The Final Girls
The trailers for this movie are incredibly misleading. They make the film seem like a pseudo-Cabin In the Woods parody thing, but it ended up being much more than that. The story follows Max (Taissa Farmiga) who is reeling from the unexpected death of her mother, a former scream queen. Her friends convince her to come out to a special screening of her mother’s most famous film, Camp Bloodbath. After a fire erupts, Max and her friends get sucked into the movie and are forced to participate. This gives Max another chance to be with her mother even if she’s in character.
The emotional backbone to this movie is one of the most touching stories I’ve seen in other recent non-genre films. The mother/daughter relationship is so endearing that I actually cried through several parts. Not to mention, Max’s friend’s are really likable (even the token bitch character has her moments) and their inevitable slasher movie deaths are actually quite jarring at times. The notion of likable characters has been sorely missed in slasher movies post-1980s. When people get killed it actually really sucks and ups the tension.
I can already hear the complaints of this movie not being “straight up horror” and to that, I say you have entirely missed the point. This film is funny, endearing, and keeps up the horror genre well. If you watch any documentary on horror films and the people who make them or love them you will find that we are some of the most sensitive people around. It’s a crime this movie couldn’t have a wider release because it’s such a solid movie.
So those were a handful of my favorites this year, I hope you all check them out if you haven’t already! Follow me on Twitter to find out the honorable mentions and stay tuned for my worst flicks of 2015!
