- Release year: 2000
- Director: James Wong.
- Producers: Glen Morgan, Craig Perry, and Warren Zide.
- Screenplay by: Glen Morgan, James Wong, and Jeffrey Reddick.
- Cinematography by: Robert McLachlan.
- Music by: Shirley Walker.
Synopsis: right before takeoff, a teen has a vision of all his friends dying in a plane crash. He freaks out and leaves the plane with a few classmates, saving their lives, but death still has plans for them.
Shotgun Commentary: the OG, a bit clunky and very 2000s, which is by no means a bad thing.
Review
Final Destination is one of the greatest products ever created for fans of gory and intricate deaths. If you are in the mood to watch a bunch of overcomplicated “natural” deaths, this is definitely what you’re looking for. With its last instalment now in cinemas, a revisit of this classic is definitely a must.
Context
The feature’s message is as straightforward as it can be: you can’t cheat death. Our protagonist manages to do so once by getting out of an aeroplane that is destined to crash, only to get himself and the rest of the survivors chased by the Grim Reaper.
Murder by death is both the title of a cinematic masterpiece and the cause of all the passings in this film. There is no villain, no monster, no plot twist. People die because that’s what people do, which is exactly what makes this horror franchise so unique. You can run from evil, but how can you run from the one universal trait of being alive?
Good and evil
Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is the main guy in this man vs death situation. He happens to be the lucky winner of a harrowing vision where the plane he is about to take explodes, taking the lives of everyone in it, including his. He jolts, drenched in sweat from the delightful experience, and starts yelling in horror for everyone to get out.
As expected, only one girl has enough neurons in her brain to at least suspect that he might be onto something. The rest of the survivors from the crash are completely accidental and make sure to blame Alex for everything, including the car crash. Because that’s what people do.
Now, it is easy to think of Carter Horton (Kerr Smith), the jock presumably on cocaine, as the main “bad guy”, but the competition on being a d*ck is fierce. Surprisingly, one could argue that the most ungrateful, unprofessional and inhuman of the survivors is actually the only adult to survive: teacher Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke). After being miraculously saved thanks to her student’s vision and her lack of ability to speak French, she meets Alex again during the memorial to all the victims.
What do you think a teacher whose life you’ve saved would tell you? The answer may surprise you. In fact, it is so shocking that it makes her death almost satisfying. This incredibly professional student, when faced with a deeply traumatised teen whose vision has saved her, has nothing better to say than, “don’t talk to me, you scare the hell out of me”… Maybe she should leave that moment out of her CV, though.
The long-term stars
The rest of the ensemble are a few pretty pointless people and two of the actors that have actually done on to be part of relevant blockbusters: Ali Larter and Seann William Scott. The first plays Clear Rivers. Yeah, that is actually her name. You may know Larter from other horror films, such as the Resident Evil franchise or Spin the Bottle (2024). She always manages to coat her characters with an oddly charismatic personality. A trait that, in this case, doesn’t reach her full potential. But worry not, dead or alive, she comes back with tenfold the swag. But that’s a story for another day.
As for Scott, if are familiar with the American Pie franchise, or have been lucky enough to enjoy masterpieces like Evolution (2001) or The Rundown (2003), you definitely remember him. He has made a career out of playing a politically-incorrect “funny guy”, and in some instances he actually makes it work quite nicely, despite the films adhering to the mentality back then.
All in all, Final Destination is wonderful for both slasher fans and newbies who haven’t seen the film before. It is not scary enough to scar that one friend who hates horror, and it does encourage conversation for movie nights by making each death a game of catch-the-murder-weapon. Could not recommend it enough.
Advice to take from this movie:
- If a person freaks out over seeing you die… maybe listen a little bit?
- We are all going to die, so let’s do it without getting all paranoid about it, yeah?
- Life is full of dangers, but there is a line between full-blown paranoia and being cautious.
What’s your take? Have you watched Final Destination? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