I bet you're surprised to see this one rank so high.
“The Final Girls” charmed the pants off of me. While I’ve seen everyone and their mother tackle the slasher films of the 70s, 80s and early 90s…few have done it with such feeling. Taissa Farmiga headlines the cast, as a teenage girl who misses her slasher star mother after she dies in a fatal car crash. While attending a revival screening of her mother’s signature film, a fire is sparked and Farmiga and company magically hops into the slasher film to escape.
What results is a fun mix of mature humor, strip teases, a quality full frontal boob shot and lovely machete impaling. Everyone gets the material, but it’s the relationship between Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman that keeps the film alive. Everything in the film happens for a purpose, as this delightful cast of young talent makes you believe in a never-ending world of compassion and horribly burned maniacs that never seem to die.
Watching it now on home video on repeat, I’m floored by how touching I find it. Using film as a means of community, familial touch point and team building is such a high concept for horror. While some have made the connections between “The Purple Rose of Cairo”, I feel that’s superficial. Whether it’s bleak westerns, family relations and defining female heroines, this has been a year of repeat themes. Thankfully, this film managed to meld all of the major ones. Well, it’s not a Western.
RELEASE DATE: 10/9/2015
