Movie Review: The Final Girls (2015)

The Final Girls is a 2015 horror/comedy, and a parody of slasher films, particularly the well known Friday the 13th series. Featuring an ensemble cast, it’s both a parody of, and love note to, the classic horror films we all know and love. The film stars Taissa Farminga as Max Cartwright, who attends a special screening of a film her late movie-star mother starred in, Camp Bloodbath. Unfortunately, an accident at the screening sees Max and her friends jump through the screen, and into the plot of Camp Bloodbath itself.

+ main characters Max Cartwright (Taissa Farminga) and Nancy (the ridiculously good looking Malin Akerman, from Watchmen) are both great, and play up the notion of being the final girl’ as a trope nicely. A few fourth wall breaks (from the film within the film, not the film of ‘The Final Girls‘ itself… that’s confusing) show their obvious enjoyment of their roles
+ the remaining ensemble cast are at times just as important, and surprisingly recognizable by face if not by name, and includes Alexander Ludwig (grown up Bjorn from Vikings), Adam DeVine (Pitch Perfect, Workaholics) and Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) to name just a few. All get a chance to shine, in a comedic of horror sense.
+ the horror sections of the film are very “1980s”, which the characters often comment on, and can sometimes be quite scary. This is a horror film in some part, after all
+ the comedy segments of the film (film within the film?) are absolutely fantastic. DeVine’s character in particular is unsurprisingly a hilarious highlight
+ there are numerous interesting camera angles, such a following a rolling bottle along the floor, which are impressive enough to warrant a mention. I couldn’t help but wonder how they did a few of them

– the film is played a little bit too straight for my liking. These supposed horror film aficionados make some pretty stupid mistakes, considering what they know of Camp Bloodbath, and the horror genre itself

Should you see this film: yes. Overall, this was an enjoyable horror film, and a pleasantly surprising take on the parody genre. The cast is great together, and you’ll laugh at the jokes and get scared by the horror sections. What else could you want?