I’ve decided to do something different this week! Rather than review a movie,  I have chosen my Top 5 “It Girls” and my Top 5 “Best Twist Endings” to a horror movie.

First up — The “It” Girls.

My number 5 choice: Nancy, A Nightmare On Elm Street

She was the only one of the kids to use her intelligence to thwart Freddy. She avoided being murdered, sent Freddy away (short term at least) , and made it through to the end of the third movie. However, that is also why she is number five. Sadly, she was eventually murdered.

My number 4 choice: Alice of the original Friday the 13th

Alice is a fighter and was the sole survivor of this movie. If not for Alice, Mrs. Voorhees would likely have continued to murder future counselors and then there may have been two killers! Instead, Mrs Voorhees was single-handedly brought down by Alice and put in her grave forever. Alice is at the bottom of the list because she was quickly dispatched in her own well lit apartment in the beginning of the sequel.

My number 3 choice:  Laurie Strode of Halloween 1, 2, H20, and Resurrection

Laurie Strode is undoubtedly a fighter, intelligent and seemingly a virgin. She never really thwarted her evil brother Michael Myers but she did manage to avoid being murdered by him well into adulthood. She even changed her name and moved across the country to achieve this. Unlike the first two ladies, she didn’t personally do much physical damage to Michael except in H20 where we were led to believe she’d murdered him. Alas, he outsmarted her and she was eventually murdered in the 4th movie she appeared in.

My number 2 choice: Erin from You’re Next

Erin is my favorite “It” Girl of all time. This is one crazy bitch you do NOT want to fuck with! She is brilliant and physically superior to every single other character in the movie. Erin ends up in a horrific situation thanks to her greedy boyfriend and turns the tables on the killer. She immediately goes into survival mode and although she is not supernatural she would probably have to do what she did to survive in the real world. In the end, she literally is the LAST one standing. The only reason she isn’t my number one is because there haven’t been any sequels yet so who knows how many films Ninja Erin will survive.

My number 1 choice: Sidney from the Scream franchise

We first met this lovely girl in 1996 as a high school virgin whose mother was murdered. Although most of the teens around her (including her best friend) were murdered, Sidney made it to the end of the movie. This in spite of the fact that she was attacked by Ghostface at least 3 separate times. Sidney has been surrounded by people for 4 movies and the equivalent of 20 years that want to murder her. Often these killers are friends or family members. Sidney seems to be an expert at evading murderers even while everyone around her dies. How this is possible, I am not certain because her skills seem to lean toward crying, running and screaming. She is not nearly as physically adept as the other ladies on this list. I wonder if she did not have Dewey and Gale if she would have made it through 4 movies. If there is a Scream 5 and she is murdered (which I hope and pray for)  I’ll have to bump her.

In closing, to be fair Nancy and Laurie beat Sidney hands down in the intelligence department but they were both fighting killers who cannot be killed.

My Top Five Twist Endings

(MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

My number 5 twist ending: Psycho

I know some of you reading this are questioning my sanity but I think my order will make sense when you get to number one. Psycho is the tale of one young man’s undying love for his mother. Poor Norman murdered his mother and her boyfriend years prior to the events of the movie and then takes on the identity of his mother to cope with what he did.  I recall the first time I watched this film straight through I had no idea Norman was the killer. When it is just a skeleton in the rocking chair that is revealed to be Mrs. Bates, I was quite shocked but it wasn’t the sucker punch a few others have been. I saw this film as an adult and by that point had seen things far more shocking in horror movies. As a result, I am sure the impact of the big reveal was diminished.

My number 4 twist ending: Identity

Ten strangers who share the same birthday find themselves stranded at a remote hotel during a horrific rainstorm. One by one, they are picked off and the bodies go missing. Eventually we learn that just one of the strangers exists and that person is a killer suffering from disassociative disorder. Honestly, this movie is bonkers! I literally spent the entire movie turning every little thing the characters did over in my mind desperately trying to figure out whodunit and why. When the explanation came, I was floored! In my opinion one of the most original mysteries I have ever seen.

My number 3 twist ending: Friday the 13th (1980)

We all know the story of Jason and his mother. Jason drowned at Camp Crystal Lake because the counselors were having sex instead of watching him. Now some 30 years later the counselors at this same camp are being murdered! I imagine plenty will disagree, but I think this is a very smart slasher because it was also a mystery. Unlike Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street, even Texas Chainsaw Massacre the killer is not seen until the very end. Since this is the first movie in the series and we do not get much back story the ending works almost like an Agatha Christie mystery. I watched this film as a teenager and I was totally blown away.

My number 2 twist ending:  Sleepaway Camp

Little 12-year-old Angela Baker goes to summer camp with her cousin. Someone starts murdering the campers and staff while she is there. What’s a girl to do?! Angela didn’t need to do anything because at the end of the film we learn SHE is the killer and SHE is a HE! Say What?! I watched this movie as an adult and when the big reveal came I think I almost had a heart attack. I was that shocked. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I had seen. It is my opinion that this film was ahead of its time. While it was certaintly not intended to be some sort of tolerance message, gender identity and transsexual characters were not the norm 30 years ago. These days we have Boys Don’t Cry, The Dallas Buyers Club, and Transamerica to name a few. Even The Silence of the Lambs wasn’t until 7 years later.

My number 1 twist ending: The Sixth Sense

I saw this in the theater opening weekend. A shrink with marital problems counsels a boy who is plagued with visions of the dead. I never saw this ending coming. There were clues which the movie runs through at the end but I never had even an inkling what was actually happening. When it is revealed that the doctor is dead and had died after an attack by one of his patients even he is surprised. The ending knocked the wind out of me. I was shocked and sad! That movie has stuck with me ever since.

There you have it folks and it is a long one this week! Feel free to dispute my choices in the comments.