Analysis Of 'Nancy Thompson' - Final Girl - Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

What is a 'final girl'?

The term 'final girl' is usually the last protagonist left alive. There are some key features that most final girls within horror movies share. Generally, the character is usually female, virginal and 'pure' in her behaviour towards others and how she conducts herself, she may also have shared history with the killer. The term 'final girl' was first formulated by Carol J Clover, author of Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film. Clover demonstrated that the final girl becomes masculinized throughout the film until the final scene where she rebels against the killer. She also argued that it is necessary for the final girl to be female for the audience to see the shift in perspective and change of character, as well as experiencing certain feelings such as fear that could not be achieved if the final girl was male. 

Nightmare On Elm Street

An example of a final girl who follows these conventions is Nancy Thompson played by Rooney Mara, who is the main protagonist in 'Nightmare On Elm Street'. (For the purpose of this blog I will be studying the 2010 version of this film, not the 1984 version). This American slasher film follows several teenagers who are pursued and killed in their dreams, thus killing them in reality, by Freddy Kruger who is a familiar figure to the oblivious teenagers parents. I will also mention Quentin Smith who is the second main protagonist who survives, making him the final boy.

Costume

Throughout the film Nancy displays her simple personality and her lack of care for appearance through her costumes. She mostly wears dull colours such as various shades of brown, black and grey in the form of baggy cardigans and tank tops. However, there are a few occasions when this changes. In the first scene where Nancy is a waitress in Springwood Diner, her waitress uniform is bright red and she is also seen wearing black rose patterned tights and boots. The colour red indicates danger and awareness which gave the audience a sense of foreboding. Our expectations were met when Dean killed himself (Freddy murdered him in his dream) by slashing his throat in a very gruesome horrifying manner. 

Towards the end of the film in the final scenes, Nancy is seen wearing a white shirt with a brown cardigan. Apart from her simple choice of clothing, the colour white connotes faith and purity. Therefore, the audience expect Nancy to survive because of her purity. Another example of this is when she is pursued by Freddy in the final scene. She lands on her bed dressed in a white nightgown with white socks and beige coloured shoes. In this scene the white represents Nancy's purity, innocence and virginity that the audience would expect from the final girl and follow it's conventions.


Makeup & Hair

Nancy's hair also reflects her simple style throughout the duration of the film. Her dark brown hair is seen in simple hairstyles such as low ponytails and messy buns. Her makeup is also very plain with only hints of light pink lipstick and her nails chipped with red nail polish. This representation communicates to the audience once again of her plain character. The maintenance of her hair is not her main concern as it is seen ratty and damp in the final scenes. To conclude, Nancy's makeup and hair follow the conventions of a final girl in the sense that they are simple characters in appearance but clever individuals mentally.

Representational Features


Nancy Thompson isn't the typical teenager, yet she fits the conventions of a final girl. Absorbed in her own world, Nancy is an outsider and not once appears in the film with another female apart from her mother. She doesn't seem to have many friends and is definitely not popular and bold as her classmate Kristina Fowles. Nancy has a weekend job at the diner and is very hardworking and simplistic. She is also a very creative and artistic character as we see Nancy's sketches several times throughout the film.

Apart from not fitting in as a typical teenager, Nancy shows clear signs that she is the final girl. Firstly, when Quentin offers her drugs to keep her awake, Nancy denies them thus following the convention that the final girl must not engage with drugs or alcohol. Nancy also has specific history with Freddy as he mentions that Nancy was his 'number one'. Freddy is also seen touching Nancy affectionately and holding her hand conveying his never ending obsession with her, even when she was a small child. She is also very smart and clever as she regularly sets herself alarms to keep herself from falling asleep, and it was Nancy who came up with the plan to take Freddy out of the dream and destroy him. Finally, an obscure convention outlines the final girl having a traumatic experience that pushes her to get revenge on the killer. After she discovers the exploitative photos that Freddy took of her as a child, the audience can see a definite change in character as Nancy becomes empowered. This is a dramatic change to the fragile, insecure Nancy we saw at the beginning of the film.

