In the horror genre, the “Final Girl” is the description used for a female character that survives until the very end of a horror movie. Truly compelling Final Girls are few and far between, as the nature of the genre makes it rare for protagonists to survive to the end of one movie, let alone for them to appear across multiple. In many cases, those that survive one movie are doomed to die in the next. Laurie Strode and Sidney Prescott are two of the rare exceptions, but Terrifier’s Sienna seems to be joining that group. In two films, Sienna has managed to not only survive multiple attacks from Art the Clown, but she’s also proven herself extremely capable, and a genuine threat to the killer. That’s all the more impressive when you consider the beginnings of the Terrifier franchise.
In the first Terrifier movie, there was no protagonist. It’s not unusual for victims to die at the end of a horror movie, but Terrifier was unusual in that it failed to give viewers someone to root for that stuck around for more than a few scenes. Instead, the demented Art brutally murdered each of the film’s potential heroes before the narrative shifted focus to someone else. That was a common complaint about the original Terrifier, as this robbed the movie of a lot of its tension. Writer/director Damien Leone seemed to take that complaint to heart, with a major course correction in the sequel.
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Terrifier 2 introduced viewers to Sienna Shaw, portrayed by actress Lauren LaVera. It goes without saying that so much of the reason Sienna is compelling is because of her actress, who has managed to make Sienna likable and relatable. At the start of the film, Sienna’s life has already been marked by tragedy. The untimely death of her father has had a noticeable impact on Sienna, though his influence on her life continues. An artist, Sienna’s father designed a superhero for her, which Sienna plans to cosplay as for Halloween. Before the movie’s end, Sienna discovers that she has some powers connected to this superhero design. While Art does manage to kill her, she returns to life before the movie is over, and is able to (temporarily) end his reign of terror.
After surviving Art’s horrific attacks, Sienna went on to star in Terrifier 3. As is usually the case with Final Girls, surviving a horror movie does not mean thriving. Sienna might have made it through the second Terrifier, but many of the people closest to her weren’t as fortunate. When Terrifier 3 begins, we can see the impact Art’s murders have had on her, as she struggles to regain some sense of normalcy. Unfortunately, her peace quickly proves short-lived as Art is injected back into her life. Following a brutal battle between the two enemies, Sienna is able to make it to the end credits. However, her survival does not come without paying a terrible cost, as even more of her loved ones have been brutally killed.
The third entry in the series clearly sets the stage for Terrifier 4. While the gore and dismemberments have gotten most of the attention when it comes to the Terrifier franchise, Sienna’s story has become a reason worth coming back to the series. After two films, Art has managed to take just about everything from Sienna, yet she continues to find hope to cling to, and a reason to press on. The inherent problem with Final Girls is that it can be hard to build a story around the same protagonist surviving the same antagonist over and over again. The difference with Terrifier is that Sienna is just as much a threat to Art as he is to her. At the end of the third movie, Art seems genuinely exhausted after his battle with Sienna. That’s in stark contrast with most Final Girls, who are usually just lucky to survive these types of horror movies.
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Art the Clown has become something of a pop culture icon over the last few years, gaining a passionate following in the slasher subgenre. Yet Sienna is quickly proving to be a worthy foil. Lauren LaVera and Damien Leone have made her easy to root for, in a series with a repugnant villain we can’t help but root against. As a franchise, Terrifier certainly isn’t for everyone, but Leone has managed to find a compelling groove, and a lot of that is owed to the strength of his female protagonist. Sienna Shaw might not be at the same level of Laurie Strode or Sidney Prescott just yet, but she certainly feels like she’s on her way. After six Scream movies, I’m finding myself somewhat tired of Sidney’s story, yet after multiple Terrifier films, I want to know where Leone is going with Sienna. Hopefully her journey continues to be this compelling.
Do you think Sienna is an interesting Final Girl? Do you want to see her story continue? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
