BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

gerardojl I watched Final Girl out of two things: curiosity and boredom and then i was pleasantly surprise Yes, the plot is trash and the premise is absurd, but it was so well made and almost perfectly accomplished that you just forget about it If you are aware of the kind of movie you are watching and just surrender yourself to what's happening without thinking about the "hows and whys" you are certainly gonna enjoy this one

Nigel P This is a revenge/slasher film with a difference. It is a very strange series of events presented in a deceptively straightforward way. Why do a group of well-groomed young men lure young blonde girls into a forest and murder them? It is implied they killed the parents of Veronica (Abigail Breslin, who was 16 when this was made). It is also implied they killed the wife and daughter of William (Wes Bentley), who becomes a surrogate parent to Veronica. How did they get away with these, and other, murders when their activities are so blatant and notorious and they make no effort to disguise themselves? Also, these high-class killers would surely have been nothing more than children when they killed Veronica's parents.Why does William take the trouble to manipulate Veronica by training her to be an efficient killer in order to despatch these lads when he could just as well do the deed himself, or simply inform the police? Equally, the pack find nothing suspicious in meeting a young lady so naïve as to agree to a date with four young men she doesn't know. As the audience, we are either not expected to wonder about such things, or the writers consider such questions unimportant.The moody atmospherics of the piece distracts from the lack of details and gives a faintly surreal quality to events. The gang take time to get to know Veronica whilst sitting on rackety chairs and sofas in impressively backlit woods.There are vagaries and elements that could have been explained more, and the pacing could have been more involving. But I don't see these things as lapses or plot-holes, rather-more deliberate artistic decisions that stop the film from ever getting all 'cosy' or familiar in its telling. A choice has also been made to ensure this is gore-free, despite the expectations a film with this premise attracts. It is almost as if the production distances itself from the story being told. The results are pleasingly odd.

clarkrs The plot keywords list "Trailer contains spoiler", but I'll be damned if I can figure out what spoiler they are speaking of.I can't even figure out how one would "spoil" this movie. By the end of the first scene, you know how the movie ends. You know as much about the character motivations as you ever will. You know as much about the character personalities as you ever will.Every tactic in the action scenes is "pay-off" for something that happened earlier. And by "pay-off", I mean a by-the-numbers repeat of her doing exactly what she was trained to do.There are no twists, no surprises, no hidden secrets. Exactly what you think is going to happen happens. And it happens exactly how you think it would.I think a much better movie could be made using nothing but editing and turning some of the early scenes into flashbacks. That could add tension. It might allow the audience to have a brief moment where they are worried about the lead. A tiny second to suspect that she was caught off guard and not completely prepared for what was happening. Anything to create the tiniest bit of tension about anything that happened.For instance, there were several dream sequences due to drugs. Some were clearly not "real" within the movie, but others were believable within the context of the movie. Those might have been a tab more convincing if they hadn't already shown the effects of the drug, the preparation of the drug, and the actual administering of the drug to the targets.This seems to be a movie for people who are easily confused by plots existing.+2 stars because hot, tough girl with post-tussle scratches and relatively non-exploitative trainer.

Stu Robinson In the context of slasher films, the term "final girl" has a specific definition. It refers to the last character – almost always female – left alive to confront the killer. She tends to be a virgin and/or remains fully clothed and eschews smoking, drinking and drugs. Finally, she is usually a brunette, often in contrast to a promiscuous blonde who is killed off.But mostly that's not the case in the 2015 thriller Final Girl, starring Abigail Breslin. Her antiheroine Veronica may be a virgin, but not for lack of effort. Liquor and hallucinogens are among her weapons. And she's very blonde – all the better to draw out her prey.Instead, the film's Netflix synopsis gives away the whole story:"A group of sociopaths that's been killing girls in the woods for sport sets its sights on a teen who turns out to be a trained assassin."Oops.Did they make a prequel film about Helena from BBC America's Orphan Black? Or perhaps a horror/comedy, something along the lines of Club Dred (2004)? Nope, Final Girl is neither of those.In fact, the synopsis tells a potential viewer all he or she needs to know. There is nothing for me to spoil: no twists, no context and little suspense for a thriller.The first half concerns Veronica, an orphan, being recruited as a child and trained until young adulthood by mysterious handler William (Wes Bentley). A stripped down version of 1990's La Femme Nikita, it offers no explanations of why or for whom.In the second part, William puts Veronica in the field to take down four high-school "bros" whose idea of fun is to lure a pretty girl into the forest at night for a radically simplified version of 1932's The Most Dangerous Game. There is no real hunt; the guys just run after the girl until she tires or falls, and then kill her.Never explained: why they are on the case; how William knows about the killers; and the necessity of having them avenged by one of their prey. The locals are aware that girls are missing but aren't motivated to ask the most basic questions. Law enforcement is not in the picture, literally.So what does the film offer?Director Tyler Shields presents a small-town slasher movie through a noir lens. Much of the film is set at night, at a classic diner or in the woods. Veronica's training appears to take place mostly in empty warehouses. The girls wear prom-like dresses while William and the boys wear black suits. The characters drive classic cars from the 1950s or '60s. It's all very pretty, in a dark sort of way.Filtered through the noir, the plot has a past-among-present setting – kind of like Whit Stillman's Metropolitan (1990) without the delayed reveal. Meanwhile, the dapper brociopaths exchange pretentious dialogue – like the Life & Death Brigade from Gilmore Girls, but homicidal.The result is a mildly interesting perspective on the slasher genre, but not interesting enough to overcome a story that plays like it came in a two-page outline rather than a fleshed-out script.The other thing Final Girl offers is an outstanding performance by Breslin, who has been criminally underutilized recently as whiney Chanel No. 5 on Fox TV's Scream Queens. She carries the plot and even manages to mine a little humor, betrayed by a glint in her eyes. It's as though her precocious preteen character from Zombieland (2009) got older and more dangerous.If you are a real cineaste who enjoys exploring variations on common genres and tropes, you might enjoy Final Girl. If you're looking for entertainment on a Friday or Saturday night, watch Club Dread or Zombieland instead.###Stu Robinson does writing, editing, media relations and social media through his business, Phoenix-based Lightbulb Communications.