The Final Girl Support Group

Lynette Tarkington is a final girl. The last one standing after the blood soaked rampage of some deranged maniac. But after the killer is caught or killed and the world moves on, after the failed movie deals, book tours, talk show rounds and the constant hounding to sign blood soaked murderbelia passes, what becomes of these final girls? In Lynette's case she becomes a uber-paranoid, ultra-militant, agoraphobe with a houseplant named Fine for a pet that only comes out of hiding to attend therapy with other final girls. When one of the group is found murdered, she's convinced all their lives are in danger.

These final girls are clearly modelled after some classic slasher scream queens. Lynette's story is pulled from the little known Christmas horror Silent Night, Deadly Night but we also have Marilyn who is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dani is Halloween, Heather is Nightmare on Elm Street, Julia is Scream and Adrienne, who's death kicks off the story, is from Friday the 13th. When she's found dead it's up to Lynette to warn the others and find out who wants them all dead.

But let's not forget Lynette is wrestling with her own demons. She obsessively tracks peoples shoes when she's outside because stalkers can easily change outfits but rarely their shoes. She's got bugout bags stashed all over town, doubles back on buses and never takes the elevator. She's sequestered herself in such a tiny little life of her own that she's not exactly great at empathy and interpreting social cues. Her fears come off as unhinged and she's found guilty of a whole host of betrayals and screwups.

So we get a horror thriller whodunit helmed by an unreliable narrator. And it's a non-stop thriller from front to back with a cinematic climax worthy of the inevitable TV adaptation. It's smart, self-aware slasher fiction that gets a modern day, meta update without getting too bogged down in handwringing analysis. Fast and bloody with all the adrenaline of a classic drive-in horror movie. Another killer cut from Grady Hendrix.