WiHM: Final Girl Week, Day 3

Day three brings us two more kick-ass Final Girls!

Christine's pick:

JANNICKE (Cold Prey{Fritt Vilt}, Cold Prey II)

Of all the final girls from films in the last ten years or so, Jannicke (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) is by far my favorite.  In fact, she may be my favorite of any time period.  

Cold Prey (2006) is an excellent Norwegian horror film that is a cut above your average slasher film.  Jannicke and four friends are off for a weekend of snowboarding in the beautiful Scandinavian Mountains. Just as they have reached their remote location and admire the views while flying down the mountain, one of the group crashes and ends up with a compound fracture. 

This is where Jannicke first shows her strength of character. She immediately takes charge and attempts to keep everyone calm while she fixes her friend up as best she can until they can get him off the mountain.  The group ends up finding a deserted ski lodge and setting up there for the night.  Of course it's obvious since this is a slasher film that they are not in fact, alone.

Jannicke is as tenacious as she is compassionate. While tending to her injured friend as the others explore the lodge (bad idea, of course), she attempts to take his mind off his injuries and their unfortunate situation. But when things start going south and friends start to disappear, she never loses her cool - keeping her wits about her and putting the pieces together to discover what is going on behind the scenes in the bowels of their refuge.

When the killer finally surfaces she holds nothing back to try to help get her friends out alive, with true kick-ass determination backed up by intelligence and spirited bravery. We could ask for nothing more from a final girl. And much to the chagrin of many, she does everything without losing her clothing. Imagine that!

Marie's pick:

TAYLOR GENTRY (Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, 2006)

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is an ambitious movie, considering it is tackling some very highly criticized genres and subgenres. Horror in general is the most difficult genre to do right, and horror comedies and found-footage flicks are not only hard to pull off but are harshly judged by the die-hards. 

With the help of a stellar cast, writer/director Scott Glosserman weaved all these elements with grace, style, and talent.

As you may or may not know, the film is a mockumentary shot by a group of college students for a class. They are going to do the strange and unthinkable—interview serial killer Leslie Vernon. They follow as he plans the perfect slaughter of a group of teenagers, archetypes included. 

One of the members of the camera crew, Taylor (Angela Goethals), is a fiery, strong-willed, charismatic woman who finds herself starting to like and trust Leslie, until the bloodbath ensues. It is only when everyone around her is reduced to a pile of bodies that she realizes, as a virgin, she is Leslie’s Final Girl.

I included this one for the same reason I did Cabin in the Woods, it is a tribute to the slasher movie, and also a great movie on its own. Taylor takes on her role as Final Girl with bravery and true kick-assery!