Final Girls are a hot commodity these days with American Horror Story, the Scream TV series and Scream Queens all hitting the mainstream and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The Final Girls works!
Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, The Final Girls is a comedy horror that lampoons the genre in much the same way as Dale & Tucker vs Evil.
With a great cast, snappy dialogue and some fresh cinematography The Final Girls is definitely worth watching.American Horror Story regular Taissa Farmiga Stars as Max Cartwright whose mother was an actress best known for her role in an 80’s slasher called Camp Bloodbath.
Her mother dies in a car crash at the beginning of the film and we catch up with daughter Max on the anniversary of her mother’s death which coincidences with a double bill screening of the Camp Bloodbath 1&2.
The screening is put on by megafan Duncan (Thomas Middleditch), whose stepsister, Gertie (Alia Shawkat), is Max’s best friend. Max is failing school and Duncan offers to write her assignments for her if she agrees to go to the screening, having the daughter of one of the actresses in the film will boost his film cred, so Max agrees and attends the screening, reasoning at least she gets to see her mother on the big screen, as she misses her terribly.
During the screening a fire breaks out and to escape Max and her friends slash a hole in the screen but when they emerge on the other side they find themselves trapped in Camp Bloodbath.
They Pass themselves off as new counselors they awkwardly attempt to ingratiate themselves with the characters who are the typical horror stereotypes and together they must battle serial killer Billy Murphy who roams the camp at night.
While it doesn’t have any real scares, that’s not really the point. The Final Girls is a meta delight that keeps its pacing tight and knows exactly what it’s doing. The cast including Workaholics Adam Devine and The Hunger Games Alexander Ludwig are well chosen and there are plenty of laughs to be had, even if you’re not clued up on all the tropes of the genre.
The Final Girls is a lot of fun to watch and manages to keep it's theme of reconnection without crowbarring it in or losing it entirely within the film. Horror comedies are hard to get right but for me, The Final Girls is a job done well and I recommend you check it out!
