A Garota Que Sobreviveu

I'll start off by saying that this isn't a bad movie, it is very detail orientated and the camera work is highly immersive to where you get to feel for the main character and can enjoy most of her struggle. The problem is that in this immersion we are given very little to actually identify with in the character, who is literally only defined by her one traumatic experience that the movie opens up with, we learn nothing else about her or who she is. This means that the film never really rises above a certain level and could have done with an extra few minutes in the beginning to give us some idea of who this girl was before everything happened to her.

Aside from this there are some problems in terms of pacing and story since the movie takes a painful amount of time to show the audience what it already knows, or at least highly suspects. This wouldn't be so bad if it all then paid off in some unexpected way, but it mostly goes the same way as any psychological drama in this vein and ends with the same conclusions that have been gone over many times before. I will say that the third act is executed very well despite its predictable nature and there are definite moments where this film shows that it has potential, it is just overall too basic and shallow in meaning to really get beyond a certain level.

Overall this film has some definite strengths and is worth a watch due to its camera work, acting and directing. With other eyes on the writing this concept could have been executed better, but it needs more fleshed out characters and a slightly less tired plot to have matched up with the style it possesses. I still enjoyed it but it is hard to recommend because it is not enough drama or horror to specifically appeal to fans of either genre and both will probably find it lacking unless they have very particular tastes.

Apparently the director's reason for making this cheap, independent slasher movie was the question "what happens to the final girl after the credits roll?". He answers his own question in a no budget way in this derivative and uninteresting movie, that seems to hinge on a familiar old twist that I already saw played out - better - in previous slasher sequels and the like. It's hardly original.

Akasha Villalobos plays the sole survivor of a massacre at the hands of a bizarrely-costumed killer in the film's opening sequence. She struggles to adapt to normal life afterwards, but ends up alienating herself from her social group. The problem the viewer has is that the character is completely unlikeable and as an actress Villalobos is quite horrible, never displaying a moment of emotion despite her character's ordeal.

Of course it transpires that the bloodshed isn't over yet as LAST GIRL STANDING hinges on a major twist ending involving another killer. The cheap gore effects flow freely here but the twist itself is quite laughable and overstated. Sadly this is a film that never quite manages to overcome a lack of talent and budget and ends up being completely forgettable as a result.

I don't know why others have felt this movie deserves such negativity in their reviews.

The story is good and the acting and technical aspects of the film are professional and of a high standard.

I found I was drawn into the story as each actor played their character brilliantly - especially the gorgeous Akasha Villalobos and stunning Danielle Evon Ploeger.

The film won't win any awards for flashy special effects or groundbreaking technical work - but its not that kind of film. It is a solid, well-made movie which tells a believable story.

Benjamin R. Moody's story is a dark, cynical next chapter in the final girl persona. Although the film starts with a strong, gory opening it soon turns to Indie driven character study with lofty amounts of solemn atmosphere. The cast get into their characters and for the most part give strong performances. They play up the quirky but familiar stereotypes nicely. "Last Girl Standing" goes into a deep drama mode after the first scenes, but it is an evenly paced, tense rise to a bloody climax.

The special effects are worth watching the film. It is bloody, and gory and brutal. It has all the elements of giallo, grindhouse, and splatter gore neatly tied up in one hell of a bloody third act. The middle moves toward atmospheric, and macabre thriller, but the story is strong, and the blood is gore is in your face. Definitely a big plus for "Last Girl Standing". I do think the suspense and intensity could have contained more power, but whateve, all in all this is a good, indie American giallo horror that most indie fans will dig.

You always wonder what happens to the final girl and we occasionally get sequels where they are fighting a bigger, badder version of the big bad. But what happens after the big bad is actually dead? This movie does a take on the same premise with a brilliant concept... set the girl forward in time, with a job, new mundane life respectably afraid of making friends, etc. Well, the set up is indeed brilliant but then the movie falls off the rails mis second act. I suspected the ending when the movie started and prayed all throughout that I was wrong. I was not. Low budget does not, for once get in the way here (the top three leads are very capable actors) even if it does impact technical values of the production. It is the poor third act and pedestrian genre tropes that the movie falls into... Could have been so awesome. Danielle Evon Ploeger and Brian Villalobos strand out, even if the story eventually let's them down.