In Todd Strauss-Schulson’s second feature, The Final Girls, Max (Taissa Farmiga), Gertie (Alia Shawkat), Chris (Alexander Ludwig), Vicki (Nina Dobrev) and Duncan (Thomas Middleditch) are literally thrown into a horror movie. Camp Bloodbath is a completely fictional cult classic, but after stepping through the screen and into the movie, the “real world” characters have no choice but to fight for their lives right alongside Camp Bloodbath’s genre cliches like Adam DeVine’s egotistical, sex-obsessed Kurt and Malin Akerman’s Nancy, the shy girl with a clipboard.
While in Austin celebrating the world premiere of the film, I got the chance to sit down with Strauss-Schulson, Ludwig, Middleditch, DeVine and Tory N. Thompson to discuss which horror movies they’d like to step into themselves, their experience shooting The Final Girls at an operational girl scout camp, why there’s a minimal amount of blood in the film and more. You can catch it all in the video interview below and, in case you missed it, click here to check out my review of the film as well.
Thomas Middleditch, Todd Strauss-Schulson, Alexander Ludwig, Tory N. Thompson & Adam DeVine:
- 00:00 - How Strauss-Schulson got involved in the film; the personal connection he has to the material.
- 01:27 - Are they all horror movie fans?
- 01:34 - If they could jump into a horror movie and fight their way out, which one would they pick?
- 02:45 - And now a message from our sponsor, Holiday Inn.
- 03:05 - Shooting at a girl scout camp; the one time they encountered the girl scouts during production.
- 04:27 - The movie is Back to the Future meets Friday the 13th … and a little Terms of Endearment.
- 04:57 - The specific characters from classic horror movies Strauss-Schulson wanted his cast to reflect.
- 05:37 - Shooting the challenging booby trap sequence with a motion control camera.
- 07:15 - The balance between keeping things loose in some scenes, but technical and specific in others.
- 07:54 - On the minimal amount of blood in the film.
