True to horror movie form, the producers of Final Destination thought it necessary to spawn a bunch of sequels after the success of the first film (despite the fact that there really wasn’t anything else to add to the concept). Managing to squeeze out a total of five films from the franchise, I am quite relieved that it may have been decided to finally (no pun intended!) lay the film to rest. It seemed that this franchise was unstoppable, having even succeeded in crossing the media barrier and becoming a series of books and comics as well, all having that signature, underlying theme of predestination and fatalism. It really does make one wonder who is still buying all of theses things.
When Final Destination was released in 2000, it was awash with teen fans who flocked to the cinema in the opening weekend to see a horror movie which was fresh and had an interesting premise. Unlike most other films out there, Final Destination strayed from the conventions of having a serial killer or ferocious monster as the antagonist of the story – instead relying simply on the ‘figure’ of death. The film (and the ones which inevitably followed) exhibited a whole host of grim yet delightful ways that a person can be killed, and this trend has continued throughout the series, escalating in each one in order to satisfy audience’s expectations.
Interest dipped a little bit by the time that Final Destination 2 was released, as this basically had the same template as the original but with an entirely different cast (apart from Tony Todd and Ali Larter, of course). I don’t personally think that it offered anything that the original film hadn’t already covered, but it still achieved moderate success at the box office. The concept of death itself as the antagonist, killing a bunch of kids off one by one was a good idea, but it doesn’t really lend itself to multiple films. In this sense it’s like the old slasher movies of the 80s (you know what ones I’m talking about!) that just didn’t know when to call it quits.
James Wong (from the first Final Destination film) returned to direct the third installment (Final Destination 3, in case you hadn’t guessed!) which was originally intended to be the final film in a trilogy – but hey, I think that Scream producers thought the same thing with their franchise. And it doesn’t really come as much of a surprise that New Line Cinema/Warner Bros pushed for more of these films to be made, as the American film industry has long been fixated on making money, after all. The opening sequence for this film was not nearly as impressive as that of the second, in my opinion, as the choice of a roller coaster ride was a fairly limited one. Compare this with the spectacular explosions and cars crashing that the second film gave us, and it leaves one feeling a little disappointed with this effort.
The Final Destination (3D – though actually fourth in the series) did receive the most money at the box office (totaling an astonishing $186 million worldwide), despite the fact that it has also been named the worst of the series – appearing to be more light-hearted, even comedic, than its predecessors. Perhaps the 3D element helped to boost interest and awareness of the film, allowing audiences to see horrific scorching and disemboweling deaths up close and personal for the first time in the franchise. I am not really a fan of the 3D fad which producers keep on trying to force upon its audiences and so this gimmick didn’t really do anything for me, but even the basic storyling of this film seemed to be lacking the integrity of the original ‘trilogy’.
Due to the overwhelming financial return of the film though, a sequel was deemed appropriate, bringing us up to an unbelievable five movies in total. The fifth film ended with somewhat of a surprise ending – although those more acute viewers would be able to pick up clues along the way – which, I must confess, I thought was a great move. Upon actually being asked about a further sequel, the director Steven Quale offered a slightly ambiguous answer of ‘maybe, maybe not’, stating that if the fifth installment was a critical and financial success then another sequel may indeed be on the cards. And considering that Final Destination 5 has been accepted by fans and critics alike, we may not have seen the end of this franchise just yet.
I wonder if I am the only one who thinks it is ironic how Final Destination has become a horror movie franchise that just will not die!
