Final Girl: Halloween

Final Girl: Halloween tries desperately to embody the spirit of classic slasher horror, but it never understands what makes the "final girl" trope so iconic in the first place. When you think of a final girl, you picture the strength and presence of Neve Campbell, the intelligence of Jamie Lee Curtis, or the resilience of Heather Langenkamp. Unfortunately, this movie misses that entirely. The lead never feels like the survivor we're meant to root for-she doesn't command the screen, and as a result, the whole concept collapses before it even begins.

The direction is scattered and inconsistent, leaving the viewer constantly questioning what's happening and why. Scenes feel randomly stitched together without rhythm or buildup, which strips away any tension the film might have had. The pacing feels uneven, and the tone shifts so abruptly that you're never sure if you're watching a serious slasher or an unintentional parody.

The screenplay only makes things worse. It's a jumble of half-formed ideas that never commit to a single vision. Dialogue feels forced, character motivation is murky, and the story's supposed central figure-the "final girl"-ends up feeling like a background character in her own movie. There's no sense of emotional connection or evolution, no real reason to care whether she lives or dies.

You can tell there was a small spark of potential buried underneath all the chaos. The concept could've worked with a stronger lead and a tighter script. But instead, everything plays out like a rough first draft that somehow made it to production. The scares fall flat, the emotional beats don't land, and the ending feels unearned.

Ultimately, Final Girl: Halloween fails to capture the magic of what makes a true final girl film work. It's neither thrilling nor memorable-it's just an unfocused, confused attempt to cash in on a legendary horror archetype without understanding it. If you're looking for a slasher with grit, emotion, and a heroine worth cheering for, you're better off rewatching Halloween (1978) or Scream. This one simply doesn't make the cut.

When you take into consideration the budgetary constraints, including the inability to afford professional casting, you can pretty much tell when you are getting an amateur writer or filmmaker who has a noticeable amount of promise or possibilty, and when you know for certain that they are headed nowhere. That is when it is abundantly clear those at the helm of the more awful low budget creations have no skill in presenting believable or passable scenarios, and are unable to recreate any observations in human behavior, how people act and talk in any given situation, whether dramatic, comedic or genre heightened.

This is one of the latter. There is a concept known as "verimilisitude", which is the idea that it doesn't matter if your concept is set in hyper reality, in outer space, or in a child's animation, if you don't buy into a personality or situation in order to suspend your disbelief, the entire effort is an abject failure. From filmmakers, to stand up comics and other storytellers, this is an essential facet of a creative arsenal.

There is just no reason any filmmaker should have such bad plotting, characterization and dialogue as this. I can forgive bad or amateurish acting, but maybe the issue is they have nothing to work from.

So tired of movies hiring people that don't look a day under 25 (some looked 30) to play high schoolers. In the 1st Final Girl Abagail Breslen at looked young. It takes you out of the story when it's so unrealistic. Hire at least 18-20 year olds to play kids if you want adults. Plus some of the acting was bad. Like a B movie.