It turns out that the bony woman with the braid has a kind of work schedule, and she doesn’t like it when it is violated. On May 15, the «Final Destination» film series returned to the big screens with its sixth installment, subtitled «Bloodlines». Before the film’s release, we would like to recall the history of the development (or, conversely, the decline) of the popular film franchise, which is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, and find out what phobias it has successfully sown among moviegoers. In the long read, we will talk about how it all started and what it turned into later, calculate the total box office, and even indulge in some nostalgic memories.
Content
Background
«Final Destination» owes its birth to screenwriter Jeffrey Reddick. One day he came across a story about a woman on vacation who received a call from her mother who assured her that her daughter should not take tomorrow’s flight because she had a bad feeling. The heroine of the article heeded this warning and changed her flight, but the plane she was supposed to take crashed. Based on this concept, Reddick wrote a script that was originally intended for the X-Files series.
But later, the author took the advice of a colleague from New Line Cinema, who was convinced that the idea was worth a full-length feature. The studio was interested in the project, but given the success of «Scream» forced the screenwriter to replace the adult characters to young people. Subsequently, the writers of the aforementioned «X-Files» James Wong and Glen Morgan joined the writing to adapt the idea to their own vision. «We want to do something for airplanes and air travel that «Jaws» have done for sharks and swimming» — Wong admitted in an interview.
What everyone was sure of was that the antagonist was not supposed to have a physical embodiment, i.e., no maniacs or terrible spirit beasts Michael Myers or Jeepers Creepers are not provided for here. Instead, «Final Destination» is a mysterious invisible force that cannot be physically destroyed, but can only be disrupted in some way. This factor really made «Final Destination» stand out from the pile of monotonous slashers, so the creators had a right to expect success. Moreover, they already had an example of a non-standard approach to the genre that resulted in success, namely — postmodern reinterpretation of Wes Craven in «Scream».
The project was launched and the work was in full swing. Young talented actors were selected for the main roles, Wong took the director’s chair, which was his debut in this field, Candyman Tony Todd was invited to make a spectacular cameo as Coroner William Bloodworth, and the studio allocated $23 million for the production. And so began the history of the movie franchise, which, albeit with a long break, has been going on for a quarter of a century. And there is every reason to believe that it is not going to stop there.
«Final Destination»
Release date: 2000
Director: James Wong
Cast: Devon Sawa, Eli Larter, Kerr Smith, Sean William Scott, Kristen Locke, Tony Todd
IMDb rating: 6,7
+1 phobia: fear of air travel
The world premiere of «Final Destination» took place on March 17, 2000. Despite mostly negative reviews from high-minded critics, the film managed to gross a solid $112 million, which was a financial success. The scene of the plane crash, which was merely the protagonist’s premonition, was a really effective maneuver, and the fact that the villain was not in the flesh focused attention not on who was killing the clueless youth, but on how it was happening.
This is where the authors had to show all their creative imagination and ingenuity, of course, within the available budget. And they did it. The unnaturally strange accidents, reminiscent of the way Goldberg’s machine works and leading to the deaths of the characters, had a much stronger effect on the viewer than the rather tired conventional Freddie Krueger. And even if today some deaths shown in the film would be suitable only as a basis for parodies in «Scary Movie» (which, by the way, started the same year, and the scene with the «sudden» bus crash was played out in the sequel and in the fourth part of the cult parody), the idea worked.
Along with a bountiful theatrical harvest, «Final Destination» won the «Saturn» for Best Horror Film, and the lead actor Devon Sawa was honored with the same award for Best Young Actor. And after the film’s release, the number of people in the world who are afraid to approach airplanes closer than a kilometer has clearly increased.
Interesting facts:
- Some characters were named after famous horror directors, actors, and producers. For example, the star of the then-hit «American Pie» (1999), Sean William Scott, played a schoolboy with the telling surname Hitchcock; the main character’s name refers to Todd Browning, one of the founders of the horror genre; there is an FBI agent named after Max Schreck, references to Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, Karl Theodor Dreyer, etc;
- The song «Rocky Mountain High» John Denver sounds like a refrain, and for good reason because the singer died in a plane crash on October 12, 1997;
- Geoffrey Reddick initially considered Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst for the lead roles, but the actors were destined to work together on the set of «Spider-Man» Sam Raimi only two years later.
