By Charlie Kendellen
This article contains spoilers for the first five Final Destination films.
With Final Destination: Bloodlines hitting cinemas this weekend, I thought it would only be fitting to reflect on the last 25 years of unspoken terror and the looming sense of dread the franchise has brought upon us.
From the original Final Destination (2000), marking the beginning of a century filled with technological anxieties and a clinging to the nostalgic feeling of the nineties. This entry made an entire generation of people afraid of flying, bathrooms, buses, and even kitchens. While the film was received with divisive reviews from critics upon its release, claiming it’s rather silly and unsophisticated, the film has had a cultural revival in recent years, being reclaimed as a cult favourite amongst horror fans. The franchise is particularly praised for its creative kill scenes and its use of death as an overbearing entity, implying that danger is around every corner.
Final Destination 2 (2003) continuing on with the first film’s legacy, follows a new group of teens, upon experiencing a terrifying premonition about an explosive pileup on a highway. The film has had a colossal impact on popular culture, leaving people terrified of trucks, especially if they’re carrying unsecured tree logs. Barbecues, dentists, elevators, and even joints were now met with a sense of terror and collective fear.
Final Destination 3 (2006) follows yet another teen who experiences a premonition of a brutal rollercoaster derailing, leaving her and her friends vulnerable to a series of grisly deaths. This entry certainly dials the campiness up to 100, often deemed as a fan favourite in the franchise. The film, at this point, should be running out of innovative ways to kill off these teens, but the film proves to have some of the most compelling kill scenes in the entire franchise. Carnivals, the gym, the subway, and even tanning beds are no longer safe. Although, the tanning beds death scene may have scared off many from tanning again, which is for the better.
The Final Destination (2009) — the fourth entry in the franchise — and arguably the worst due to its lazy digital effects and exceedingly unlikeable characters. This entry’s premonition leaves a group of young people running from a racetrack that causes a deadly massacre. This film left us terrified of car washes, swimming pools, lawnmowers, and cinemas… well, it at least tried to. Nothing can keep many of us away from the comforting walls of the cinema.
Final Destination 5 (2011) follows a premonition of a deadly bridge collapse, leaving the survivors open to death’s grisly revenge. This entry contains one of the most beloved death scenes in the franchise, involving an intense gymnastic session. This film instilled a fear of laser eye surgery, acupuncture, and gymnastics in all of us.
The entirety of the Final Destination franchise, despite a few weaker entries, all contain an array of high concept death scenes and a welcomed twist on the trope of teens dying. Unlike many other horror films of this era, death doesn’t have favourites. Everyone is vulnerable to its terror.
Final Destination hits cinemas on the 16th of May.