Movie: The Final Girls
My Rating: 4 stars
You guys know by now how much I love a good horror/comedy. It might be my favorite genre. So, I wasn’t going to pass up this movie once I learned about it. It’s a spoof of those old, summer camp, slasher films from the 70s. Our characters are a group of modern-day teens. They find themselves sucked into the world of their favorite, cult, classic horror film during an accident at a midnight showing. You know how that kind of thing typically happens. There’s usually lightning involved. So, our friends find themselves inexplicably in the woods surrounding Camp Bluefinch just after escaping a theater fire. They show up just as the main characters in the movie arrive at camp. Of course, that also means that there’s a killer lurking in the woods, just waiting for his chance to murder them all.
At first the teens are disoriented. It takes them a little while to figure out what’s happened. But when they do, they realize that they actually have an advantage. These guys know the movie by heart. They know which characters get killed where. And, they know just where the killer will be at any time in the movie. They can save everybody if they act fast! So now, it’s just a matter of getting all the film characters to believe them. This is a pretty standard comedy of errors. It makes fun of all the old tropes from these classic B-movies. There are the slutty girls just looking for any opportunity to take off their tops. Of course, the guys are pretty sexed up too. In fact, our killer seems to be exclusively interested in murdering the sexually active camp councilors. The comedy comes from where the modern day teens misjudge or misremember the rules of the movie universe. There are music cues they must respond to, flashback sequences to deal with, and boundaries they must stay within. Breaking any of the rules might get them killed.
I had a really good time watching this movie. It’s just light enough to actually be funny. But the horror element is pretty robust, too. I think the script got the stakes just right. We’re emotionally invested in the story enough to enjoy both of these elements equally. I think you should definitely see this movie if you’re into this kind of thing at all. It’s familiar enough for you to recognize the tropes, but just different enough that it won’t feel like you’re watching something you’ve seen before. It’s a good balance. So, make sure you rent this one next time you get the chance.