The Final Girl Support Group

Hello, hello, hi! Happy Tuesday, hope your three-day weekend was as chill and relaxing as mine, but if it wasn’t, that’s cool too, there is no right or wrong way of doing things in this horror life of ours, only legal and illegal tho lol. Anywhoozle, have you read the 2021 novel by Grady Hendrix called The Final Girl Support Group? Please, please, please, if you haven’t already, get your copy and read it asap. Don’t be like me: I had mine for a couple of years, literally collecting dust on my bookshelf, and just recently, for no specific reason at all, decided to give it a go and, goodness me, I could not put it down, it was really that good! Sure, I bought my copy by happenstance when visiting our local B&N thanks to its pretty cover and badass title, but had zero idea the story was a true love letter (ew, sorry, there’s no better way of putting it) to the Horror movie genre, our Horror movie genre; needless to say, had I known that vital piece of information sooner, I would not have let the years go by without me enjoying it. 

So, this is me, Marath, asking you to read the book (sooner than later) and take pleasure in the incredibly rich world of horror it holds for us.

Okay, now that you and I are on the same page and are good to go, let’s talk about my top-5 things (all spoiler-free) that made The Final Girl Support Group such a fun reading experience:

05. The present-day story (there were 80’s and 90’s flashbacks) taking place in 2010 here in California (and in other States as well), but in particular in the city of Burbank, aka my neighborhood; I know it is silly, but details like these add something extra to the mood, especially when a fictional character navigates the places of your very own non-fictional life.

04. Getting to know the main character, Lynette, and realizing little by little she was mentally and emotionally unwell, and then immediately proceeding to feel bad for her and wonder how a 38-year-old massacre survivor can still live in such debilitating fear and paranoia after all those years, even after her first attacker had been dead since 1988, and the second had been incarcerated since the 1990’s. Wait, if I did not mention it before, the book talks about seven middle-age women, all of whom survived traumatic events in their teenage years. Final Girls are what society, the press, and movie producers have called them for the past few decades, and it is also what they call themselves now. Every month, they meet at their secret Support Group which is guided by their therapist, Dr. Carol Elliot. The women are very different and at distinct stages of their lives, some are ready to close that chapter and move on and others, or shall we say other, not so much. Life was already though, but suddenly, and without any provocation at all, a myriad of unfortunate coincidences started happening, bringing their horrific past to the forefront. At first, it was thought to be really bad luck, but if there is something you and I, horror fans, know about Final Girls, is that they cannot afford the luxury of simple bad luck, they deal with revivals, sequels, and spin-offs :(

03. Meta-everything.

02. Chrissy’s misunderstood character; she was the anti-Final Girl on ethical and moral grounds, the one exiled from the secret and über exclusive Support Group, the traitor, the one in a relationship with a Monster, the one profiting from black market murderabilia, the one morbidly preserving the past via her art installation rooms, the chaotic and dirty one, the one with the dangerous philosophies about Final Girls & Monsters, the isolated one, the one survivor willing to die already, the one far too gone for help, but the one needing it the most. Duuuude, her character was so freaking interesting, I cannot convey in words how unique her whole vibe was. Honestly, I could read an entire trilogy based on her story.

01. All, and I mean all the references, from the big and obvious to the minute and obscure, of the cult-classic slasher Horror films and their relation to the seven Final Girls and their backstories/franchises:

I - Marilyn Torres, Panhandle Meat Hook; based on Sally from THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974); Sally was played by actress Marilyn Burns

II - Dani Shipman, The Babysitter Murders; based on Laurie from HALLOWEEN (1978); actress Danielle Harris played Jamie, Laurie Strode's daughter, in Halloween 4-5

III - Adrienne Butler, Summer Slaughter; based on Alice from FRIDAY THE 13th (1980); Alice was played by actress Adrienne King

IV - Heather DeLuca, Deadly Dreams; based on Nancy from A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984); Nancy was played by actress Heather Langenkamp

V - Lynette Tarkington, Slay Bells; based on Denise from SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984); Denise was played by actress Linnea Quigley

VI - Julia Campbell, Stab; based on Sidney from SCREAM (1996); Sidney was played by actress Neve Campbell

VII - Christine “Chrissy” Mercer, Gnomecoming; not based on any known Final Girl, but it is loosely speculated her backstory was inspired by Canadian film PROM NIGHT (1980)

So yeah, The Final Girl Support Group was an exceedingly entertaining novel, and it not only left me feeling happy and proud for being part of the horror community, but it also gave me hope thanks to its basic message: that traumatized girls, even horror-level traumatized girls, can grow up to be normal women, especially when they have each other for unconditional support. The End.

