One of the most wonderful things about horror movies is that they celebrate the boldness that Spice Girls would capitalize off of in the late ‘90s; girl power. Yup, we’re crushin on all things Final Girls this week with Amanda Kohlhofer of The Sip List, Crime Rewind, and An Evening at the Movies. We dove into her favorites, whether her favorite movie sparked her feminist mentality and more – but first – let’s talk about the final girl we all loved last summer, Julie James.
Horror movies were not for me growing up. Why freak my young mind up more than my reality was already doing so? Then in the late ’90s came a cascade of gorgeous guys like Ryan Phillippe and Freddie Prinze Jr. One had to watch just about anything and everything those guys were in at the time, so I did. Of course, in the end, they weren’t the reason ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ became a hit. Yeah, it’s in part to Kevin Williamson, the guy who also was behind ‘Scream’ the year prior and who went on to deliver ‘The Faculty,’ ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ So yeah, the talent behind the scenes was there, but it was Jennifer Love Hewitt who made that movie what it was and still is today.
Her Julie James was the girl next door that horror movies live to mentally fuck with, and fuck with ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ did. She lost a couple of friends and got the mind fuck of the century in the sequel. Ben’s Son! Yes, all these years later and I still think that is one of the top 10 reveals in cinema, ever. However, it’s not so much how this poor final girl was tortured over and over again, it was her screaming. Well, yelling!
When she is taunting the Big Bad, screaming to the world, that she sort of does not care anymore and wants this psychopath to get her – I mean, mood. Not at the time, but only now that I’ve lived way too many years as an adult do I get the mental break that Julie James felt in those moments. Like, yeah – sometimes life be like that. You pull an Aaliyah, dust yourself off, and try again but in the end, like Linkin Park says, it doesn’t really matter, and that my friends, sums up the final girl mentality that is Julie James in those moments for me. Like, FML, go on and do what you want to do because I’m. Tired.
Of course, that’s how I perceive that now as an almost 40-something. The movie clearly showcases a woman who is ready to come face to face with the person who has murdered her friends, tormented her, and planned a very elaborate scheme in the sequel to get her and her crew to a remote island. Again, wildest reveal…ever! So there are two sides of that coin and it’s just how you want to interpret it. I think my personal outlook on it is better than the other, but take Julie James as you will because no matter how you do, she’ll forever be one of the most iconic final girls in horror movie history alongside so many others like Brandy, who you can hear more about here in a discussion about Black Folks in horror.
Crushgasm 
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