«Final Destination 2»
Release date: 2003
Director: David R. Ellis
Cast: AJ Cook, Eli Larter, Michael Landis, David Petkau, Linda Boyd, Keegan Connor Tracy, Tony Todd
IMDb rating: 6,2
+1 phobia: Fear of large log trucks loaded to the brim with logs
And in terms of narrative dynamics and ingenuity, the sequel looked advantageous, and the number of crazy deaths in it increased rapidly.
In addition to the bony one with the braid, only the cameo Tony Todd and Ali Larter’s character Cleare Rivers made it to the sequel (the actress will play another iconic Claire in the zombie franchise «Resident Evil», which we will also talk about on occasion), plus the local death in the elevator resembles an identical death in the first part (a film adaptation of Capcom’s cult game). Alex Browning, who survived the first film, was killed while not present by a brick that fell on his head, and A.J. Cook replaced him.
And even though the characters in the sequel arbitrarily compose unfounded theories at the behest of the same screenwriters, the second part has become a worthy successor to the original and in some aspects has even surpassed it. This is evidenced by more favorable reviews from critics, another nomination for «Saturn» (though the film lost to «28 Days Later»), and good box office receipts of $90 million against a budget of $26 million. Yes, the sequel grossed slightly less than its predecessor, but it was still profitable.
Interesting facts:
- In addition to «Final Destination 2», the following horror films were released in 2003: «Wrong Turn», «Jeepers Creepers 2», the crossover «Freddy vs. Jason», a remake of «The Texas Chainsaw Massacre» from producer Michael Bay, «High Tension» by Alexandre Aja, «Dreamcatcher» based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King, spoof «House of 1000 Corpses» by Rob Zombie, body horror «Fever» by Eli Roth;
- The opening credits show a frame with the inscription «Road Trip», on which the letter «T» is blocked. So the result is the abbreviation «RIP»;
- The film features two Apple devices: the main character, played by A.J. Cook, uses a laptop, and David Petkau’s character, who won a large sum of money in the lottery, flaunts his newly purchased, then latest version of the iMac G4 monoblock.
«Final Destination 3» / Final Destination 3
Release date: 2006
Director: James Wong
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Amanda Crew, Chris Lemke, Alex Johnson, Gina Golden, Crystal Lowe, Tony Todd (voice)
IMDb rating: 5,8
+1 phobia: fear of roller coasters
The third part was planned to be the last in the trilogy, but we all know very well that in Hollywood the box office factor is always more convincing than the original intentions. This conveyor belt of death is unstoppable. The new «Final Destination» lost its mastermind Jeffrey Reddick, but the original creators James Wong and Glen Morgan returned to the franchise. However, something went wrong with them.
If the second film was a direct continuation of the first, the threequel was positioned as a separate story, not connected to the previous events. It involved completely new characters, and even the traditional Tony Todd had no place in the film — the actor limited himself to a few lines of voice acting for a fake devil in an amusement park and a subway station dispatcher. The main role went to Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who will play the daughter of the director himself in just a year’s time John McClain. Her partner on the set was Ryan Merriman, with whom Winstead worked together in the horror film «The Ring 2» (2005).
This time, thanks to the idea of New Line Cinema CEO Richard Bryant, the authors appealed to the fears associated with roller coasters — the opening scene of the disaster on this particular ride was really impressive. But in the end, it turned out that Wong and Morgan had nothing to offer besides it — where it was necessary to surprise and raise the stakes, the plot stubbornly stumbles along, if not to say that it is almost absent altogether, and the characters themselves behave so stupidly that you slowly begin to root for the bony one.
Due to the lack of creative thought, the authors resorted to a cheat maneuver and wove into the story two naked beauties — a kind of Paris Hilton analogues («blonde in chocolate» and she herself had already managed to die spectacularly the day before in the «House of Wax»), who are mercilessly roasted in a solarium. These characters are absolutely ridiculous, but somehow they have to lure people to the theaters.
The critics expectedly disliked the threequel, but the audience again voted with their dollars: with a budget of $25 million, the box office grossed almost $119 million. Despite the fact that the concept had clearly exhausted itself, the third film received another nomination for Best Horror at the «Saturn» Awards and became the highest-grossing film in the franchise at the time of its release. This meant only one thing: death must go on.
