranking: #90
89. Tree (Jessica Rothe) | Happy Death Day (Franchise)
Tree is a modern take on the final girl trope in slasher films. Far from the traditional virginal, innocent coed who barely survives by staying pure and passive, Tree starts as a flawed, self-centered sorority girl, selfish, snarky, promiscuous, and often the type who’d die early for sleeping around or being mean. She’s the kind of character who might try to seduce someone else’s boyfriend, making her initially unlikable and destined for an early kill in classic slashers.
Yet, through the relentless time loop where she repeatedly wakes up on her birthday only to be hunted and murdered by a masked killer, she undergoes genuine growth, becoming smarter, more resourceful, and ultimately heroic as she works to identify her killer and break the cycle. Jessica Rothe delivers a charismatic performance that makes you want to see this “mean girl” actually survive.
Previous Ranking: #67
88. Rhonda LeBeck (Finn Carter) | Tremors (1990)
The formidable Graboids were no match for cuteness and brains. Case in point, Rhonda successfully outwitted them at every turn, helping save Val’s bacon a time or two. (Get it? I’ll see myself out.) Rhonda is a grad student studying seismology when all hell breaks loose, and she has to use not only her learning but also some street skills to survive these vicious land sharks. She also gets the guy, too. Just a real woman’s woman, if you will. She is practical, passionate, relatable, and heroic without relying on stereotypes, making her an essential part of what makes Tremors such an enduring, fun monster movie.
Previous Ranking: #94
87. Marie (Cécile de France) | High Tension (2003)
Forget the logistical issues of the film; Marie helped usher in the wave of New French Extremity with a brutal and gory film where she is both a damsel in distress and vicious killer in 2003’s Haute Tension. We see her have fantasies about her friend Alex, “survive” the killer, and become a maniacal monster herself in the name of lesbian love and dissociative identity disorder. When her personality splits, she murders everyone in her way except for the object of her affection, her friend Alex. The scene of Marie running around with the cement saw is as badass as it gets.
Previous Ranking: #96
86. Maxine (Mia Goth) | X (2022) & MaXXXine (2024)
In X, Maxine is a young woman working in the adult film industry. Set in 1979, the film follows Maxine and a group of filmmakers as they travel to rural Texas to shoot a low-budget pornographic film. Maxine is a rising star with big dreams of becoming famous, and this ambition is a driving force behind her character. She carries a rebellious confidence, exuding both vulnerability and determination. Maxine is driven by her belief that she is “destined for greatness,” a mantra she repeats throughout the film. Her background as the daughter of a conservative preacher (as revealed in the film) adds complexity to her motivations, showing that her rebellion against her strict upbringing plays a role in her life choices. When the violence begins—when the elderly couple hosting the crew starts to murder them—Maxine fights to survive. She becomes the film’s final girl, but in a way that suggests she is not just fighting for her life, but for her future.
Maxxxine takes place in the aftermath of X, following Maxine as she pursues her dream of stardom in 1980s Hollywood. The film is set in the adult film industry at the height of the VHS boom, and Maxine’s quest for fame is central to the story. While X was a slasher film steeped in 1970s horror aesthetics, Maxxxine reflects the neon-lit excess of 1980s Hollywood, exploring themes of fame, exploitation, and the darker side of ambition. In this sequel, Maxine is no longer just a survivor but an ambitious woman chasing fame at any cost. Her mantra of being destined for greatness continues to shape her decisions, driving her deeper into the morally complex world of the adult film industry. Much like the first one, she becomes the target of a killer, and just like that one, she doesn’t passively deal with it. She does what she needs to survive. She is destined for greatness after all.
-Sailor Monsoon
Previous Ranking: New Entry
85. Gwen Blake (Madeleine McGraw) | The Black Phone (Franchise)
Gwen quickly became beloved as the fierce, foul-mouthed little sister who is quick to punch bullies in The Black Phone. She is cursed with vivid psychic dreams that expose the Grabber’s crimes as she becomes a one-girl army to find her kidnapped brother. As a teen in the sequel, her dreams escalate into nightmare battles against the Grabber’s vengeful spirit, forcing her to once again save the day.
