#19 - The Final Girls (2015)


(dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson)

I'm gonna be lazy and just quote IMDB's summary of this film: "A young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer."  As far as self-aware horror goes, this isn't breaking any new ground, but the specific focus on early-80's slashers helps to make this one stand out.  Plus, it's very funny, and much more of a comedy than a horror film.  There is a bit of blood, but nothing too gruesome.

The love for early slasher films is clear here, and there are tons of visual and aural references to films like Friday the 13th, The Burning, and Halloween.  The colors of the film world are oversaturated and garish, and the characters are completely over the top.  If Camp Bloodbath were a real film, it would be one of the best looking slashers ever made.  In general The Final Girls is a very nicely shot movie, but the film-within-a-film stuff really stands out.

2015 is shaping up to be a good year for horror.  This isn't a perfect film, but it's a very good comedy/horror that also serves as a tribute to 80's slashers.  Highly recommended.

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