2022 was a prosperous year for slashers. The Scream franchise gave fans their next anticipated sequel, Scream (2022), bringing back final girl Sidney Prescott while introducing a new generation of heroines. Halloween Ends closed David Gordon Green’s Halloween reboot trilogy, giving us the anticipated final battle between two horror icons; Laurie Strode and Michael Myers. Then there’s the sequel that surprised fans by its elevated plot, performances, and direction compared to its first installment; Terrifier 2.
Terrifier 2 brings back Art the Clown to cause more mayhem in Miles County, and this time he has his sights set on Sienna Shaw. What Art doesn’t suspect is that Sienna is ready to strike him down, and she does in one of the most gruesome and entertaining slasher fights in the genre. But Sienna is much more than a super-powered final girl. Here is why Sienna Shaw is the best horror final girl.
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Significant loss
Bloody Disgusting
Like every heroine in slashers, Sienna has endured significant losses even before her introduction in Terrifier 2. A year prior to Terrifier 2’s time setting, Sienna’s father dies in a car accident after dealing with an unexpected brain tumor for months. Fast-forward a year later, Sienna is working on a Halloween costume to honor her late father’s memory, while her brother aspires to dress up as Art the Clown, the same killer responsible for the Miles County Massacre a year prior.
A murder-obsessed brother, a stressed mother, and grief make for quite the stress load for Sienna as she struggles to stay whole. And in the blink of an eye, the losses increase tenfold; during one Halloween night, her friend Allie, best friend Brooke, and her mother are killed by Art, and her brother, Jonathan, is abducted by the crazed villain to lure her into a trap. Sienna rushes to face Art before losing the only remaining person she cares for–with all the odds seemingly stacked against her.
Loyal
Sienna is loyal, perhaps to a fault. Rescuing her brother Jonathan is understandable, but she goes above and beyond for her friend, Brooke, who in turn is anything but quality friend material. Brooke is selfish, inconsiderate, and downright horrible throughout most of her screen presence; she is amused by others tragedies, speaks ill of Jonathan and Sienna’s deceased father behind Sienna’s back, and worst of all, emotionally manipulates Sienna’s reactions to Brooke’s lies; Brooke refuses accountability for her morally reprehensible actions. Nevertheless, Sienna forgives her repeatedly and would have likely tried to save her from Art the Clown had she not been seconds too late.
Brave
Sienna defines bravery. She rushes to find Jonathan, unbeknownst to her, who is holding him captive. She fights Art valiantly, and even after he strikes her down, she persists forward to secure her brother’s safety. And Sienna’s emotionally brave; she creates a costume based on her father’s design, despite his death still being a painful topic for her. She has serious conversations with her mother about Jonathan’s mental well-being, and she isn’t afraid to be vulnerable about her pain and insecurities.
Intelligent
The saying brains over brawn doesn’t apply to Sienna Shaw; she inhabits both. She’s strong and can handle herself against Art, but her intelligence is half of her success. She pays attention to detail, specifically Art lurking near her in the costume store, the significance of her father’s costume design and how it might help her in the long term, and lastly, she knows Art’s weak points; she doesn’t simply cower before him, but knows a single strike to the face will not keep him down; Sienna faces Art with a strategic fortitude that allows her to gain the upper hand more than once. And, to quote another great slasher franchise, Scream, she knows to aim “For the head” to finish the job.
Superpowers
Of course, what sets Sienna aside from all other final girls is her superpowers. Art himself is a supernatural evil force in Terrifier 2, so Damien Leone decided to pit him against an equally powerful heroine. While most of Sienna’s superpowers are contained in the sword left behind by her father, something can be said about the costume itself. Once Sienna wears it, she matches Art’s stamina; Art only gains a momentary advantage in their fight due to Sienna’s distraction over the hallucination of her dead mother, allowing him to stab her and push her to her seeming death. Once Sienna resuscitates due to the sword’s magic, Art is a goner.
The question remains, where did Sienna’s power truly originate from? Are they from the sword? A biological inheritance from her dad, who possessed his own superpower of looking into the future? Or were they always contained within her, dormant until the moment she was faced with a terrifying adversary? And this is why Sienna Shaw is the best horror final girl. There’s no definite justification for her being so powerful; she just is.