Nancy Thompson Vs Kris Fowles

Kris Fowles was the false main protagonist in Nightmare On Elm Street. In the first half an hour of the film, Kris showed some clear signs that she was the final girl, but nearing her death the audience noticed some clues that led us to believe that she was not the final girl and this was confirmed when she was the second character to be murdered after Dean.

Kris is an interesting character, her portrayal does follow some final girl conventions. Firstly, her nickname is unisexual which is a common theme among many final girls. Additionally, she is the first one to realise the history her and Dean shared in preschool and is the first character to question her mother about it before Nancy. Kris is also seen wearing a lot of white and the theme of her room is white and gold. Not only does this emphasises her wealth and status within the film but also her innocence and purity that we would expect from the final girl. Nancy hardly appears in the first half of the film and when she does she is portrayed as simple and unimportant to the plot so we can only assume that Kris is the final girl.

However, Kris is far from pure and innocent. In the first scene we learn that Dean is Kris' current boyfriend and Jesse, a friend of Quentin, was her ex-boyfriend. In the scene leading to her death, Jesse sneaks into Kris' room and they both fall asleep on her bed wrapped in each other's embrace. Kris' engagement and history with boys is a red flag, however it does not necessarily break any of the final girl conventions. Secondly, in the scene where Kris wanders around her house, she is dressed very provocatively in blue shorts and a white tank top. An interesting point to note is that Kris' connection with her mother isn't as strong as Nancy's. Kris' mother seems to push Kris' questions aside and manipulates her to forget. Also, she isn't very supportive and caring of her daughter. Kris' boyfriend has just been murdered and her mother, being a flight attendant, leaves Kris alone. Nancy's mother is more concerned with her daughter by constantly checking up on her. When Nancy's mother doesn't answer Nancy's questions she pushes her mother for answers and rebels whereas Kris obeyed her mother.

Kris's appearance is also drastically different from Nancy's. Kris's hair is always seen in perfect blonde curls and her makeup is very defined accentuating her beauty. Nancy however, wears almost no makeup and her hair is either down straight or tied in a messy bun. The audience can see the care and precision that Kris has taken in her appearance. Also, familiar audiences of slasher horror films will know that blonde girls are usually killed off very quickly.

When Kris is murdered the plot develops and turns to Nancy. Only then do the audience realise how the conventions fit Nancy as well as Quentin. Nancy isn't as popular, bold or wealthy as Kris but Nancy was purer than and more innocent. Nancy is clever and resourceful whereas Kris let her fear get the better of her.

Final Boy?

Although rare it is not uncommon for horror films to have a final boy. In Nightmare On Elm Street, Quentin Smith is the final boy. Quentin is very much like Nancy in his appearance. He too is also seen wearing blacks and greys and generally looks very scruffy and untidy. Quentin is also very clever, as we see him doing lots of research throughout the film. However, even though he is a final boy, there are is one convention he doesn't follow. Quentin takes countless doses of sleeping pills and injects himself with adrenaline to stay awake. This action alone breaks the convention that a final girl/boy shouldn't take drugs. Apart from that, Quentin shows signs that he is a final boy. However, there are times within the film that Quentin has left Nancy disappointed and turned against her. At first, Quentin denies the dreams and when Nancy asks for help, he refuses. Additionally, Nancy trusted Quentin to watch her in her sleep and wake her when it was time to bring Freddy out of her dream. Quentin ended up falling asleep and whilst trying to escape was caught by Freddy and beaten to the point of death. As the audience we thought he was dead but were surprised when he woke up thus conveying Quentin's strength and determination.

A key characteristic that sets Quentin apart from Nancy is his reliance on her. Even though Quentin is calm and collected he is a very feeble character in the final scenes and relies hugely on Nancy. Quentin attempts to kill Freddy but is unsuccessful. Therefore, it is Nancy who murders Freddy and saves Quentin. This switch of roles shows the audience that Nancy is the main final girl and her confidence and determination is stronger that Quentin's.