AlthoughStephen Kingpraised a bestselling mystery-thriller back in 2017, the book he compared toGone Girlstill hasn’t received its long-promised movie adaptation.Stephen King’s 66 booksprove that the prolific author knows a lot about plot, character, and prose, and his bestselling writing guide/memoirOn Writingonly reaffirms this reality. Stephen King has a love of the craft that runs deep and transcends genre, even if the author is still best known for his horror offerings among much of the general public.
Although King has recommended plenty of horror novels over the years, in X posts, blurbs, interviews, reviews, and elsewhere, he has also shared a lot of exciting thrillers and mysteries with his followers and fans.King recommended Anthony Horowitz’sThe Magpie Murdersfor anyone who wanted a murder mystery reminiscent of the late, great Agatha Christie’s work. A few years earlier, he recommended the darker psychological thrillerYou, by Caroline Kepnes, for readers who wanted to get into the mind of a surprisingly charming killer.
Stephen King Praised Riley Sager’s Final Girls
The Author Compared The 2017 Thriller To Gone Girl
In 2017,King praised author Riley Sager’s debut thriller novelFinal Girlsin a cover blurb, calling it the “First great thriller of 2017”and saying that readers who enjoyed Gillian Flynn’s legendary bestsellerGone Girlwould enjoy the book. Interestingly, althoughFinal Girlsis the first novel by Riley Sager, it is far from the author’s first book. Riley Sager is the second of two pen names used by author Todd Ritter, who wrote theKat Campbelltrilogy from 2010-2013 and penned the historical mysteryThings Half in Shadowunder the name Alan Finn in 2014.
Ritter rebranded as Riley Sager beforeFinal Girlswas released, tellingThe Atlanticthat “One could argue that editors would be willing to go with someone who had a clean slate,” rather than an experienced author with no earlier big hits to their name. The gamble paid off, as Sager’s subsequent novelsThe Last Time I Lied,Lock Every Door,Home Before Dark,Survive the Night, andThe House Across the Lakeall became huge hits too.
The latter even has a movie adaptation from Netflix on the way, whileLock Every Door earned further praise from King upon its 2021 release. The author called the book “A suspense novel that will keep you up until way past midnight,” proving that his enjoyment ofFinal Girlswasn’t a one-off. However, althoughKing was a fan ofYoubefore Kepnes’ psychological thriller novel earned itself an acclaimed TV series adaptation, Sager’s first book has not been as lucky when it comes to its journey to the screen.
Final Girls Has A Perfect Premise For A Movie Adaptation
The Psychological Thriller Blends Slasher Tropes and Mystery Plotting
A movie adaptation ofFinal Girlshas not yet been announced, although Universal Pictures bought the rights to adapt the book back in 2017, according toDeadline. The wait for an adaptation is unfortunate sinceSager’s novel has a killer premise that is perfectly suited to the big screen.Final Girlsfollows Quincy Carpenter, a troubled survivor of a nightmarish killing spree that cost the lives of her college friends ten years before the novel begins.
Thrust on her by the media following her unlikely survival of the bloody ordeal, the “Final Girl” tag follows Quincy around until, eventually, another Final Girl shows up dead and a third arrives on Quincy’s doorstep.
As the title implies, Quincy is a “Final Girl” like the heroine of so many slasher movies, only she truly struggles with this role. Thrust on her by the media following her unlikely survival of the bloody ordeal, the “Final Girl” tag follows Quincy around until, eventually, another Final Girl shows up dead and a third arrives on Quincy’s doorstep. The mismatched duo must work out who is targeting them, but Quincy can’t tell how much she can trust this other Final Girl or herself.
Final Girlsblends clever commentary on slasher tropes with a sharp, unpredictable mystery story, leaving viewers guessing until the final page of its twisty story.
WhileFinal Girlsnever gets as violent asKing’s nastiest horror stories, Sager’s novel does pack an impressive punch. The book is as violent as many of the classic slasher movies that inspired its premise, butFinal Girlsalso boasts the twisty plotting of a great whodunit murder mystery.Final Girlsblends clever commentary on slasher tropes with a sharp, unpredictable mystery story, leaving viewers guessing until the final page of its twisty story.
Final Girls Still Hasn’t Received Its Promised Movie Adaptation 8 Years Later
Final Girls Could Also Work As A Miniseries
Despite how much potentialFinal Girlshas, the book’s promised movie adaptation still hasn’t materialized. What makes this frustrating is the fact that the intervening decade has been a Golden Age for slashers.Happy Death Day,Happy Death Day 2 U,There’s Someone Inside Your House,Bodies Bodies Bodies, theFear Streettrilogy,Fear Street: Prom Queen,Thanksgiving, theXtrilogy,Scream 2022,Scream VI,It’s A Wonderful Knife,Heart Eyes, theTerrifiermovies, and the upcomingI Know What You Did Last Summerreboot have all proven that viewers still want new, fresh takes on the slasher formula.
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Middle of the Night
2024
As such,an adaptation ofFinal Girlswould be perfectly timed in 2025, and the story doesn’t even need to be told as a straightforward slasher movie. Its interlinked timelines and slow-burn mystery are both reminiscent ofSharp ObjectsandYellowjackets, two great psychological thriller shows that were elevated by the miniseries format.
Final Girlscould be a great TV series, and fortunately for the rights holders, the slasher has been flourishing on the small screen just as much as it has succeeded on the big screen in recent years. Not only is there the underrated Canadian anthology seriesSlasher, but 2015’sScream, the same year’sScream Queens,American Horror Story: 1984, 2021’sI Know What You Did Last Summer,Wreck, and SyFy’sChuckyall prove the slasher revival isn’t limited to the multiplex. King was right to single out Sager’s novel as a winning title, which makes its delayed adaptation inscrutable.
Now thatNetflix’s adaptation ofYouis ending after four seasons, there is no better time for some enterprising creators to bring Sager’s story to life on the big or the small screen. With a twisty storyline, smart commentary on the slasher’s sub-genre’s tropes, and a genuinely surprising twist ending,Final Girlshas everything readers could want from a fresh new take on the eponymous trope. Now, the book thatStephen Kingcompared toGone Girlalmost a decade ago just needs to make the jump to screens.
