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The Last Final Girl (2012)

by Stephen Graham Jones(Favorite Author)

3.7 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1621050513 (ISBN13: 9781621050513)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Lazy Fascist

review 1: The best part of this book is the quality of the paper it is printed on, it's excellent quality. There isn't much of a positive to it besides that.This book is written like a screenplay, except, it isn't. Imagine a person who, while watching a movie, paused it constantly to write down exactly what happened. This involves camera movements, whose POV the camera is meant to be representing, what a certain look or perspective is meant to imply to the viewer. That's how this book is presented. It's laborious to read and frustrating to follow.It is a self-referential, self-aware horror story, much like the 'Scream' films. Certain characters believe they are in a slasher film and discuss what will happen, who will die, and what actions they plan to take based on the 'rules' and t... moreropes of the genre. The references are frequent and require intimate knowledge of the genre and the many popular films within it. I have seen and enjoyed many horror films, but that is not nearly enough for what this book demands of its readers; a good memory of actors and characters names is required, amongst other things.If it were a film, I would certainly watch it and probably enjoy doing so. The presentation is what really let the book down. If it were written in prose, I have no doubt this review would be much different as I am sure the story would be more enjoyable were that so, however I also think the tongue-in-cheek jabs at the genre might be completely lost and it could come across as a generic horror story. I think I just wanted to like this book and am disappointed that I did not.I will hang onto some hope this is made into a movie, as I would very much like to see it.
review 2: Cabin in the Woods was certainly cool for any horror fan, but I'd rather have my winks and nudges self-aware, yet played dramatically straight. Horror for the horror audience, and in this case, a slasher to stand on the shoulders of every slasher, on top of it, perhaps allowing the mask to come off a bit, but, in the subtext of that, revealing that our modern life, steeped in trivia and the realities created by our pop culture passions (demons), is self-aware, but can still prove to be a very fleshy target. No, don't pull the curtains or elbow me in the ribs. Just run the skewer straight at me and see if I can catch it. In this regard, Stephen Graham Jones takes the deconstruction to the next level, creating something smarter and far more dramatic than any recent post-slasher slasher (cringe) without losing the fun and scares that make the genre so entertaining.This is a novel, and that luxury allows Jones to direct everything, even give you the commentary that you are already thinking, because like that voice-over feature on a DVD, he's watching this unfold with us. He created it, but you get the sense that in creating it, he's also a fan reading it with us, watching it on a battered VHS for the twenty-fifth time. That passion is there. He's laughing, cringing, grinning. It's that same joy that delivered his Demon Theory "trilogy", though here, his approach is tighter, weaving all of the footnote sweetness into the guts of his narrative.And for all that knowing going on, The Last Final Girl is still a mystery, with guilt and doubt thrust upon every character. Lots of fantastic dialogue, some great set pieces, and a very subtle John Hughes (or Three O'Clock High) vibe making you wonder what kind of film Hughes might have made if he were interested in horror. This might be an answer, or as close to an answer as we might have. I wish Hughes were around to ponder such possibility. Regardless, The Last Final Girl is now loose, out there waiting, there for every slasher fan, and slasher fans need to know--they will know. Hollywood can only try to keep up. Make it, or top it. less

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