The "Final Girl" movie trope has been around for a long time, which makes it hard not to wonder where it started. On the surface, the "Final Girl" trope can simply define the only surviving female character in a slasher movie, who ultimately dukes it out with the central serial killer. However, a deeper examination of the trope, its origins, and developments over the years make its definition significantly more complex.
However, John Carpenter's Halloween, which premiered four years after Black Christmas, also deserves some credit for wholly realizing and popularizing the "Final Girl" trope. Halloween's "Final Girl" is Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode, who ticks all the boxes defining the trope. She is not only morally upright but also resourceful enough to stand her ground in a one-on-one showdown against Michael Myers.
1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, too, portrays Sally as the sole female survivor who escapes her killers towards the end. However, her characterization still comes off as a damsel in distress when a truck driver rescues her from Leatherface in the closing scene, and another passing pickup trick helps her flee the scene.