Interesting facts:
- Most of the cell phones shown in the movie are Motorola Razr V3s;
- The inscription on the white truck that causes an accident at the drive-through service of a fast food restaurant refers to the same truck from the second part, which is present in the scene on Highway 23;
- A little more memories for you in the film — in March 2006, when the film was released in Ukrainian cinemas, the following films were in our rental: «Corpse Bride» Tim Burton and Mike Johnson, the failed «Basic Instinct 2» with Sharon Stone and the equally failed «BloodRayne» with Kristanna Loken; the acclaimed «Brokeback Mountain» with Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger; how wild it doesn’t look now — «Boomer. Movie Two», «Ice Age : The Meltdown» and «Fun with Dick and Jane» — a $100 million comedy starring Jim Carrey and Téa Leoni.
«The Final Destination»
Release date: 2009
Director: David R. Ellis
Cast: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Hayley Webb, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen
IMDb rating: 5,1
+1 phobia: Fear of racing on a racetrack, unless you are Dominic Toretto
The screenwriter of the second «Final Destination», Eric Bress, took up the task of writing the new sequel, and his director, David R. Ellis, took the director’s chair. Now they decided to disguise the flatness of the one-dimensional idols with the bulge of the three-dimensional format, the apogee of which will be the monstrous «Avatar» by James Cameron, premiering a few months later.
Meanwhile, «Final Destination» is getting worse and worse and turning into a kind of self-parody, paradoxically earning increasingly at the box office — the memorable 3D did its job. It required more money from the producers, which reached $40 million, but the $186 million gross was a record for the series. And this achievement has not yet been surpassed by its successors.
The fourth film does not fare any better than the third: the authors do not deviate from the well-worn formula and continue to bend their line. Characters we aren’t concerned about die on screen again, as long as we can see their futile tossing and turning in between the killings. There are some familiar faces among them: for example, Shantel VanSanten will appear in the popular youth series «One Tree Hill» in 2009, and from more recent appearances on the screen you may remember the actress from her role as Becky Butcher in the hit superhero satire «The Boys».
The character of Krista Allen will also say goodbye to life in one of the scenes — you could see this lady in a bunch of cult shows, such as «Baywatch» or «Smallville» (mostly guest appearances), and in the sci-fi version of «Emmanuel» with the addition of «In Space», which launched the actress’s career. However, it will not be Christa who will be responsible for the erotic content here, but an unknown cameo performer Gabrielle Chapin.
And while the next doomed people are mechanically dying in the frame, various objects are constantly flying at the viewer, including a cork from an early celebratory champagne. Today, this cartoonish throwing of everything and everyone can only bring a slight smile to your face. One of the deaths will again remind us of the first «Resident Evil», when a brave commando commander was neatly cut into small pieces by a laser — in this case, the cutting element was a metal mesh on the fence. And we’ll talk about the laser a little later.
The fourth «Final Destination» was a vivid and typical Hollywood example of an interesting concept being completely exhausted. But the fashion for three-dimensional cinema came to the rescue in time.
Interesting facts:
- «The Final Destination» became the first film in the series to receive official Ukrainian dubbing at the box office;
- This is the only film in the franchise that does not feature Tony Todd. During the filming, the actor was busy voicing Fallen in the sci-fi blockbuster «Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen» (2009) by Michael Bay;
- In the final scene, a bus with the number «180» flashes in front of the viewer, a reference to the airplane and subway train from the first and third films, respectively.
«Final Destination 5»
Release date: 2011
Director: Stephen Quayle
Cast: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Arlene Escarpeta, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Miles Fisher, Ellen Roe, David Cockner, Tony Todd
IMDb rating: 5,9
+1 phobia: Fear of suspension bridges
In 2008, New Line Cinema was taken over by the major Warner Brothers, and in March 2010, its head Alan Horn announced the development of the next installment. The project was entrusted to completely new people: the screenwriter was Eric Heisserer, who had previously worked on the script of the critically acclaimed remake of «A Nightmare on Elm Street» (2010), and the director was Stephen Quayle, who served as second director on Cameron’s «Titanic» and «Avatar».
The fifth «Final Destination» was still a very mediocre movie, but it was rather a step forward compared to the previous two, as evidenced by the reviews of critics, who surprisingly turned out to be the most loyal of all the parts of the series. Of course, one cannot ignore the large-scale scene of the bridge collapse, made in the best traditions of epic disaster movies Roland Emmerich. Even today it looks good.
