The trending horror movie Somewhere Quiet has arrived on Hulu at the perfect time to celebrate the history of the notorious slasher trope it subverts. Written and directed by Olivia West Lloyd in her directorial debut, Somewhere Quiet revolves around a woman trying to bring some normalcy back into her life after escaping from a kidnapper. Things take a dark turn when she travels to her husband’s compound. The movie just arrived on Hulu a year after its premiere at Tribeca Festival, and it’s already trending.

On its initial release, Somewhere Quiet was met with near-universal acclaim from critics, who praised its eerie atmosphere, sympathetic characterization, and somber exploration of well-worn horror genre conventions. It earned a near-perfect 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and now, thanks to its release on Hulu, it’s finally reaching the wide audience it deserves. And it’s the perfect time for this movie to take off, because it’s the 50th anniversary of the biggest trope it subverts.

Somewhere Quiet Follows A “Final Girl” After Her Horror Movie

Somewhere Quiet is a sequel to a slasher that doesn’t exist

Essentially, the plot of Somewhere Quiet revolves around a “final girl” following the horrific events she experienced in the past. It plays as an epilogue to the kind of story told in classic slasher movies. In the slasher genre, the “final girl” is the character who survives the killer’s wrath, like Halloween’s Laurie Strode or Friday the 13th’s Alice Hardy. The movies usually treat her survival as a triumphant victory and cut to the end credits before really exploring the psychological aftermath.

In Somewhere Quiet, Lloyd imagines what would happen to a slasher film’s final girl after the credits roll. How does she deal with the trauma? Can she readjust to her regular life or will she be tormented by PTSD? This PTSD is sometimes shown at the end of a slasher movie as a final stinger, but it’s never explored in any real depth. With Somewhere Quiet, Lloyd dedicated an entire feature-length film to exploring a final girl’s mental state after escaping the grasp of a psychotic villain.

Somewhere Quiet’s Hulu Popularity Perfectly Aligns With The 50-Year Anniversary Of The First “Final Girl” Slasher Movie

Black Christmas turns 50 this year

The unexpected popularity of Somewhere Quiet on Hulu is perfectly timed to bring the history of the final girl trope full circle. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Bob Clark’s holiday-themed 1974 slasher Black Christmas, which practically created the final girl trope. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released on the same day with its own final girl, Sally Hardesty, but Black Christmas’ Jess Bradford aligns more closely with the now-recognizable hallmarks of the trope. Now, 50 years later, that trope has been taken to its emotional extreme with Somewhere Quiet.