Just a little over a year ago, Tyler Shields’ directorial debut, Final Girl, released its first trailer. I remember seeing the trailer shortly after its release and I was immediately hooked. But then nothing happened and I all but forgot about it. There were ticklings here and there about whether it would be released and it pretty much seemed like it would never get picked up. Thanks to the rise in popularity of the indie horror and VOD, Final Girl will get a limited release August 14, 2015.
Final Girl opens with a young girl being questioned by an unnamed man (Wes Bentley) in an unknown location. We learn some details on the girl, her name is Veronica, she is an orphan, things like that. We also learn that Bentley used to have a wife and daughter, but they were murdered and he has dedicated his life to wiping out scum and he will execute his plan by training Veronica to be a human weapon. At least that’s how I interpreted it. The truth is, Final Girl doesn’t give us any real backstory or answers. We don’t know who Wes Bentley is, we don’t know if he is a part of an organization or operating by himself, we don’t even really know what year it is.
Side Bar: I think I’ve discovered the beginnings of a trend in newer horror films of leaving the time period ambiguous. It Follows is probably the best example I can think of given all the mixed imagery from the old-style theater and muscle cars of the 70s mixed with a strange handheld technology that we don’t have yet. Final Girl does a great job of confusing the setting with Mad Men era visuals while alluding to a more modern time. I think this is a great way to get around the advantages of the technology that a majority of civilization has now. Gone are the cliche “I have no service!” or “My battery is dead!”. Not only are those cliches tedious but they are also becoming outdated themselves. Portable battery charger packs, military grade coverings, and better satellites are making it much more difficult to believe than just setting a movie in an ambiguous time. By setting it in an alternate reality of sorts, the scare factor is potentially heightened because we don’t actually know what’s possible and what’s not. /End
Anyway! After introductions we are flown forward in time 13 years later, Veronica (now Abigail Breslin) is 18 and she is about to have her first mission alone. The mission in question is to wipe out what I can best describe as a psychopathic Rat Pack. Lead by alpha male dude-bro Chris (Alexander Ludwig) are Norman Bates-ish mama’s boy Nelson (Reece Thompson), the least crazy psycho Shane (Cameron Bright), and my personal favorite the 100% certifiable Danny (Logan Huffman). The boys like to hunt but their prey typically falls under the fair skinned and blonde haired. In one particularly ghoulish moment Chris utters “I know what you’re thinking but women don’t run very well after sexual assault.” The hunt is purely for the sport for these young lads and they dress to nines for their sacred ritual. You can ascertain where it goes from here and I can promise that the hunt itself is damn entertaining.
Final Girl is not without faults, it does skew fairly predictable in certain ways and while Abigail Breslin has certainly grown up and gone in her own direction, her delivery feels a little flat at times. But considering she hasn’t done much since her cute awkward kid fame in Little Miss Sunshine, I’m sure she is still finding her voice as an adult actor. But for a directorial debut, Shields knocked it out of the park. Final Girl is definitely a group movie and can only be made even more fun with your friends. Hopefully, you can get out to a theatrical showing but if not you always have VOD.
Final Thoughts:
- Final Girl in title and execution is a meta concept, which can be very divisive amongst horror communities, but it manages to be meta in a straightforward way. There’s humor but not in a wink-wink-nudge-nudge way which was sort of refreshing.
- Panda heads.
- The lighting once they get to the woods is gorgeous and gives a lot of depth to the set. Instead of the normal running around in the dark and squinting to see, everything is illuminated in a harsh and jagged way.