In Love and Fear,

—Marath

© 2016-2024

A Little Bit Rebecca – SUPERHOST (2021)

Hi friend! I’m glad to be here, talking to you on this sunny and beautiful Friday. Life has been busy and fun, and I am really happy to report that everything is good on my side, hope things are the same on yours.

Okay, okay, here’s the thing, have you watched Superhost (2021)? No? Please don’t tell me it’s because you’ve never heard of it. Okay, no matter, that’s what I’m here for. So, please get comfortable on your chair, your couch, or wherever it is you are reading and resting at the moment, try to slow down by taking a few deep breaths (I know how stressful it can be when spending soooo much time online… inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds, repeat twice), and simply try to enjoy this moment while learning about our hostess, Rebecca, even if just for a little bit.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Rebecca has the nicest of smiles which goes perfectly with her big, bright eyes. To see her looking at you like that is to witness a gentle gift from life, something rarely experienced; the gift of someone with both her guard down, and a rabid eagerness to accommodate you, to make you feel at home.

She goes by BettyLou52 in the all-popular vacation home sharing rental app where, if you are lucky, can book a night within the next few months. Her Castle Rock, Colorado home rental is a luxury cabin in the woods, secluded for absolute peace and privacy, a place so perfect that the occasional low water pressure and the at-times spotty cell service are the only minor snags you could encounter in this, your quiet lodging experience.

Rebecca takes pride in the beauty of her cabin—the floor-to-ceiling windows are breathtaking—even though she does not reside in it due to her already having a smaller place nearby. You see, she inherited the property from her dad (her stepmom got the other home in South Carolina), so instead of leaving the place empty she rents it to lucky visitors.

Among the many things that Rebecca enjoys doing for her guests are being available 24/7 in case of emergencies, making sure that any complaint that arises gets resolved immediately, providing state-of-the-art security with camera surveillance and alarm systems, preparing a surprise full breakfast (fresh coffee, eggs, pancakes, the works), and a fun little prank at the end of the visit to make it an unforgettable one.

You could say that Rebecca is a bit weird and eccentric as a person, and a little extreme as a hostess, after all, her goal is to make sure her guests have the best time at her rental. And yes, granted, she can be overbearing due to her constantly asking to be given a great review on the app but that’s okay because it’s Rebecca and we like her and she is a sweetheart and yes of course she deserves five stars yes all the stars all of them yes! (deep breaths)

Currently, Claire and Teddy are Rebecca’s guests and, coincidentally, are vloggers who review vacation rentals for their channel called Superhost. Prior to booking, they asked for permission to film both her and the property and naturally she said yes, which was odd as it almost gave the impression she desperately did not want to be on camera, not even for a second…

Oh, Claire and Teddy.

Claire was in charge of the channel and, sure, Teddy helped and worked really hard on it not only because he loved her, but because he had fun spending time with her. They were in a relationship and living together, albeit being helped at the moment by Teddy’s parents. You see, the reason why Claire was so uptight and neurotic about the channel was due to the recent unfavorable metrics; they were rapidly losing subscribers which translated into less views which meant less money, and the one thing Claire would not tolerate was to continue mooching money off Teddy’s parents. They needed their own place. They needed one more hit to make that happen. They needed another video just like “The Bitch From Draper.” Claire was sure of it.

Teddy had reservations about producing another clickbait video à la Draper because it could hurt people (again). The whole thing was wrong, but he would go for it if it meant making Claire happy.

Claire and Teddy could not be more different. She was bossy, mean, and way too serious off screen, but would become the total opposite when filming… it was actually unnerving watching her flip between personas. He was patient, sweet, and likable, but would become ten times more playful when being asked to perform for the camera. Teddy’s goal for this trip was to surprise Claire with a ring and a marriage proposal. Claire’s was to get those numbers up.

