Final Girl (2015)

Final Girl is basically putting the Hit-Girl trope to the slasher genre, which can be a pretty cool concept. The film's style is some sort of a fancy old-school mystery film, highlighting shadows and silhouettes through creaking walls, cafeterias and streets. Visually appealing stuff, rather enjoyed for being effectively overly campy for its low budget. But the story itself is just downright silly and even worse, meaningless. The movie sets up a little girl training to beat up dangerous men, but it instead lead us to a number of strange events, which results to such polarizing schlock.

Even for its shoddiness, the weird style could still be admired for being way too campy. The story centers on a secret organization that hires vigilantes, and everything else about them is a huge mystery. We only see two characters in their dark shadowy headquarters; it's either for the sake of being extremely minimal, or just really underdeveloped. But the important thing is, they're hiring a young girl to fight off their targets. In spite of training and even raising her in this cold- blooded environment, the main character, Veronica, still doesn't seem like she's as strong or as unfeeling as she is supposed to be. It makes everyone wonder what exactly did she train throughout her childhood. She's not given much of an arc either. The film just presumes that she is not competent enough at some points. It can be a useful good to bring some suspense, but instead, she is given an incredible dose of deus ex machina in this "daring mission" that would easily take down her targets.

While it makes the whole mission a lot weirder, all we see is just some amateurish looking acid trip that is supposed to represent their fear, but looks more totally random than disturbing. The fighting is hidden behind the vague shadows and the on screen blood is very reserved. All the slasher/gory fun is replaced with artsy pretentiousness. And for some reason, that can also be one of the benefits of the film. In a typical mindset, the experience may just be some terribly shot mindless violence on screen. Not saying that this approach is anything fresh or superior at all, it's just pretty rare that it manages to do something a little different. It brings some tongue-in-cheek characters, blanketing their shadows into some exteriors with lighting fetishes (the headlights of the gang's car is super strong enough to shine the entire forest). The movie brings some flavor, but it didn't gloss over enough about the fact how pointless this story all was. The acting is fine, they're basically as campy as the cinematography.

Final Girl is a cool looking film with a pretty ridiculous story that lacks severe subtext. The movie may have painted a lot of interesting shadows through its darkness which makes it effectively campy as hell, add some symmetry that somewhat turn buildings into dollhouses, make headlights spotlighting every hallucination, and characters chew the scenery because it's more intimidating that way, but then it's all just pretty images. It all lacks grotesque and gore, or even more important: meaning. While it's reasonably to get fascinated by a typical B-movie's decision have such obsession with silhouettes and lights, the story just doesn't make any sense in the end.

Fmovies: Seriously ? This picture got made ? Even the paper used to print the script was a waste of good material.

It gets a one star rating only because it is useful to show to film students as a lesson on how-not-to write and develop a concept... and should be useful as a map to the waste basket.

Actors can take on any project for a workout. Why anyone would go all the way to actually shooting this thing is a mystery though.

I could go on but i think this rotten egg fried itself well enough.

If there weren't a ten line minimum i would not have wasted even this much energy to write the review... But maybe someone out there will be spared the trouble of watching this tripe when they surely have something better to do.

This is actually a good movie to watch when your just alone and want to see something by yourself............................................. I see a lot of reviews on this movie talking bad about it .. Some say it ruined a date or wasn't entertaining, that makes me believe those comments come from people who always expect a movie to have nudes and sexy scenes to help them get laid or from kids who just like cool Michael Bay explosions.............................................. This is a slow paced movie and its just what it was intended to be, like for example "sin city" in movies like that you cant expect total realism, there's some art in it. its not great but not bad too...... the end.

Final Girl fmovies. Final Girl: Veronica (Abigail Breslin) is out to bury the hatchet in this Revenge Horror/Thriller. Veronica has trained from since she was five years old to become an avenging angel, now at aged seventeen she enters the final stages of her tutelage before going live. Her mentor, William (Wes Bentley), instructs her in strangle holds and she experiences the combined effects of truth serum and DMT, so she can experience what her targets will feel when she drugs them.

Her prey in this first mission are four teenage boys who hunt and kill young women. We seem them chase and savagely kill a waitress from a local restaurant. Veronica sets herself up as their quarry and a game is afoot. She has become versed in the arts of self-defence, hand to hand combat and evading capture but is unarmed apart from the drug potion in a hip flask.

A terrifying chase move with many disturbing scenes. Great performance from Breslin and a good directorial debut by Tyler Shields. 7/10.

I saw the trailer to this and it appealed to me. I like both the main actors. They have proved they are good. But this film doesn't take long before your realise it is a little cheap. Questionable dialogue and poor cinematography.

The story is neither here or there. I have seen worse. But the way it is executed just leaves you wondering if this was a student project. The build up to the climax is clumsy and made me chuckle a few times. Abigail is a fine actress but this film did nothing to help her. She just wasn't convincing in this role. Especially if I compare next to the film: Hannah.

So in summary; Weak story, poor production, bad cinematography and failed direction that lets the actors down. Not recommended.

My spoiler free review for The Bloody Asylum that can be found at WordPress, Mr Geeky blog:

This gem of a film initially came to my attention because of Abigail Breslin being the lead. Anyone who knows me will know that one of my favourite films is the unjustly underrated Maggie from 2015, in which she co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Abigail Breslin despite being only in her 20s has been acting for nearly 20 years. Her first feature film role was in M. Night Shaymalan's Signs way back in 2002. She then went on to appear in the highly acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine, Oscar nominated for her scene stealing performance. However, she is more widely known by horror fans for Zombieland and the series Scream Queens.

The final girl, as horror fans will know, refers to the last female survivor of most slasher films. The title Final Girl intentionally wrong foots the audience, being a film that is quite a bit different from that which its title suggests, feeling unique and very unpredictable. It combines elements of the slasher genre, along with La Femme Nikkita, and The Most Dangerous Game in the World. The film-makers take the expected genre tropes of these films, yet gives them an unexpected spin. Although it does use some slasher conventions there is very little blood and gore. The story itself is told in a linear form, whereas the feeling is a non-linear narrative would have added more of a mystery to the events as they unfolded.

While it does have some faults, Final Girl is a really solid debut feature film from photographer Tyler Shields that overcomes these faults. The really impressive aspect is look of the film, so obviously from the eye of a photographer. However, while at times stunning to look at the film would have benefited from a more grittier feel.

The real strength of the film lies with the cast. Abigail Breslin, Wes Bentley of The Hunger Games and American Beauty, and Alexander Ludwig, more widely known for the TV series The Vikings and The Hunger Games, being the standouts. However, a little more depth to the characters would have made the film as a whole as engaging as the performances.

The Final Girl is a hugely enjoyable film with some depth to its themes. At times it feels like it is spoofing the genres of film it references, but made by fans of those genres. At 80 minutes long it rattles along and is never boring.

For those looking for something that is a little different and unpredictable you could do far worse.