Final Girl Review
by Nav Qateel
Very young and recently orphaned, Victoria (Abigail Breslin) is given the chance to train as a killer by Willaim (Wes Bentley). Like Victoria, William lost the people he loved and now he wants to mould this young girl into a lethal weapon to punish the bad with extreme prejudice. After years of preparation and tough training, Victoria’s final target will be four young men that enjoy hunting then killing blondes for sport out in the woods.
I remember seeing the trailer for Final Girl when it first appeared some months back and thinking it contained far too much information, giving away the entire story from beginning to end. I’d hoped I was wrong, but I wasn’t. However, what saved the film I put down to a number of things, like the cast of experienced actors and the style in which the film was shot. Of course, with photographer Tyler Shields behind the lens helming his debut movie, it’s little wonder that Final Girl looked stunning.
- Final Girl
- Directed by
Tyler Shields - Cast
Abigail Breslin, Wes Bentley, Alexander Ludwig - Release Date
14 August 2015 - Nav’s Grade: B
Yet Final Girl could have done with a more experienced writer to help fill in the many blanks, as practically every character was missing any kind of backstory, leaving them one-dimensional. Thankfully, Shields worked his magic by dazzling us with enough stylish touches to take our minds off the fact that we knew almost nothing about anyone’s motivations. Other than William, who lost his family through violence, the rest were a bit of a mystery, especially Victoria. However, we do briefly touch on the four boys’ home lives, and while what little we do learn looked interesting, it never took us anywhere. But that’s my only real complaint.
The training Victoria was put through by her mentor, William, whizzed by at lightspeed, and she never truly looked like someone to be feared. Although, perhaps that was the whole point. We only see a couple of her trials, but we never feel her being in any sort of danger while she’s in these situations. And it’s the same when Victoria is fighting off the four killers during the final act. This, however, wasn’t a problem as Final Girl was more of a vanity piece than a film to be examined too closely.
As one would expect from this particular cast, the acting was first rate and Tyler Shields handled his directorial debut surprisingly well. Final Girl is a film that you just can’t help liking, with its appealing young actors, a wonderful score by Marc Canham, and striking night shots and lighting. Well worth seeing.
