The Final Girls (2015)
Comedy, Horror
Directed By: Todd Strauss-Schulson
So far, 2015 hasn't just been a fantastic year for horror and horror comedy but it has also been inventive year for the genre. Movies like What We Do in the Shadows, Spring, and It Follows all found a way to bend the genre into something we haven't really seen before, at least not lately. You can add Todd Strauss-Schulson's new film The Final Girls to that mix as it is one of the most original, imaginative, and visually gorgeous films of the year.
Max (Taissa Farmiga) is mourning the sudden loss of her mother when she decides to attend a midnight screening of the classic slasher flick that starred her dearly departed mom. When the screening goes wrong, Max and her friends find themselves mysteriously sucked into the screen and they soon realize they are in the movie. Now they must try and survive the 92 minute runtime without being killed by Billy (a clear spoof of Jason Voorhees) and find a way to get back to reality. This proves to be more difficult than they think when curiosity gets the better of them and they start to intervene with the established storyline, only adding to Billy's body count.
What could have been a trainwreck Last Action Hero rip-off ends up being one of the most inventive and stunningly beautiful horror movies of the year, and it is all done while maintaining a PG-13 rating. The film relies more on the comedy than horror which is fine considering the cast of incredible talent they brought together. Adam Devine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, and Angela Trimbur nail their punches and pull huge laughs almost every time they are on screen. Focusing more on jokes than vicious death scenes allows them to achieve the same outcome while not having to sacrifice their PG-13 audiences.
Genre fans may be slightly disappointed by the lack of gore and violence but it is more than made up for with hilarious dialogue, meta humor, and fantastic dramatic performances from Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman. If that isn't enough than the wonderfully creative plot will more than keep you satisfied, watching modern people get thrown into an eighties slasher flick makes for some clever satire. The main characters are basically playing the modern audience, who thinks they are far too intelligent to fall victim to a senseless slasher villain and shows that no matter how smart you think you are, you can still fall prey to the simple tropes.
Above all else this film is simply wonderful to look at, with amazing cinematography and VFX this film looks as good as any big budget movie you will see in the theaters this year. Playing with the filmmaking process they utilize this to further build the world they now exist in, playing with black and white flashbacks, slow motion, and the fact that anyone who takes their top off will die a gruesome death. When it all comes together it creates a film that caters to genre fans while keeping itself accessible to any casual moviegoer. The fact that they were able to do all of this and still be a PG-13 horror movie (usually the mark of death for a new release genre film) is impressive in itself and when you see the final product you will know it doesn't detract from the overall quality of the film.
It's amazing as a die hard genre fan to see filmmakers like this take huge risks to try and create something new. After seeing countless movies try to ride the coattails of the modern trends it is refreshing to see so many indie filmmakers break away from that mold just in 2015 alone and try to do something audiences haven't necessarily seen before, and make it work. This movie breaks all of the rules and in the best way possible to deliver something that fans can truly sink their teeth into and receive an altogether different horror experience. The Final Girls is available now on all major VOD platforms and in limited theaters so show it some support this weekend and give it a watch.
As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!
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