“Final Girls” (2015). Directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson. Starring Taissa Farmiga, Adam DeVine and Malin Akerman. Max, daughter of a famous 80’s scream queen, finds herself pulled into one of her mother’s movies. She finds her mother and together they fight off the crazed maniac. Slasher hi-jinx ensue.
Yes, that’s right. It’s “Final Girls.” Not to be confused with “Final Girl.” The different in title? The S. Yeah. Like that won’t mess with people when they go to look it up to watch it. Even more confusing: “Final Girls” is about a movie playing within a movie.
Music by Gregory James Jenkins.
The instrumental tracks paid homage to 80s slasher movies.
Here’s some classic 80’s songs used in the films:
- “Mickey” by Toni Basil
- “Bette Davis Eyes “by Kim Carnes
- “Lollipop” by the Chordettes
- “Cherry Pie” by Warrant
- “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama
Good times.
OK, where were we? Right. Movie review.
Amanda Cartwright and her daughter, Max have a good relationship. Amanda has been trying to get acting gigs, and keeps getting typecast because she is well-known for being the final girl in a slasher horror movie, “Camp Bloodbath.” After another disappointing audition, Amanda and Max get into a car accident, and Amanda is killed. Sadness ensues.
Three Years Later…
Max is reluctantly dragged to a special double feature of her mom’s films, “Camp Bloodbath” and “Camp Bloodbath 2: Cruel Summer”, where she can at least see her mother on film. (the feels!)
Welcome to Camp Blue Finch, Where Romance can Turn Deadly.
“Pack your bags for Camp Bloodbath. You’ve messed with the wrong virgin!”
“They won’t be singing kumbaya, they’re screaming kumba! No!”
The crowd is rambunctious as the movie starts. A fire breaks out in the theater because some ding dong left a bottle of highly flammable alcohol by the theater curtains. The bottle is knocked over, the alcohol spills on the floor and some douche bag smoker lets their ash fall into it. BAM! Instant flambe.
Max, her stepbrother and their friends rush to find a way out before the entire theater goes up in flames, and they run through a hole in the theater screen. Then, the magic happens, and the movie within the movie, becomes the movie! (Confused yet? No? Keep reading! You’ll get there!)
They come across the camp van, and see that it’s driving in circles, so they stop it and get a ride.
While in the van, they meet some of the characters of Camp Bloodbath, including Nancy, the girl played by Max’s (now dead) mother, Blake the boombox carrying cool guy, and Kurt the horn dog.
Duncan brings up a valid point after meeting the horn dog: everyone who has sex in this movie dies. So they can’t bump uglies or Billy the killer with axe them. Or is it knife them? Whatever.
This freaks out Max, whom tries to convince Nancy (her mother’s character for those who can’t keep track) not to have sex with Kurt so that Billy won’t kill her.
Fun Fact: the killer Billy is an homage to Jason of the Friday the 13th films.
Billy had third degree burns after counselors tossed firecrackers into a toilet as a prank, the jerks. The only thing that distracted him from the pain was thinking about what they had done; he passed various nights in the burn ward and the fear turned into hatred. He made a mask to hide the scars, and now Billy wants to make everyone feel as afraid as he had felt… right before he kills them!
Soon Billy starts killing off characters, and Max and co. discover that they can’t leave the movie world. They’re stuck there. The characters treat them like a part of the cast, and don’t realize that they were not originally in the movie.
Nancy bonds with Max, and gives her a friendship bracelet so that she won’t forget her. That’s right Max and her mother’s character are friends. Awww!
They realize that they can’t leave the movie until Billy is dead. So they come up with a plan to lure Billy by using one of the girls as bait. They manage the thwart the evil Billy in an awesome end fight scene and discover away to get home. They think…
But the end is just the beginning; remember, they went to see a double feature! Dun dun duun!
I like how the movie plays with the tropes of slasher movies. It’s a fun film, and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys slasher films and campy horror movies.
