by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

It is that time of year! One of my favorite film festivals is back with their 2022 programming. The Final Girls Film Festival is a haven for women and nonbinary fronted horror. Not only are all of the features and shorts directed, written, and/or produced by women, they also offer several presentations and panel discussions from women in horror. This is my second year covering the festival and I am thrilled for all of the programming they are offering this year. Unlike last year the festival has decided to move much of their programming in person. But be on the lookout for their virtual offerings. For a full list of their programming you can go to their website. 

Hellbender (dir. John Adams, Zelda Adams & Toby Poser)

There is plenty of programming I am excited for this year, including several feature films and shorts blocks. One of the films I am most excited for is Hellbender from directors Toby Poser, Zelda Adams & John Adams. I love a tale of witchy women and that seems to be exactly what this film is bringing to the table. It is about a mother and daughter living out an isolated life in the woods. The daughter, Izzy, is on the cusp of womanhood and as she grows, so does her desire to explore the outside world. It is unclear why her mother is resistant to Izzy leaving the comforts of their home but it seems that Izzy has a dark power growing within her and soon she and her mother must come to a head. I really love the witch archetype as a way to talk about blossoming womanhood so I am very excited to see exactly what Hellbender has to offer.

Here Before (dir. Stacey Gregg)

Another film I am excited for is Here Before, a film from the UK, directed by Stacey Gregg. Now full disclosure, I am mainly excited for this because after seeing Andrea Riseborough in films like Mandy and Possessor, she has become one of my  favorite recent genre stars. She is such a versatile actress and I can only assume she will give another tremendous performance here. The film is about a woman named Laura (played by Riseborough) who is still coping with the loss of her daughter. A family moves in next door and they have a young girl named Megan who is immediately drawn to Laura. As the two spend more time together Laura begins to see similarities between her daughter and Megan. And Megan seems to have memories that only her daughter would have. Themes of grief and motherhood are fertile ground for women directors so I think this will be an interesting story. 

You Are Not My Mother (dir. Kate Dolan)

I am also looking forward to You Are Not My Mother, a film from Ireland directed by Kate Dolan. The film follows Char whose mother disappears right before Halloween. When she returns it becomes clear that her behavior has changed. While some of the changes seem to be good there is also something strange and creepy about her. She begins to realize that the woman living with her might not be her mother. The film draws upon folklore and myth to tell this tale about motherhood and mental health. This is another film focused on  motherhood and the bonds between a mother and daughter. This seems to be an unofficial theme for the festival but all of these films seem to be unique and interesting so I am excited to see how they take on these tales. 

For their 7th edition of the festival, Final Girls has seven shorts blocks including several that are themed around the seven deadly sins. Personally I am looking forward to the shorts blocks around Envy as well as their Medical Horror block and the Queer Horror Block. All of these are themes I gravitate towards in horror so I am excited to see what all of these incredible women filmmakers have to offer. 

The festival will have several in person panel discussions and workshops, while these are not available to attend for virtual participants I would keep an eye out on the FInal Girls Film Fest youtube page as they typically offer up their panels there. 

Check out their site and support this incredible indie festival. I look forward to reporting back on all these films and more.