Claire had good instincts for sensational content so whenever she perceived it, she went for it. Here’s when she decided to get our beloved Rebecca involved in the middle of it and exploit her personality for clicks. Poor thing, she was innocently minding her own business, being the same little old quirky hostess as ever.

Except, it was all a lie.

[Rebecca did not have a place to live nearby; she slept in the cabin’s basement. The cabin was not under her name, and the real owner was not her dad either, but Betty and Lou; both dead and disposed of somewhere in the woods along with their cat. You see, Rebecca believed her hosts had been the nicest people she had ever met and, during her booked stay over the entire Holiday month, they really made her feel like she was part of their family… she couldn’t just leave… but, as expected, Lou got upset about it, changed the access code and kicked her out; when Rebecca was on her way out, just as she was walking away, Lou said something stupid to her and she just, well, snapped.]

Teddy and Claire got freaked out by some of Rebecca’s behavior so they agreed to cut short their stay, however, as they were driving away—mind you, in their car, yes, inside, both of them, safely driving away already—they were stopped by Rebecca who told them she had a great last surprise for their video. Teddy said no, but Claire being Claire said yes.

“We need to get more footage of her. Look at her. She is harmless. Teddy, this video is going to be huge.” -Claire

So, they got out of the car, took their camera with them, and followed Rebecca into the woods where a huge (big!) surprise was waiting for them. What happened next involved a third person, some tape, rope, a burlap sack, a knife… and a whole lotta acting!

Yes, that was a lie also.

Rebecca was just pranking them, teaching them a lesson. No biggie. It was all fun and games, right? Wrong! Claire and Teddy were in shock and relieved and happy it was not real, yet, their curiosity about Betty and Lou, as well as not knowing when to let it go (count your losses and leave!), would cause Rebecca to snap, again.   

“Boy, you weren’t kidding about these two. Can’t leave well enough alone. [pause] I am sorry about this. [stabbing] You guys, you were so close. Why couldn’t you just stop? What am I gonna do with her? Now what am I gonna do!?” -Rebecca

And so, our visit with Rebecca abruptly ends here. But please do not be sad, if you ever miss her contagious charm and energy, you are more than welcome to come back and pay us a visit.

In Love and Fear,

—Marath

© 2016-2024

A Little Too Little Too Late – DANIEL ISN’T REAL (2019)

Movies like Daniel Isn’t Real (2019) are great examples of why I love the horror genre; they truly are a safe space to express our darkest wants and needs as individuals, a window into the depths of our ugly side as humans, a mirror forcing us to see what we don’t want to see so we can reflect, if we so choose to, with quiet humbleness. Horror movies are not only cautionary tales, but learning opportunities if enough attention is paid to their message. Movie making is quite literally an art, not only visually, but as a larger-than-life representation of humanity, of what we love, hate, fear, aspire to, dream of, wish for, and, put simply, of all the things that make us give a damn. Horror is the best.

Hello, horror friend, it is nice having you here, thank you for stopping by. Hey, real quick and just between you and me, the above short clip of the house party scene was the one that moved me the most, I don’t know what to say about it other that it made me see Luke for who he really was, a powerless victim who was also his own abuser and protector, paradoxically rejecting and defending himself from himself. But I am getting ahead of myself, let’s start from the beginning.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Luke was the only child of an affluent couple who was going through a tumultuous divorce, you see, the mom, Claire, had a type-A personality and also suffered from schizophrenia, the dad, well, we did not know anything about him other that he had had enough of the mom’s moods, so divorce it was. Luke, on this particular day, decided to let his parents fight in peace so he went out to the street to distract himself, unfortunately, one of the places that caught his attention was a barricaded crime scene where a crazed shooter had taken several innocent lives at the local coffee shop; the crime scene was so recent that sheets had not even been placed yet on top of the corpses which, of course, must have been awfully traumatic for any six-year old, and, luckily for this six-year old, a new friend pretty much materialized at that exact same moment to keep him company. Daniel.

Daniel and Luke were inseparable and played and learned together, that was until one day Daniel got jealous of the motherly love Luke was receiving from Claire so Daniel, showing his true nature, tricked little Luke into poisoning her. Claire survived the attack and when she confronted Luke about it, she was told it was Daniel, not him, who had done it, so Claire explained to Luke how bad and dangerous it all had been and asked him to “lock” Daniel inside grandma’s old dollhouse. And so he did.

