The Final Girl Support Group
There’s more to life than staying alive.
Grady Hendrix, the horror fiction novelist who wrote the “Final Girl Support Group”, begins his novel by explaining that a final girl is the last and sole survivor of a horror movie. Hendrix imagines a world where these slasher survivors are real people: true crime celebrities whose traumas are portrayed in lucrative movie franchises and endlessly discussed by obsessed fans on Reddit. While other people get rich telling their stories, the girls are left to piece together the remnants of their lives. Some of them embrace their fame and notoriety. Others shun it.
Decades after surviving their respective bloodbaths in the ‘80s, the final girls, who are now middle-aged women, meet regularly together in a private group led by a therapist, Dr. Carol, who straddles the line between helping the women and exploiting them. The group has existed for nine years at the beginning of the novel, but it is fracturing. The members are constantly arguing and some are losing interest in attending the sessions. Then a mysterious killer begins targeting the women. Could one of their own be responsible? Is someone trying to be a final girl of final girls?
The Members of the Final Girl Support Group (and their respective slasher villains)
Lynette, the novel’s main character, is paranoid and deeply traumatized. She lives a life of loneliness and seclusion. As a teen, she survived a home invasion massacre. A psychopath in a Santa Claus costume enters her home and, in the most disturbing scene I’ve read in a novel in a long time, brutally murders her boyfriend, parents, and little sister. He impales Lynette through the chest with a pair of antlers that are mounted on the wall, but she miraculously survives.
Since she was left alive out of luck and didn’t defeat the killer (he is eventually gunned down by the police), the other women mock her as a “fake” final girl. Lynette is racked with guilt because she was unable to save her family (especially her little sister) and longs for a chance at redemption.
“The Final Girl Support Group” is written from a first-person perspective with Lynette as the narrator. Because of this, she is by far the most fully-realized character in the novel. Her villain is named Billy Walker. Lynette is later attached by Ricky, Billy’s murderous brother, but survives again because of dumb luck. Billy and Ricky Walker are based on Billy and Ricky Chapman, the killers from the controversial slasher franchise “Silent Night, Deadly Night.”
Adrienne is the survivor of a summer camp killing spree perpetrated by Bruce Volker, a deranged cook whose son supposedly drowned in a nearby lake. He is loosely based on Pamela Voorhees, the killer in the original “Friday the 13th”. After escaping with her life, Adrienne becomes a public speaker and feminist political activist. She is named after Adrienne King, the actress who played the final survivor of the original “Friday the 13th.” Unfortunately, Adrienne suffers the same fate as her namesake and loses her head early in the novel.
Marilyn is the survivor of an attack by a family of deranged cannibals that are based on the characters from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” franchise. Her story is documented in a series of gory horror movies named “Panhandle Meat Hook” and she eventually becomes a wealthy socialite. She is named after Marilyn Burns, the actress who played the final survivor of the first “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movie.
Julia is the survivor of a killing spree perpetrated by her high school boyfriend, a horror movie buff who wanted to create his own real-life movie. She was permanently paralyzed below the waist and uses a wheelchair. Her villain is based on Billy Loomis from “Scream.”
Heather is a bitchy but tough-as-nails final girl who defeated a mysterious nemesis called the Dream King, based on Freddy Krueger from “A Nightmare On Elm Street.” She is named after Heather Lagenkamp, who played Nancy Thompson in the NOES films.
Dani is the survivor of a Halloween massacre that was perpetrated by a mysterious masked assailant who may or may not have been her long lost brother. Her villain is based on Michael Myers from the “Halloween” series. Dani lives on a farm and has a wife who is dying of a terminal illness.
Chrissy is the survivor of a mysterious and bizarre killing spree that was turned into a movie franchise named “Gnomecoming”. Hendrix leaves her backstory ambiguous. Was she really attacked by killer gnomes? We never find out, but that would be a hell of a concept for a horror franchise. I’d watch those movies!
Chrissy is the black sheep of the group because she operates a tasteless “murderabilia” museum. The other women are understandably disgusted by Chrissy’s glorification of real-life violence. Many of her actions are abhorrent, but a twist near the end of the novel reveals that not all of her beliefs are wrong.
A Final Girl of Final Girls?
Lynette eventually becomes obsessed with saving Stephanie, a new final girl who survived a lake massacre. Lynette, who believes that the final girl killer will target Stephanie next, convinces the teen to leave her parents’ house and come with her on a road trip. Most people would call this kidnapping, but Lynette doesn’t see it that way. Lynette and her new protégé go on a variety of adventures and meet several of the other final girls before ending up at the infamous Camp Red Lake, where the survivors must come to face to face, yet again, with true evil.
Grady Hendrix writes in a clear and accessible style, which I appreciated after recently reading the opaque and sometimes incoherent “My Heart is a Chainsaw”. “The Final Girl Support Group” is fast-paced, especially in the second half, and there is a cool twist at the end which manages to be both surprising and logical. This is an easy, smooth, and fun read.
I have mixed feelings about Hendrix basing the novel’s villains (except Gnomecoming, I guess?) on movie characters from existing franchises. It was fun to see all the references to famous horror movies. But would it have been too much for Hendrix to create his own villains, instead of taking other people’s creations, making slight changes to avoid copyright infringement lawsuits, and inserting them into his story? There are already huge media franchises devoted to these characters. A more innovative approach would have been nice.
“The Final Girl Support Group” is a fun and entertaining ride. There isn’t anything particularly profound about it, but its interesting characters and appealing storyline make it worth reading. The concept of horror movie survivors getting together in a support group makes so much sense that I’m surprised that no one (that I know of) has used that plotline before. Kudos to Hendrix for coming up with it.
Rating: 7.5/10
