The Final Girl Support Group – Horror Novel Review

Author: Grady Hendrix

Publisher: Titan Books

Country: USA

Year: 2021

Anyone who knows me knows I love my Grady Hendrix. He’s the maestro of the self-aware horror homage novel, with titles such as My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Horrorstor making a massive splash when they landed. Giving the supernatural a break for a bit, he turns his hand to the slasher subgenre, which makes one wonder if you can successfully pull off a slasher flick as a novel? Well, here is his attempt, with a group of final girls (all surviving name-changed real world slasher franchises) trying to piece their life back together, but are being stalked and attacked by someone who seemingly wants to be the final girls’ final killer.

Anyone that’s a big fan of their classic slasher franchises are going to have a blast recognising all the plotlines that Hendrix has adapted for his characters. Everything from Halloween, Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and surprisingly, even the Silent Night, Deadly Night franchise, are all lovingly adapted to fit into a world where all of these people really did exist, and existed at the same time. Some characters from these franchises even have their names translated directly to the page, including Judy Hicks from the Scream sequels, and Harry Warden from My Bloody Valentine. All the chapter titles are all subtitled after sequel titles, making it even more fun for the horror aficionado.

Don’t let it seem as if you have to have seen several dozen films of increasingly decreasing quality to enjoy the book, however. Hendrix has always been a master of crafting characters with unique quirks and charms, and with heroine Lynette he once again does a wonderful job at crafting a unique voice which drags you into her hyper-aware, paranoid vision instantly and doesn’t let you leave. None of his main characters are ever completely pure, and always have a bad side to them; probably the reason they all seem as though they could actually exist. In the end, despite all of the slasher references that people like myself devour up because finally someone speaks our language, it’s Lynette and her journey to overcome survivor guilt and grief that drives the narrative, and ultimately keeps us engaged.

This engagement is a good job, because there is a great portion of the novel that throws up a lot of running around without seemingly much personal danger. Indeed, despite it being about horror films, the actual plot of the novel is much closer to the thriller than the slasher. This is not about a slasher killer per say, but what happens when the real world comes back to haunt people that have blocked it off for so long, much in the same way that Godzilla Minus One would do for Japanese post-war guilt. It is a novel far more focused on the individuals than the genre, and although that might mean that days of the narrative go past without much having been accomplished, it gives us time with Lynette and her other survivor girls to get inside who they are and how they tick.

What makes The Final Girl Support Group work is that it is both a loving deconstruction of the genre (that ‘Final Girl’ was first an academic term by Carol Clover in the 80s shows how much horror looks at itself), incorporating slasher ideas whilst discussing their relevance and public perception, whilst giving a side of the story never shown in great depth to add humanity to the archetype. It’s a magnificent achievement, a pleasure to read, and a great time all round.

Rating: 8/10

Review by Kieran Judge

Thanks for checking this out. Who is your favourite slasher killer? Favourite sequel? Who do you want to make a comeback? Give the review a like and drop a comment below to let me know. Remember to follow the blog as well, to keep up to date when I put out a new review, opinion piece, or update.