The Final Girls is a delightfully meta-horror comedy with an emotional heart thanks to the performances of Taissa Farmiga and Malin Akerman.

Farmiga is Max Cartwright, the daughter of Alexandra (Akerman) who has always wanted to be a movie star, but keeps getting recalled for her one big role, in an 80s cult classic slasher film, Camp Bloodbath, in which she plays a camp counsellor who is slaughtered by the masked killer, Billy, after she has sex.

When Alexandra dies, Max is left missing her mother, and struggles emotionally every day, even with the help of her friend, Gertie (Alia Shawkat) and a potential beau, Chris (Alexander Ludwig).

On the anniversary of her mother’s death, a local theatre is holding a revival of Camp Bloodbath and Camp Bloodbath 2: Cruel Summer, and with some urging from Duncan (Thomas Middleditch) Max agrees to do a Q&A. Gertie shows, Chris shows, Chris’s ex, Vicky (Nina Dobrev) shows, and of course Duncan is there.

But something goes very wrong, and somehow the group end up IN the movie, and the only way to get out, is to let the story play out, let the bodies hit the ground, and Max has to let her Final Girl out.

Stuck in a bad 80s horror film, where sex gets you killed, the writing is terrible, and the body count is high, the group has to find a way to stop Billy and survive, even as they try to work with the other camp counsellors, Kurt (Adam Devine), Paula (Chloe Bridges), Blake (Tory N. Thompson) and Tina (Angela Trimbur).

Filled with countless nods and references, as well as lot of laughs and humour, the film walks an interesting balance as Max gets to interact with the character her mother played, and in that way gets to say goodbye to her, because in the end, there can be only one Final Girl.

Filled with cliches, stereotypical 80s language and behaviours, it’s hilarious watching modern twenty-somethings deal with the ‘me decade’.

On top of that, there’s a real energetic amount of camerawork with some interesting styles and angles, and so many great moments as Max and her friends can hear music cues, see subtitles, and know exactly what they have to do to outwit Billy.

But will it be enough?

The final sequences of the film as Max showdown with Billy look great, and yes there are a lot of visual effects at work in the movie, but they all serve the story, and make it look fantastic.

And what a hilarious ending.

If the Scream franchise played meta-horror fairly straight, The Final Girls takes it in a delightful and comedic direction that works for the genre perfectly, honoring it while poking fun at it, and giving it a more emotional undertone than any of the Freddys, Micheals, or Jasons.

This one was a lot of fun.