The Final Girl Film Essay Example

The 'Final Girl' is a 2015 horror film directed by Tyler Shields and stars a young girl named Veronica. The movie is typical of slasher films and shows gendered specific violence towards women. In the rape and kill subgenres, the film reveals that there is a degrading representation of women hence misogyny.

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It begins when a five-year-old Veronica meets a man named William after the death of her parents. After sharing their misfortunes of losing loved ones, William takes Veronica in and offers to train her for an exceptional job. Twelve years later, the film reveals that a blonde-haired Veronica has finished her training. William teaches her how to acclimate and manoeuver in the forest while running barefoot. Moreover, the trainer teaches her how to put someone on a choke hold for torture. Veronica is finally a trained assassin whose job is to kill four teenage boys; Jameson, Daniel, Nelson, and Sheen who were hunting and killing girls. The film reveals that their first victim Gwen, who was blonde was tortured and murdered in the woods.

The protagonist makes it her plan to end the torture and finds Sheen's girlfriend, Jeniffer at the diner where they discuss their girl issues with boys. Veronica then goes with the four boys in the woods and tricks all except Jameson into taking alcohol that had hallucinogens. The four later give her five minutes to run for life before they can kill her. Unfortunately, Veronica turns them into the hunted with a high level of perversity beyond their imagination. The protagonist kills Daniel with his axe, Nelson's head is crushed with a rock while Veronica strangles Sheen to death. Finally, Veronica places Jameson on a choke hold as taught by William and with the help of the hallucinogen, the last teenager hallucinates. Overcome by terror, Jameson hangs himself. The film ends with William congratulating Veronica, and they head to the diner for pancakes.

The film illustrates the theme of misogyny. The director sought a female-centered cinematic style by choosing the concept of the 'final girl' to demonstrate female bravery and wit. However, the level of rape, sexual assault and domestic abuse of female characters reveals misogyny (Pinedo 7). Moreover, the teen rapists and killers take pride in inflicting gory violence on their unsuspecting female victims. Such violence shows an upsetting portrayal of women in the film. The sexualization and degradation of women in the movie is another revelation of misogyny (Pinedo). The teenagers ask Veronica to wear a dress and red lipstick to feed their ego. Later, the protagonist is left to run for her life as her male assailants pursue her.

Females are portrayed as more fearful than men even as the themes of sex and violence are mixed. In as much as the veronica outwits the teenagers, her female characteristics are no longer at play. The rigorous training William puts her through shows loss of femininity. It also reveals that the final girl is not a product of femininity as Veronica portrays more male characteristics than other female characters in the film. The masculinity shows that the film fed into the fantasies of men by creating a personality that was too different from the frail, fearful and helpless female victims (Pinedo 14). Veronica is an embodiment of what women should be by mirroring Williams own forms of brutality.

Conclusion

In conclusion, 'Final girl' is a typical representation of the stereotypic ideals against women. By placing male characteristics at the center of a feminist film, it is clear the manner in which the society perceives the personality of a woman. It dilutes femininity and makes masculinity more dominant hence misogyny.

Works cited

Pinedo, Isabel Cristina. "Recreational Terror: Women and the pleasures of horror film viewing." SUNNY press, 2016. https://www.amazon.com/Recreational-Terror-Pleasures-INTERRUPTIONS-Testimony/dp/0791434427

Rushen, Kia. "Final Girl" YouTube, 4 Feb. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY75IFTiCTY