Imagine this. It's the year 2000, and a brand new horror film is due to hit the screen. But unlike many titles that have come before, this one doesn't focus on a masked killer, a serial murderer, or a ghoulish monster. Instead, it’s about something that we all will face one day: death. That’s right, I’m talking about the first Final Destination movie.
Despite its ingenious premise, the movie wasn't met with a warm critical response. Although the first installment was popular enough to stir studios to make more movies in the series, Final Destination still stands at 40% on Rotten Tomatoes – painfully low if you ask me. But now, 25 years later, Final Destination has spanned over 6 movies, creating one of the most popular and imaginative franchises to date.
14 years after the release of Final Destination 5, the newest installment, Final Destination Bloodlines, shakes things up again by introducing the idea that a whole family can be cursed to die. This is a big shift for the franchise, as Death usually doesn't wait around to claim its victims, especially those who have premonitions. But in Bloodlines, a death defier was able to have a whole family. A family that technically shouldn't exist at all.
In addition, the lead-up to the sixth movie also spurred many horror buffs to look back at some of the franchise’s best moments. For example, marketing for Bloodlines involved logging trucks let loose on the roads, sporting the Final Destination Bloodlines poster, reminding fans of one of the most iconic death scenes from the second movie.
Of course, it all started with that plane crash that saw one teenager predict the demise of Flight 180 from JFK, which helped create a genre favorite franchise that would live on a quarter of a century later.
Soaring above from the crowd
Set in New York state, Final Destination follows a high schooler named Alex who boards a flight to Paris with his school friends. However, once on the plane, Alex has a vivid vision of the plane going down. When he comes to, he manages to save himself and some of his friends from the crash, which takes place almost exactly as he imagined it. But Death has a design, and soon comes for those who escaped their fate, one by one.
Back in 2000, the horror market was flooded with bloody and ghoulish flicks for audiences to pick from, from werewolf-centric Ginger Snaps to supernatural sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2. But none really broke boundaries like Final Destination did. The film replaces the usual monster or killer with Death, turning the act of dying into an antagonist in itself. But rather than portraying Death as a hooded figure with a scythe, the villain shows up as a slight breeze, a chilling suggestion that it could be anywhere at any time.
An inescapable fate
Another way the movie stood out from the crowd is its exploration of the idea that you cannot escape your fate. In most horror flicks, there is always one last person who manages to best the killer, or even go as far as to defeat the monster – just look at the final girl trope. But in Final Destination, there was no way that Alex could have bested Death, just as we as humans cannot avoid our own inevitable fates.
In turn, the first movie and the franchise as a whole plays upon both our natural curiosity and our fear of the unknown. With each film that passes, we are faced with more strange and very realistic deaths that any of us could fall victim to. In fact, the franchise has had a direct impact on the way we live our lives. I mean, can you ever look at a logging truck the same? Never mind a tanning bed. Although each victim could have stopped their specific death in one way or another, the world is a dangerous place, and Final Destination makes sure we know it. Another deadly object could always be waiting around the corner.
At the end of the day, when we go to bed at night, we can rest knowing that no killer clowns, vampires, ghosts, or ghouls are going to get us, because they aren't real. But the one thing we cannot escape in this life is our own mortality. Death will come for all of us, just as it came for Alex and his friends in 2000. That's why Final Destination remains one of the most ingenious and widely accessible horror franchises to this day.
Final Destination Bloodlines is out in theaters now. Before you head out to see it, read our Final Destination Bloodlines review.
For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.