At the same time, the quality of the special effects has become noticeably better than in the fourth film, and many reviewers liked the use of 3D. In addition, the creators tried to develop the established mythology in some way — Tony Todd returned to the project and gave a tirade about how there is a chance to survive if you take someone’s life. As a result, for the first time in the history of «Destination», the villain in the finale takes on a face. The icing on the cake is the extremely effective ending, which unexpectedly announces that the fifth coming of the bony — is actually a prequel to the original. It’s a nice trick.
Otherwise, however, the film is a standard tedium of uninteresting gags in between bizarre deaths. Among them, the death of a gymnast is particularly memorable, as well as a fatal laser vision correction procedure that went awry.
Despite some improvements, the film grossed slightly less than its predecessor at the box office, but it was still profitable — $157 million against a budget of $40 million. The story came to a close, and it seemed that on this bright note in every sense, the franchise had finally reached its final stop, its final destination.
Interesting facts:
- Up until this point, the chronology of the films «Final Destination» was identical movie franchise «Fast and Furious» series, five parts of which were released in the same years. Both series started in 2000, sequels appeared in 2003, and the next films premiered in 2006, 2009 and 2011 respectively;
- Initially, the screenwriter Eric Heisserer conceived of a disaster in a water park, but this idea was eventually abandoned;
- The scene of the suspension bridge accident was filmed on the Lyons Gate Bridge in Vancouver.
«The Final Destination: Bloodlines»
Release date: 2025
Directors: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Cast: Caitlin Santa Juana, Theo Briones, Richard Harmon, Aries Patrick Joyner, Rya Kihlstedt, Anna Lore, Breck Bessinger, Tony Todd
IMDb rating: 7,2
Where to see: movie theaters
The series showed no signs of life until 2019, when the studio announced that a new installment was in development. The tandem of directors Zach Lipowski and Adam Stein were hired after the guys staged an accident during a Zoom conversation with studio executives, which was quite in the spirit of «Point». The script was written by Laurie Evans Taylor («The Darkness in Me», «Cellar Door»), Guy Brooks («Ready or Not», «Scream», «Scream VI», «Abigail») and John Watts, who directed Marvel’s Spider-Man trilogy so far, last year’s «Wolves» and 2 episodes of the series «Star Wars: Skeleton Crew».
In the story, a college student inherits her grandmother’s sudden premonition of a tower collapse that occurred in 1968. The girl tries to save her family after Death begins to kill them one by one, because they were not even supposed to be born. Returning to the role of William Bloodworth was the last film appearance for Tony Todd, whose life ended on November 6, 2024, at the age of 69.
«Bloodlines» can be called the best film in the series. At least, if you believe reactions of critics and audience ratings on IMDb as of now. Ukrainian viewers will have the opportunity to find out if this is true on May 15, the day the movie was released. It also features broke a strange world record.
Conclusions
The horror franchise «Destination» includes 6 films, 10 novels, and 2 comics. From 2000 to 2011, 5 installments were released, and $204 million was spent on them. The total grosses reached a mark that you can’t even imagine, $666 million (and, for example, the number of pictures in this article is — 13). Initially, having proposed an extraordinary concept that touches on the themes of fatalism, the inevitability of death and the impossibility of counteracting it, the creators gradually wore it out to the hilt, offering practically nothing new.
In the «Final Destination» universe, the viewer is thrown in different directions like on a roller coaster: gory scenes from a penny-ante exploitation can coexist with large-scale blockbuster disasters. There’s always room for lively tie-ins in the form of exciting foreshadowing and further monotonous developments. Fanciful and not-so-screen deaths, and many faded or frankly inept characters that the viewer is mostly indifferent to.
There are also some dangerous repairs going on here all the time, water is mysteriously attracted to electricity, and visits to doctors have tragic consequences. And all sorts of signs and symbols are of utmost importance.
For fans of the «Final Destination» genre, it has long been a cult phenomenon, and some of its scenes have become the brand’s trademark.
Each installment has been more or less profitable — the series is the third most profitable in the horror genre for New Line Cinema after «The Conjuring» ($2 billion) and «It» ($1 billion). The concept of visionary disasters and a mysterious invisible antagonist has become a win-win for the target audience. Given the current ratings of «Bloodlines», there is hope that the franchise that has risen from the dead is moving in the right direction. Who knows, maybe in the near future it will be the right time to conclude that «Final Destination» is more alive than ever.
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