Yes, the title is a pun.
We can all agree that we love final girls.
From Laurie to Sydney, final girls have a hold on all of us in the horror community, with everyone having their particular favourites from different films and franchises. However, the concept has reached a status where meta commentary has become the popular handling of it. This more self aware take on the final girl, I think, started with Scream 4 – the only Scream sequel that’s not only worth anything, but actually good. In Scream 4, the role of the final girl was completely redefined as both (spoilers but as I always say with the movies I talk about, they’re about 4,000 years old at this point) antagonist and protagonist, with Jill Roberts painting her own narrative by killing her own friends and family just to achieve this title. Since then, we have had a lot of different takes on the final girl. Most are only the final girl for about 30 seconds before being offed because they were secretly the REAL villain the whole time, with some others barely making it out alive only to be attacked again. There of course innovative takes on this, such as Tree from Happy Death Day or Taffy from Lisa Frankenstein, and there are the truly bizarre takes like Final Girl which…is certainly a film that exists.
And then there is the most meta, most self aware, most fun, most badass version of the final girl – or rather, final girls…
The Final Girls, God’s gift to cinema, is both a critique and homage to the final girl trope. Much like Scream and Scream 4 (FUCK the other sequels), The Final Girls takes what you think you know about horror and turns it on it’s head, cultivating a horrific, comedic, and heartwrenching take on the trope you truly never would have seen coming. I try not to say this often, but perfect cinema does exist, and The Final Girls is a clear example.
Max Carter (Taissa Farmiga) is going to a screening of her recently deceased mom’s old ‘80’s slasher Camp Bloodbath which has achieved cult classic status in universe. While at the viewing with her friends, a fire breaks out, and in their escape Max and company find they have entered the film. Not only tasked with having to survive this nightmare, Max has the added weight of ensuring the safety of her mother’s character in the film, Nancy. Initially believing they won’t be killed as they are not part of the movie, the group is horrified when they realize that is not the case, and characters who survived the movie are now also able to die. As they are all picked off one by one, Max and her friends have to take on the masked monster Billy in one of the most hilarious and nightmarish scenarios possible.
The Final Girls takes on so many tropes in horror and plays them perfectly. The characters are so similar to the ones you would find in Scream (the original), with the horror expert, the bad boy, the good girl virgins, the bad ass girl friend – they’re all there and delivering perfectly. Taissa Farmiga proves in this film she’s an impeccable lead when given the opportunity to shine (unlike The Nun movies which seem designed to drag her down). Nina Dobrev is another stand out in this film, really taking on the role of slightly bitchy, jaded friend and making her not only likable, but really one of the bravest people in the film. Malin Akerman, who before I had only ever seen in Rock of Ages (I know.) completely blows me away as Nancy, Max’s mom’s Camp Bloodbath character. Capturing all the sweetness and naivety of every 80’s movie camp counselor before her, Nancy also has that maternal pull towards Max, despite the fact that she isn’t her mom in this universe. Watching these two bond is something special; Akerman and Farmiga have such good chemistry and Farmiga plays grieving daughter so masterfully. She is so excited to have her mom back, and watching her earnestly encourage Nancy and help her survive are such moving and bittersweet moments as the audience hopes there can be two final girls while knowing the harsh reality.
This is a side note, but I like how in this movie, Nancy originally wasn’t even the final girl, but one of the initial kills after she decides to lose her virginity. The original final girl, Paula, is killed in a car crash after the counselors try to leave that realization that Billy is real and not just some “urban legend”. This movie is specifically written about the plot fodder in a slasher, and I love it.
Major spoilers ahead, but this is such a crucial part of the film, it’s necessary.
The Bette Davis scene makes me cry every fucking time.
In reality, Bette Davis Eyes is Max and her mom’s song. They are singing it in the car before there is a car accident in which Max’s mom dies. Once in Camp Bloodbath, Nancy is the one to realize there can only be one final girl right after Max confesses to being her daughter in another world and getting fatally stabbed by Billy. Even though Max begs her to stay, having really bonded with Nancy and hoping to bring her to the real world with them, Nancy tearfully explains that this is the only way to guarantee Max’s survival. Max tells her that she loves her, something she never got to tell her mom before she passed. Nancy says wherever her mom is, she knows, giving Max that closure to the relationship. In order to entice Billy to kill her, Nancy does a silly but tear filled strip tease to Bette Davis Eyes while Max helplessly watches. Nancy blows a final kiss to Max before Billy stabs her, killing her instantly. While this push is what gives Max the strength to fucking obliterate Billy’s bitch ass, it is truly one of the most heart wrenching, gut punches of a scene in horror. Ackerman and Farmiga are acting the hell out of it, and Max having to say goodbye to her mom one more time, knowing this will be the final time, is almost too much to take. This is a scene that everyone I know has cried at, and I’m not talking tears, I’m talking full on sobbing. It’s rare in a horror comedy to have a scene that moves so many to tears, but The Final Girls finds that perfect harmony of heart and horror and delivers just one of the most moving scenes in cinema. I got teary eyed rewatching that scene to write this portion of the review.
And that’s not the only heartfelt scene, Nina Dobrev as Vicki has one of my favorite friend scenes with Max, which while not a tear jerker is exceptionally emotional. The actors in this movie are working with a phenomenal script and direction, yes, but they are bringing so much more to these performances that really allow them to stand the tests of time as one of the horror greats. That and the humor and the over the top kills.
Despite how much I hate gore, I love nothing more than an over the top kill. The Final Girls is full of them, with one character falling headfirst into a bear trap as a prime example. I love a good Michael Myers type villain, and Billy certainly falls into that category with his silent and large, looming presence. And when it’s not breaking your heart or trying to rip it out of your chest, The Final Girls is also hilarious. This movie checks every box in a horror comedy and then even more with it’s heartfelt messages about love and grief and loss, and then is just such a swift kick to the chest with that Bette Davis scene.
This film is genuinely one of my favourite movies of all time. I cannot say enough good things about it as is obvious. I heard once upon a time they were planning for a sequel, but that seems like a long gone dream. And while I hate the franchising of horror, I feel like this is one of those rare cases where it really would have worked – they even have Max and her friends all wake up alive and in the sequel to Camp Bloodbath, an inspired choice. The Final Girls is one of those movies where, much like the first Scream, it really is something so special. The cast work together perfectly, they all nail their characters, and the seamless direction just creates a universe that is so surreal yet grounded in the emotions of the piece. This movie is just good, horror or not, and though it lies in the Cinema Cemetery now, may it also live forever and ever in the hearts of horror lovers everywhere.