Sara Sampaio’s 2015 SI Swimsuit Shoot Exudes Serious ‘Final Girl’ Energy

We’re taking a trip back to this bewitching shoot on Route 66 one week out from Halloween night.

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris on Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

One decade ago, two-time SI Swimsuit model Sara Sampaio buckled up and took an adventurous drive with our team down Route 66.

And while the 2015 road trip showcased several landscapes across the United States—from architectural icons like Tex Randall Statue and St. Louis Arch, to picturesque natural landscapes—it also unintentionally channeled the energy of one of our favorite movie tropes: the iconic “Final Girl.”

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris on Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase, picture this: you’re watching a horror movie to celebrate Halloween, cuddled up in cozy blankets with a bowl of warm popcorn in your lap.

As the terrifying slasher film on your TV enters the high-stakes third act, there is suddenly only one character left alive to go toe-to-toe with the bad guy, one woman who has managed to escape the murderous antagonist despite all odds, often even besting the villain in the end: meet your final girl!

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris on Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

And Sampaio’s Route 66 photos inadvertently, yet perfectly, embodied the trope, as she radiated a mysterious, powerful, “don’t mess with me” aura throughout the shoot.

The feature marked the model’s second appearance in the fold, one year after the Portugal native made her debut in the 2014 issue on the Jersey Shore, alongside fellow SI Swimsuit newcomers Gigi Hadid and Hannah Jeter.

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris at Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

“It’s been quite an interesting experience [...] seeing parts of America that you really only can see if you drive,” Sampaio told our team of her sophomore shoot. Hannah Ferguson, Ariel Meredith and Ashley Smith joined the model on the cross-country excursion and posed for a handful of group shots along the way.

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris on Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

And while Sampaio’s shoot may not have appeared on the big screen, the model is, in fact, also an actress.

Just this year, she appeared in the box office hit Superman as Eve, the significant other of the superhero’s infamous nemesis Lex Luthor. In July, Sampaio opened up with WWD about her hopes for her career in the industry.

Sara Sampaio was photographed by Ben Morris on Route 66. / Ben Morris/Sports Illustrated

“I’m not picky. I would do a lot. I would love to do action. I would love to do some kind of spy or Bond girl thing, or do a beautiful romance or a romantic comedy,” the model told the publication, on hypothetical future roles. “I just love how you just get to do so many different kinds of characters and you get to live so many different lives and that I want to be able to do everything.”

And who knows, maybe we will see Sampaio take on the role of the final girl on big screens someday—but until then, this photo shoot gives us all the energy we need.

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