The Final Girl

The term "Final Girl" entered the popular lexicon (circa the mid '90s) via Carol J. Clover and her book "Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film." Referring to the last to die/only survivor (almost always a female) in a slasher movie -- a genre that hit its stride in the 1980s -- there have been endless debates about the best Final Girl (Jamie Lee Curtis? Neve Campbell? Sigourney Weaver?). Who knows how many feminist dissertations were written on the subject. Not to mention the Taissa Farmiga/Malin Ackerman/Nina Dobrev '80s-set feature "The Final Girls," and an action-thriller starring Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin titled simply, "Final Girl."

Now, thanks to writer-director Christopher Johnson, there's a stage play devoted to the tropes and traumas of our favorite unsinkable heroines. The story starts out reminiscent of "Halloween," with a murderer being sent to an asylum and then escaping years later to seemingly continue his killing spree, and then leans into "Terminator 2" territory as the sole survivor of the massacre -- the titular Final Girl -- Victoria (Andrea Nelson) going all Sarah Connor, training to be a killing machine so she's certain to be ready when the killer returns.

The killer's doctor at the institution, Dr. Harriet Gordon Lewis (Kristin Carey), is hot on her patient's heels, as both he and Victoria follow a group of college kids into the woods, where the action really takes off and no one is who they seem to be.

It has all the elements of a classic, solid slasher flick, and with some didn't-see-that-coming plot twists you'll be left gasping, but Johnson's script takes too long to get to the meat of the story. The setup takes too long to be established, and a good 20-25 minutes could be cut to make for a tighter, nastier cut.

And while 98 percent of the show is very serious, much like an intense, gritty 1980s thriller, and there is humor that is quite straight, fitting in with that tone, there are blasts of camp, which don't gel with the gravity of the rest of the production. Victoria skulking about in all-black leather like a cat burglar (or Catwoman) just seems silly. Even though it's purposefully humorous, every time someone mentions an "explosive psychotic," it takes you out of the weight of the story. Camp is something that needs to be embraced fully, or it doesn't work. "The Final Girl" just flirts with it then reverts back to its dark underpinnings.

That said, Carey and Nelson are very good, Carey playing the strong, no-nonsense adult figure (and a stunning one at that) and Nelson giving depth to her Final Girl and her plot for revenge. The composer, Ryan Beveridge, performs an insistent, moody synthesizer-heavy score, and producer-fight choreographer Jen Albert makes fantastic use of the stage. An incredible amount of action takes place in a small area. You don't see fight scenes very often onstage like you see in "The Final Girl."

Johnson is on to a good idea, but there's just a little too much story to give the show the punch it needs. Regardless, it's a fun ride, absolutely worth checking out this Halloween season.

"The Final Girl" runs through November 4 at the McCadden Place Theatre, 1157 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, CA 90038. For tickets or information, visit TheFinalGirl.BrownPaperTickets.com

This story is part of our special report: "10 Days of Halloween". Want to read more? Here's the full list.