Halloween is just under two weeks away, which means there’s no better time to talk about the iconic slasher franchise of the same name. But we’ve already ranked all the movies in order from the worst to best. The same goes for Michael Myers’ masks and even the actors who play him. All the different versions of “final girl” Laurie Strode, too.
But what about all the other final girls from the film series? Laurie Strode isn’t the only “Scream Queen” in Haddonfield, Illinois. If we take a look at all 12 Halloween movies that feature Michael Myers (nope — 1982’s Halloween III: Season of the Witch doesn’t count), then there are nine final girls (which include a whole bunch of different versions of Laurie).
Here they are, ranked from worst to best.
Tina Williams — Halloween 5
Tina Williams, portrayed by Wendy Kaplan, is one of many things wrong with the piping hot mess that is Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989). Not only is she incredibly irksome in every conceivable way, she steals the movie from the actual final girl Rachel Carruthers (we’ll get to that a bit later).
You know that annoying, high-energy friend in every single slasher movie who always ends up getting killed pretty early on? Well, that’s Tina, except we must suffer her presence for the best part of the entire film.
What happened to Tina? She was killed by Michael Myers (Don Shanks) at the end, but no one really noticed or cared.
Sara Moyer — Halloween: Resurrection
2002’s Halloween: Resurrection is a certified stinker. While it isn’t the worst entry in the entire franchise (that honor goes to the agonizingly dull Halloween 5), it’s still laughably bad. However, Bianca Kajlich turns in a somewhat decent performance as final girl Sara Moyer.
Ultimately, standing in the shadow of Busta Rhymes’ larger-than-life Freddie Harris renders her about as memorable as the fifth Halloween outing, but she still puts up a pretty good fight against Michael Myers (Brad Loree) during their fiery showdown in a garage.
What happened to Sara? Halloween: Resurrection killed the series, so we’ll never know.
Kara Strode — Halloween 6
Marianna Hagan’s Kara Strode isn’t the worst final girl in Halloween, but she isn’t the best, either. She’s also surrounded by a pretty awful film in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995). It has its positives, though, which include a terrifying Michael Myers (George P Wilbur) and some of the best kills in the series.
Kara delivers some solid screams, but the truth is she’s difficult to judge as a proper final girl as it’s unclear who the actual star of these mess is. Paul Rudd’s Tommy Doyle? Donald Pleasence’s Sam Loomis? Michael?
What happened to Kara? Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers also killed the series.
Related: Unraveling Michael Myers: His Motivations for Murder in ‘Halloween’
Laurie Strode — Halloween, Halloween II
Yes — we’ve ranked Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) pretty low. Well, one version of her anyway. But why? There’s no denying that Laurie Strode is one of the most definitive final girls in horror, but to say that she’s without flaw is an exaggeration. In the 1978 film by John Carpenter, Laurie is actually pretty annoying. {
We get it — if the bogeyman was hunting us, we’d be cowering and whimpering too — but it hardly makes for the best viewer experience. And by the time we get to Halloween II (1981), she’s just one big screeching mess.
What happened to the original Laurie? So many different things — which is why we’ve saved that answer for the end.
Rachel Carruthers — Halloween 4
Rachel Carruthers (Ellie Cornell) is a widely celebrated Halloween final girl. Though many argue that she’s got nothing on the OG Laurie Strode, her time as the co-lead in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) alongside young Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris) is widely praised by fans.
Despite being a pretty selfish teen early on in the film, Rachel eventually comes through for her adopted sister; putting her life on the line many times when it comes to protecting Jamie from her evil uncle Michael (George P Wilbur).
What happened to Rachel? She’s unceremoniously killed by Michael Myers in Halloween 5.
Laurie Strode — Rob Zombie’s Halloween Movies
The next iteration of Laurie Strode on our list is from Scout Taylor-Compton in the two Rob Zombie remakes, Halloween (2007) and Halloween II (2009). Say what you will about these two flicks (most fans don’t like them as they’re very grimy and rough around the edges), but Scout Taylor-Compton brings plenty of fresh energy to the table as Michael Myers’ sister Laurie Strode (formerly Angel Myers).
Though a re-tread in parts (at least the 2007 film), Taylor-Compton’s Haddonfield teen is a far more disturbing iteration than Carpenter’s.
What happened to Scout Taylor-Compton’s Laurie? At the end of 2009’s Halloween II, she’s been locked in a mental asylum (presumably Smith’s Grove Sanitarium) where she sees the same visions her now-dead brother Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) did: the ghostly apparition of their mother Deborah Myers (Sheri Moon Zombie) and a white horse.
Laurie Strode — David Gordon Green’s Halloween Trilogy
While the latest three films, Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022), remain divisive, Curtis’ return as the “original” Laurie Strode (although she’s also an alternate continuation) is a force to be reckoned with. But then it depends which of the three films we’re talking about.
In the latter two, she doesn’t have a great deal to do (in Kills, she spends the entire time in hospital). In 2018’s Halloween, however, Laurie is a gun-toting doomsday-prepping badass and the reason this iteration has made it to third place.
Jamie Lloyd — Halloween 4, Halloween 5
In second place is Jamie Lloyd, who was portrayed by Danielle Harris in Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
In later years, Harris went on to play Annie Brackett in the two Rob Zombie Halloween remakes, but it’s her performance as young Jamie, daughter of Laurie, in the two ’80s sequels, that solidified her as a Scream Queen (and a pint-sized one at that). At just 11-12 years old, Lloyd manages to outsmart Michael Myers (George P Wilbur/Don Shanks) on numerous occasions.
What happened to Jamie Lloyd? Danielle Harris was criminally replaced with JC Brandy in Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers, in which she’s brutally slain by the titular bogeyman.
Laurie Strode — Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
We don’t think we’re alone in thinking that Laurie Strode of Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998) is the best version of the character in the entire Halloween franchise, and, at the same time, the best final girl in the entire series, too.
Serving as a direct follow-up to the original two films, Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981), H20 finds Laurie, now the headmistress of a prestigious Northern California private school, still traumatized by her brother’s killing spree 40 years ago, which has rendered her a paranoid, functioning alcoholic — a far more realistic progression than the latest trilogy’s hardened warrior-type.
But Laurie hasn’t let her guard down — in fact, she has no idea just how ready she is for her brother’s return.
So, what happened to Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode?
Unless you like to think that Laurie Strode’s plight ends with Halloween II‘s burning of Michael Myers (Dick Warlock), then she goes on to die off screen in a car crash between the 1981 sequel and Halloween 4.
Ignoring the Thorn trilogy, however, means that she lives on for Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, in which she finally kills her brother (Chris Durand). But if you gladly acknowledge Halloween: Resurrection as canon, then Michael (Brad Loree) kills her in a mental asylum.
If you ignore all the above — everything since John Carpenter’s 1978 classic — and choose the David Gordon Green Halloween trilogy route, then, after defeating Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) once and for all, Laurie seemingly embarks on a new life with Frank Hawkins (Will Patton).
Do you agree with this ranking of all the Halloween final girls? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!