The 25 Most Badass Horror Movie Heroines

These tough chicks don't do "damsel in distress."

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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This Halloween, kids all across the land are knocking on doors looking for candy, adults are anxiously awaiting the little ones' returns so they can swipe fun-sized Snickers bars when the kids are distracted, and cable television networks are airing censored, thus pointless, Friday the 13th marathons (those movies without gore are like porno flicks minus the penetration). Your friends at Complex, on the other hand, are celebrating the calendar's scariest holiday the only way we can: by honoring the horror genre's best in sexy, resilient women.

It's an ongoing tradition in nightmare cinema—when most of a film's characters have been graphically slaughtered, there's one young woman left standing, commonly referred to as the "final girl." Within the genre's long history of female survivors, many of them also qualify as guiltless eye candy for male viewers hoping to see some other-sex hotness along with the blood, guts, and violence. For horny gorehounds, it's the ultimate two-for-one deal.

As a way of both toasting to Halloween's scary movie trickery and doling out visual treats in the form of beautiful ladies, we've compiled and ranked The 25 Most Badass Horror Movie Heroines. In the chance that a killer wearing a hockey mask ever shows up at your house, you'd better hope there's a girl of this ilk sleeping next to you in bed. Well, even if there's no killer around.

RELATED: The 50 Hottest Scream Queens of All Time
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RELATED: The 15 Best Topless Moments in Mainstream Horror Movies

Written by Matt Barone (@MBarone)

25. Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels, The Birds (1963)

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24. Jessica Biel as Erin Hardesty, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

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23. Virginia Madsen as Helen Lyle, Candyman (1992)

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22. Jessica Harper as Suzy Banyon, Suspiria (1977)

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21. Elizabeth Berridge as Amy Harper, The Funhouse (1981)

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20. Lisa Wilcox as Alice Johnson, A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989)

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19. Marilyn Burns as Sally Hardesty, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

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18. Ashley Laurence as Kristy Cotton, Hellraiser (1987) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)

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17. Karina Testa as Yasmine, Frontière(s) (2007)

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16. Amy Steel as Ginny Field, Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

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15. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as Jannicke, Cold Prey (2006) and Cold Prey 2 (2008)

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14. Shawnee Smith as Meg Penny, The Blob (1988)

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13. Danielle Harris as Marybeth, Hatchet 2 (2010)

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12. Olivia Hussey as Jess Bradford, Black Christmas (1974)

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11. Milla Jovovich as Alice, Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

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10. Adrienne King as Alice, Friday the 13th (1980)

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9. Patricia Tallman as Barbara, Night of the Living Dead (1990)

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8. Shauna Macdonald as Sarah, The Descent (2005)

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7. Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, Halloween (1978) and Halloween II (1981)

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6. Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), and Scream 4 (2011)

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5. Christina Lindberg as Frigga, Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

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4. Heather Langenkamp as Nancy Thompson, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

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3. Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

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2. Camille Keaton as Heather Mills, I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

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1. Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Alien (1979)

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