25 years later, the final destination remains one of the most important and most ingenious horror deductibles because it is not afraid to face death
Imagine this. It is the year 2000, and a brand new horror film should strike the screen. But unlike many titles that have preceded, it does not focus on a masked killer, a serial murderer or a macabre monster. Instead, this is something that we will all do one day: death. It’s true, I’m talking about the first final destination film.
Despite its ingenious premises, the film was not met with a warm critical response. Although the first episode was popular enough to stir the studios to make more films in the series, Final Destination is always 40% Rotten tomatoes – Painly low if you ask me. But now, 25 years later, the final destination has lasted more than 6 films, creating one of the most popular and imaginative franchises to date.
14 years after the release of Final Destination 5, the last episode, Final Destination Bloodlines, does things again by introducing the idea that a whole family can be cursed to die. It is a big change for the franchise, because death does not generally wait to claim its victims, in particular those who have premonitions. But in Bloodlines, a Death Defier was able to have a whole family. A family that should not technically exist at all.
In addition, the accounting of the sixth film has also prompted many amateurs to look back some of the best moments in the franchise. For example, marketing for lines involved forest trucks standing out on the roads, sporting the final of the final destination blood, reminding fans one of the most emblematic death scenes in the second film.
Of course, it all started with this plane crash that saw a teenager predict the disappearance of JFK flight 180, which helped create a favorite franchise of the genre that would live over a quarter of a century later.
Polant above the crowd
Located in New York State, Final Destination follows a high school named Alex who set up a flight to Paris with his school friends. However, once on the plane, Alex has a lively vision of the downward plane. When he arrives, he manages to save himself and to some of his friends from the accident, which takes place almost exactly as he imagined. But death has a design, and soon comes for those who have escaped their fate, one by one.
In 2000, the horror market was flooded with bloody and macabre films so that the public could choose, from snaps to ginger centered on the werewolf in the supernatural Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. But none really broke the limits like the final destination. The film replaces the usual monster or killer with death, transforming the act of dying into an antagonist into itself. But rather than representing death as a hooded figure with a false, the bad guy presents himself as a slight breeze, a frightening suggestion that it could be anywhere at any time.
An essential spell
Another way the film stood out from the crowd is its exploration of the idea that you cannot escape your spell. In most horror films, there is always one last person who manages the killer at best, or even defeating the monster – just look at the last girl trophy. But in the final destination, there was no way that Alex could have died, just like us, humans, cannot avoid our own inevitable fate.
In turn, the first film and the franchise as a whole play both on our natural curiosity and our fear of the unknown. With each passing film, we are faced with stranger and very realistic dead we could be victims. In fact, the franchise had a direct impact on how we live our lives. I mean, can you never watch a journal truck in the same way? It doesn’t matter a tanning bed. Although each victim has been able to stop his specific death in one way or another, the world is a dangerous place, and the final destination ensures that we know it. Another fatal object could still wait at the corner of the street.
At the end of the day, when we lying at night, we can rest knowing that no clowns, vampires, ghosts or ghouls will get us, because they are not real. But the only thing we cannot escape in this life is our own mortality. Death will come for all of us, as well as for Alex and his friends in 2000. This is why the final destination remains one of the most ingenious and accessible horror francises to date.
Final Destination Bloodlines is now in theaters. Before leaving to see it, read our final destination blood review.
To find out more, see our list of the best horror films, or our guide from all the next horror films that are heading for us.
