Coming off his smash hit, “The Southern Book Club’s Guide To Slaying Vampires,” celebrated horror author Grady Hendrix releases his next terror tale, “The Final Girl Support Group.” The final girl culture has exploded over the last decade, making cinematic survivors as popular as our favorite monsters. Hendrix newest novel ask the questions, what happens to these battle worn females after the horror show comes to an end?
Lynnette Tarkington is one of five real life final girls. This is a term the media has given to woman who have survived horrific attacks from crazed killers. The group have been meeting religiously for years to help combat all forms of anxiety, depression, and a relentless fan and media obsession. When one of the members does not show for a therapy session, their worst fears come storming back into their lives like a long anticipated forecasted storm of doom. Lynnette’s panic obsessed life of solitude is torn apart like one of the maniacal monster’s victims as she realizes that someone has infiltrated their group and is picking off the famous final girls one by one. Do the woman still have their final girl fortitude or has time and circumstance made them shadows of their former selves?
“The Final Girl Support Group” is a horror fans beautiful fun filled nightmare. Each iconic final girl’s survivor plot is pulled from classic horror slasher films. Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Silent Night Deadly Night all get redux versions set in real life along with a few other fun surprises. While some negative reviews of the novel have called it mean spirited, Hendrix nails the psychological scaring that one would expect a final girl to live with, cutting deep into their personal psyche. A staple of Hendrix is that of sublime detail, long winded at times, but for horror fans the details of attacks happening either in present time or during a flashback are consumed with eager enthusiasm. Hendrix does not simply just reboot fright film favorites but sets a new classic plot that is littered with twist and turns that will keep horror fans turning the pages with frightening fever. In Halloween 4, Dr. Loomis states that Jamie Lloyd survived the ordeal, she will survive its memory. Shortly after, Jamie appears with a blood-soaked knife. “The Final Girl Support Group” is a brilliant novel metaphor for this phrase. Survivors of catastrophic events may live to breath another day, but each breath is labored burden with morbid memories.
Scream Score: 9/10