Twelve years passed and Luke was now a freshman in college, on his way to becoming a Lawyer to maintain family tradition. Luke had been artistic and with a great imagination in his early years, but now his life lacked the joy, the color, the excitement from his true nature. He did not have friends either, or a girlfriend, just mom.

Claire’s schizophrenia seemed to not be managed well, so when Luke went to visit her during a short school break, he had to play the role of the parent toward her: keeping her company, listening to her, feeding her, showing her love and compassion, all while still trying to be a regular young adult who goes to parties and drinks and sleeps around. But Luke was failing at being a regular young adult, you see, he fainted to the floor when dealing with high levels of stress, and talking to attractive women was stressful to him, so he decided to seek treatment in therapy for it.

Therapy made him feel better, but while talking about his social circle of friends, or lack thereof, he remembered the imaginary friend he used to have as a child and goodness gracious, he must have realized how toxic Daniel had been at the end that he did not even mention the fact that he tried to kill his mom because of him. Luke ended that particular session with the heavy, dark secret fresh on his mind and decided to pay his mom another visit. That night, Claire had a horrible episode where she tried to kill herself and Luke was there to witness it, but it was all too much. School. His personal life. His home life. He was alone. No one was there to help him cope with it…

Daniel, adult Daniel, was everything Luke wasn’t. Tall, dark, handsome, well-dressed, confident, brave, self-assured, and, most importantly, skilled at providing words of advice to Luke, scratch that, skilled at commanding Luke of exactly what to say and do to overcome any and all challenging situations. A mom trying to kill herself? Check. A difficult school test? Check. A gorgeous girl at a party? Check and check.

Nevertheless, exactly as before, Daniel started getting jealous of the female attention Luke was receiving thanks to his help, so much so that they started feeling negatively toward each other and, once again, Daniel tricked Luke but now into letting him borrow his body so he did not “cheat” on the artist girl he just started seeing.

This did not go well at all. Luke wanted out. Daniel had to go.

Luke remembered there was a copy of the old newspaper detailing the coffee shop shooting, so he got it and looked for the name of any person who might have known the shooter. Why? Maybe because he associated the fact that Daniel arrived into his life at the exact same moment when he saw in front of him, right there and then, the corpse of the shooter… (*side note, this is why horror can deal with difficult topics so brilliantly and easily, it does not have to give you a logical explanation to make sense as you already know that monsters signify bad human behavior, and that evil signifies illness*)… and since he perhaps saw himself now as the evil monster, just like the shooter, maybe those who knew the shooter could guide him into understanding what he did and saw before losing it, all in hopes to prevent him from losing it too.

And he does, Luke actually finds the home of the father of the shooter and, yes, it was confirmed that the shooter also “dealt with” Daniel before “going crazy” all those years back… (*another side note, did you know that the average age of schizophrenia onset tends to be in the late teens to the early 20s in men? And that even though it may result in hallucinations and delusions, among other things, it may be controlled with lifelong medical treatment? Schizophrenia is a serious, debilitating mental illness, but it does not mean life is over for the sufferer, or that the affliction has a free pass in films and entertainment – schizophrenia should definitely not be used in horror movies as a metaphor for evil and danger*)… right, so the father gets scared of Luke and calls the cops discreetly so as to not agitate him, but it is too late, Luke knows his fate is sealed, he just got the confirmation he was hoping not to get.

What happens next in the movie is a unique visual exploration of what it would look like to have your mental illness come to life, of it eating you, taking over, all while you are pushed aside into the depths of your own loneliness, of your own abyss.

The movie had a sad, gory ending, but it was a good one. Luke died fighting for himself and that’s what truly mattered to him, given the unfair and precarious circumstances he was in; had he been emotionally supported by his dad, had his mom been taken promptly to the psychiatric hospital, had he been more honest with his own therapist about his childhood demons, had he taken his meds sooner and more consistently, had he given up Law and study instead something that made him happy, had he had real friends and a loving girlfriend, then, and only then, his life would have had a better outcome thanks to the pillars of life needed for resilience. (And that, my dear horror friend, was the movie’s message, hope we all took notes ;)

In Love and Fear,

—Marath

© 2016-2024