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There have been countless final boys to grace horror movies since the inception of the genre, but only a few have been able to compete with the genre’s more popular final girls. Most final boys deserve to survive until their story’s climax, but some are more worthy than others.
10 Marty - The Cabin In The Woods
Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods follows the story of five college students who travel to a remote cabin for a brief vacation. Some strange things start happening upon their arrival, however, leading the group to believe they are being watched.
Slowly, each member of the group is murdered by the forces roaming the forest until only Dana and Marty are left standing. The two unearth a secret lab beneath the cabin and release the terrors lurking inside on the people who orchestrated the deaths of Marty and Dana’s friends.
9 Luke - The Ritual
David Bruckner’s The Ritual follows a group of four friends who come together for a hike six months after the death of their fifth member. While exploring the Scandinavian wilderness, the group diverges from their set path and becomes lost in a sinister forest wherein a horrifying evil lurks.
The further the group wanders into the woods, the more each member’s mind begins to fracture. If the frightening environment wasn’t enough to scare Luke and his friends, the Moder certainly will. Four people went into these harrowing woods, but only one, Luke, emerged.
8 Earl Bassett & Valentine McKee - Tremors
Ron Underwood’s Tremors follows two unlikely comrades on a quest to rid their home of mysterious creatures. Earl and Valentine are no longer satisfied with the lives they have and decide to skip town. When it comes time for them to leave, however, certain events force them to stay.
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Giant snake-like creatures have started popping up all over Perfection, wreaking havoc on all they encounter. Insistent on protecting the townsfolk, Earl and Val remain in town and devise a way to stop the snakes once and for all. Though they weren’t cut out for the task, they managed to vanquish the snakes by the movie’s climax.
7 Tucker & Dale - Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
Eli Craig’s Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil follows the tale of two unfortunate fools who inadvertently cause the deaths of multiple college students. Tucker and Dale had planned to have a relaxing vacation in their newly purchased cabin, but sadly, they never got the chance to.
While fishing at a nearby lake, Tucker and Dale notice the college kids they met earlier are skinny-dipping. When Allison hits her head, the hillbillies attempt to save her. To onlookers, however, it looks like Allison is being kidnapped. The college students spend the rest of the movie trying to save Allison and all meet their ends in accidental ways. Though the odds are against them, Tucker and Dale outlive their assailants.
6 Pat - Green Room
Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room features a relatively simple premise but quickly evolves into something much deeper. The Ain’t Rights were scheduled to play a show in the Pacific Northwest but are forced to find a different venue when their gig is canceled.
Desperate for cash, they decide to play a neo-Nazi bar just outside of Portland. The show goes relatively well, but the band ends up trapped in the venue’s green room after they witness a murder. Pat is the only member of the Ain’t Rights to survive.
5 Jim - 28 Days Later
Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later takes place in a world plagued by disease. In an attempt to free a chimp from captivity, a group of animal rights activists unknowingly release the Rage virus and damn the human population as a result. The movie begins when Jim, played by Cillian Murphy, awakens from a coma one month after the outbreak.
Jim meets a group of like-minded survivors and decides to join them. They set off in search of safety but end up encountering more dangers than they would have if they just stayed put. Jim manages to outlast the zombie threat, however, and returns to save his comrades before their demises are met.
4 Matt Hooper & Martin Brody - Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s Jaws kicks off when a young woman’s body is found off the coast of Amity Island. There is much speculation on what led to her death, with Martin Brody believing it to be an obvious shark attack, but the town refuses to heed his warnings.
To prevent further deaths, Martin sets off with Matt Hooper and their escort, Quint, to locate and finally kill the shark. Quint loses his life during the encounter, but Martin and Matt survive and defeat the shark, avenging the deaths of all those who lost their lives to the terrifying creature.
3 Shaun & Ed - Shaun Of The Dead
Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Dead follows the comedic duo, Shaun and Ed, on a quest to survive a zombie outbreak. Where most protagonists would approach a zombie outbreak with fear, Shaun and Ed see the situation as more of an inconvenience than anything else.
Countless lives are lost throughout the movie’s runtime, but Shaun manages to outlast the epidemic until the very end. Ed was bitten and assumed dead, but the finale revealed that Shaun has chained him up to, in a way, keep him alive. The movie concludes with the iconic duo playing video games.
2 Chris Washington - Get Out
Jordan Peele’s Get Out documents Chris Washington’s stay with his potential in-laws. His girlfriend, Rose Armitage, believes it’s time Chris meets her parents. He is reluctant at first but agrees that doing so is the next logical step in their relationship.
Chris grows suspicious of Rose’s family upon meeting them due to their eccentric ways. He eventually learns that the Armitage family has discovered a way to transplant brains into other bodies and that they believe Chris to be an excellent candidate due to his physique. Things don’t look too good for Chris, but he manages to outwit the family and escape with his life.
1 Ash Williams - The Evil Dead
Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead follows Ash William’s journey to vanquish the evil he unleashed on the world. He has gone on many journeys to rid the world of ethereal plagues but never once have his enemies bested him.
Ash seems to be one of those protagonists that nothing can kill. Armed with a chainsaw where his arm once resided, he is more than capable of defending himself from the dark forces that plague him. He has escaped death’s grasp more times than he cares to count and somehow managed to retain the same level of optimism he had at the beginning of his journey.
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