McGraw elevates Gwen from a tormented pre-teen into a powerhouse final girl. She’s mouthy and emotionally layered while dropping one-liners in the midst of chaos. Madeleine McGraw’s dual-film arc transforms Gwen from a standout supporting spitfire into one of modern horror’s most compelling young heroines.
Previous Ranking: New Entry
84. Lola “Princess” Stone (Robin McLeavy) | The Loved Ones (2009)
Oh, Lola. She doesn’t handle rejection all that well. Like your stereotypical teenage girl, she crushes hard on the cute boy toys at her school, batting her lashes and dreaming up little fantasies. But unlike your typical teenage girl, her version of “crushing” involves straight-up kidnapping her latest true love, chaining him up, and unleashing a big heaping pile of torture on the poor sap. We’re talking the good old-fashioned lobotomy: drilling holes into skulls, pouring boiling water inside, the works. Daddy’s little psycho gets to do whatevah she wants, no questions asked.
Robin McLeavy is devilishly sinister as Lola in The Loved Ones, playing the role to perfection. She nails that bubbly, wide-eyed teenage sweetness right up until the moment the mask slips and the sadistic glee pours out, making Lola one of the most unhinged, memorable villains in modern horror. Sweet sixteen never looked so terrifying.
Previous Ranking: #82
83. Barb (Margot Kidder) | Black Christmas (1974)
Margot is best known as the iconic Lois Lane, Superman’s tough, no-nonsense love interest. But to horror fans, she’ll forever be the heavy-smoking, heavy-drinking, razor-tongued sorority smartass from Black Christmas (1974). Barb doesn’t flinch at the obscene prank calls coming from the psycho lurking in the attic; she just fires back with pure, unfiltered attitude. Barb, don’t take jive off no turkeys! Whether it’s the killer on the line or anyone else dumb enough to cross her.
When an ignorant cop asks for the sorority house number, Barb doesn’t hesitate to spell it out for him in a lewd, filthy manner. Classic Barb. Margot Kidder nails the role to perfection, turning a supporting character into one of the most memorable, ballsy ladies in horror history. Smoking, boozing, and mouthing off right up until the end. Barb goes out like a champ.
Previous Ranking: #41
82. Justine (Garance Marillier) | Raw (2016)
Coming from a strict, lifelong vegetarian family, Justine is already primed for a little rebellion the second she steps out on her own at veterinary school. But it’s not some innocent bacon cheeseburger binge that flips the switch. No, it’s a brutal hazing ritual where her sadistic upperclassmen force her to swallow raw rabbit liver in front of everyone. One bite, and something primal awakens. What starts as horrified gagging quickly turns into a secret, guilty pleasure: she’s suddenly craving meat, real meat, and not just the juicy sirloin kind.
Garance Marillier is mesmerizing as Justine, playing the slow-burn descent from sheltered good girl to full-on carnivorous monster with raw intensity. She begins by sneaking bites of animal flesh in the dead of night, hiding the evidence like it’s porn, but the hunger escalates fast, and soon she’s licking blood off wounds, biting her sister during a fight, and eyeing human meat with a mix of terror and ravenous delight. By the end, Justine isn’t just tasting flesh; she’s devouring it, body and soul, in one of the most visceral, body-horror coming-of-age stories ever put to film. No more Impossible burgers for her.
Previous Ranking: #84
81. Jay (Maika Monroe) | It Follows (2014)
Aww, young love. Nothing says romance like a cute guy wining and dining you, whispering sweet nothings, then slipping you his very special brand of death herpes. Poor Jay, the shy, awkward college girl who’s finally letting herself fall for what seems like a really great dude. They have one magical, steamy night… until she wakes up tied to a wheelchair in some creepy abandoned building, and he calmly explains the rules before offing himself. Now she’s got “It”: a sexually transmitted curse that looks like a slow-walking naked nightmare and is hell-bent on passing itself on the second she stops running or having sex.
Maika Monroe kills it as Jay. She is raw, relentless, and way more empowering than your average horror final girl. She doesn’t just survive; she fights back against the ultimate STD from hell, turning young love’s nightmare into one of the most chilling, stylish, and unforgettable modern horrors around.
Previous Ranking: #57
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What do you think of the selection so far? Who are some of your favorite female horror characters? Perhaps they will appear later on the list.
