Cover Kris Aquino is in our list of ‘final girls' in the Filipino horror genre (Photo: film still from ‘Feng Shui’ / Star Cinema)
Kris Aquino is in our list of ‘final girls' in the Filipino horror genre (Photo: film still from ‘Feng Shui’ / Star Cinema)
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Here is a list of Filipino ‘final girls’ in horror movies. Do you see your favourites?
The Filipino horror scene owes much more to women than it often acknowledges. Think of the manananggal, diwata (fairies), mangkululam (witches), white ladies and sirena (mermaids) that effortlessly coloured the genre through the years. Whether they appear as vengeful villains or fierce protectors of the supernatural world, these female figures keep us on the edge of our seats with their eerily entertaining subplots.
In recent years, audiences have become engrossed in more horror movie tropes, the most recent being the ‘final girl’. First coined by Carol J Clover in her 1987 article Body, Himself: Gender in the Slasher Film, the term refers to female leads who display strength, wits and resourcefulness to outlast threats.
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Above Beauty Gonzalez is a ‘final girl’ in Netflix’s ‘Outside’ (Photo: Netflix)
Beauty Gonzalez is a ‘final girl’ in Netflix’s ‘Outside’ (Photo: Netflix)
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The character is usually introduced at the story’s beginning, undergoes character development and is the only one left standing at the end.
Clover further explores the role of the final girl in the context of gender and masculinity, arguing that slasher films typically force male viewers to project their egocentric tendencies onto female protagonists.
Throughout the film, the final girl takes on a traditionally masculine role by defeating the killer, becoming the “hero” and the embodiment of power.
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In this article, Tatler lists the most iconic Filipino final girls in cinema:
Kim Chiu and Vilma Santos: ‘The Healing’
Above ‘The Healing’ (Video: ABS-CBN Star Cinema / YouTube)
Chito S Roño and Roy Iglesias’s The Healing follows the story of Seth (Vilma Santos), who brings her father Odong, a stroke victim, to Manang Elsa, a traditional faith healer. The following day, Seth is surprised and amused to find her father fully healed. Afterward, Seth’s estranged son, Jed, asks his mother to take his half-sister Cookie (Kim Chiu), who is suffering from glomerulonephritis, to Elsa. Seth initially refuses, not wanting to get in trouble with her ex-husband, but eventually gives them Elsa’s address.
Throughout the film, Seth and Cookie experience a series of deaths and unfortunate events, and they begin to suspect that the faith healer, who unknowingly caused a curse by healing the wrong people, is to blame.
As the number of victims rises and wreaks havoc, Seth realises that the only way to end the curse is to confront the person responsible for it.
Sharon Cuneta: ‘Kuwaresma’
Above Sharon Cuneta in ‘Kuwaresma’
In Erik Matti’s Kuwaresma (Lent), college student Kent Gonzalez returns home to mourn the passing of his sister with his submissive mother, Rebecca (Sharon Cuneta) and abusive father, Arturo (John Arcilla).
Kent unravels his family’s secret after long nights of visits from the ghost of his deceased sister.
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Kris Aquino: ‘Feng Shui’
Above Kris Aquino in ‘Feng Shui’
In Feng Shui (2004), Joy Ramirez (Kris Aquino) struggles to free herself and her family from a cursed bagua mirror that brings luck to its owners but demands death as a form of repayment.
Joy, her friend Alice, and their psychic Thelma seek help from a local geomancer, Hsui Liao. The spiritual advisor reveals that the bagua was once owned by a wealthy Chinese family in Shanghai during the Qing Dynasty. During the Chinese Civil War, the family was forced to evacuate, leaving behind a foot-bound member, nicknamed Lotus Feet.
Ultimately, Joy’s efforts to sever the mirror’s power were met with escalating tragedies. Her family, once a source of comfort and strength, became targets of the curse’s cruel demands. Even destroying the physical mirror didn’t stop the curse, as the dark energy had spread beyond the object.
Ultimately, Joy was left as the sole survivor, a final girl bearing the unbearable weight of loss.
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Carla Abellana: ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll 12: Punerarya’
Above Carla Abellana in ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll 12: Punerarya’
Dianne (Carla Abellana) embodies the final girl archetype in Shake, Rattle, and Roll 12, episode Punerarya. Initially an outsider, she enters the seemingly normal world of the Gonzales family, owners of a funeral parlour, only to uncover a horrifying secret: they are aswangs that crave human flesh.
As Dianne tutors the children, she witnesses their strange, photophobic behaviour and their unsettling appetite for entrails. When her brother Dennis is lured into their trap, Dianne must confront the monstrous family, using her wits and courage to survive.
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Chai Fonacier: ‘Nocebo’
Above Chai Fonacier in ‘Nocebo’
Chai Fonacier’s Diana in Nocebo embodies a modern, complex final girl by surviving and exposing the exploitative truth behind Christine’s (Eva Green) illness, shifting from victim to avenger. While not adhering to traditional slasher tropes, Diana’s resilience and drive for justice position her as the ultimate survivor and truth-teller, making her the film’s final, powerful figure.
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Beauty Gonzalez: ‘Outside’
Above Beauty Gonzalez in ‘Outside’
In Netflix’s Outside, Beauty Gonzalez delivers a vulnerable performance that twists the final girl archetype. Trapped in a remote, increasingly hostile environment, her character endures isolation, paranoia and the creeping realisation of a sinister presence brought by her husband, Francis (Sid Lucero).
Lorna Tolentino: ‘Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara’
Above Lorna Tolentino in ‘Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara’
Lorna Tolentino, in Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara (1995), faces the vengeful spirit of her deceased sister and endures a series of psychological and emotional suffering.
She navigates a world of spectral manipulation and mounting dread, her strength lying in her determination to confront the haunting presence. While the resolution may not be a clear-cut victory, her survival signifies resilience in the face of overwhelming fear.
This is a remake of the 1974 movie of the same title, which starred Susan Roces in the titular role.
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Jove holds a degree in Journalism and is currently pursuing graduate studies in Philosophy at the University of the Philippines–Diliman. She has flair for in-depth, interview-driven stories that explore politics and culture, shaped by her background in national broadsheets.
When she’s not on assignment, Jove spends her days painting, sipping lemonade, and walking her dog, Jupiter. She can often be seen in Escolta with a film camera in hand, browsing novelty shops in search of rare memorabilia. For leads, reach her at Jove@tatlerphilippines.com.
