Final Destination

This article is about the franchise as a whole. For the first film in the series, see Final Destination (film). For the fourth film in the series, see The Final Destination.
Final Destination

DVD set containing all five films
Directed by Final Destination 1, 3
James Wong
Final Destination 2, 4
David R. Ellis
Final Destination 5
Steven Quale
Produced by Glen Morgan
Warren Zide
Craig Perry
Toby Emmerich
Jeffrey Reddick
James Wong
Warren Zide
Screenplay by Final Destination 1, 3
Glen Morgan
Final Destination 1, 3
James Wong
Final Destination
Jeffrey Reddick
Final Destination 2
J. Mackye Gruber
Final Destination 2, 4
Eric Bress
Final Destination 5
Eric Heisserer
Story by Final Destination 1
Jeffrey Reddick
Final Destination 2
Jeffrey Reddick
J. Mackye Gruber
Eric Bress
Based on Characters 
by Jeffrey Reddick
Starring Devon Sawa
Ali Larter
Kerr Smith
A.J. Cook
Michael Landes
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Ryan Merriman
Bobby Campo
Shantel VanSanten
Mykelti Williamson
Nicholas D'Agosto
Emma Bell
Tony Todd
Music by Final Destination 1, 2, 3
Shirley Walker
Final Destination 4, 5
Brian Tyler
Distributed by Final Destination 1, 2, 3,
New Line Cinema
Final Destination 4, 5
Warner Bros.
Release dates
Final Destination
March 17, 2000
Final Destination 2
January 31, 2003
Final Destination 3
February 10, 2006
The Final Destination
August 28, 2009
Final Destination 5
August 12, 2011
Running time
Total (5 films)
455 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget Total (5 films)
US$154 million
Box office Total (5 films)
US$665,080,639

Final Destination is an American horror franchise composed of 5 films, comic books and novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for the X-Files television series, and was distributed by New Line Cinema. All five films center around a protagonist that has a premonition of a terrible accident that will kill numerous people. The protagonist and several other people manage to escape from the scene of the accident, before it happens, but are later killed in a series of bizarre accidents that frequently resemble Rube Goldberg machines in their complexity.

The series is noteworthy amongst others in the horror genre in that the "villain" of the movies is not the stereotypical slasher, but Death itself (very occasionally seen as a fleeting shadow), which manipulates the environment with the intent of claiming the lives of those who managed to escape their fates.

In addition to the films, a novel series (which includes the novelizations of the first three films) was published throughout 2005 and 2006 by Black Flame. A one-shot comic book titled Final Destination: Sacrifice was released alongside select DVDs of Final Destination 3 in 2006, and a comic series titled Final Destination: Spring Break was published by Zenescope Entertainment in 2007.

Films

Final Destination (2000)

High school student Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) boards Volee Airlines Flight 180 for a field trip to Paris. Before take-off, Alex has a premonition that the plane will explode in mid-air, killing everyone on board. When the events from his vision begin to repeat themselves in reality, he panics, and a fight breaks out, which leads to a handful of passengers being left behind including Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), Carter Horton (Kerr Smith), Billy Hitchcock (Seann William Scott), Valerie Lewton (Kristen Cloke), Terry Chaney (Amanda Detmer), and Tod Waggner (Chad Donella), who witness the plane explode moments later. Afterwards, the survivors begin to die one by one through a series of bizarre accidents, and Alex attempts to find a way to "cheat" Death's plan before its too late. Six months later, Alex, Clear, and Carter travel to Paris to celebrate their survival, believing they have finally cheated Death; however, after Carter is crushed by a giant neon sign, they realize that Death's plan is still in action.

Final Destination 2 (2003)

Main article: Final Destination 2

One year after the first film, college student Kimberly Corman (A. J. Cook) is heading to Daytona Beach for spring break with her friends Shaina, Dano, and Frankie (Sarah Carter, Alex Rae, and Shaun Sipos) En route, Kimberly has a premonition of a massive car pile-up on Route 23, killing everyone involved. She stalls her SUV on the entrance ramp preventing several people from entering the highway, including state trooper Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), Eugene Dix (T.C. Carson), Rory Peters (Jonathan Cherry), Kat Jennings (Keegan Connor Tracy), Nora and Tim Carpenter (Lynda Boyd and James Kirk), Evan Lewis (David Paetkau), and pregnant Isabella Hudson (Justina Machado). While Officer Burke questions Kimberly, the pile-up occurs as she predicted. In the days following the accident, the survivors begin to die one by one in a series of bizarre accifents. After learning about the explosion of flight 180, Kimberley teams up with Clear Rivers, the last survivor, to try to save a new group of people from Death. This time the survivors are told that only "new life" can defeat Death, and must stay alive long enough for Isabella to have her baby. It is later revealed that Isabella was never meant to die in the pileup, and Kimberly drowns herself in a lake so that she can be resuscitated by emergency staff, thus granting her "new life"; saving her and Thomas.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

Main article: Final Destination 3

Six years after the explosion of Flight 180, and five years after the pile-up on Route 23, high school student Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), visits an amusement park for grad night with her friends Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman), Jason Wise (Jesse Moss), and Carrie Dreyer (Gina Holden). As Wendy and her friends board the Devil's Flight roller coaster, Wendy has a premonition that the ride will crash, killing everyone on board. When Wendy panics a fight breaks out and several people leave or are forced off before the accident occurs, including Kevin, Wendy's younger sister Julie (Amanda Crew), Ian McKinley (Kris Lemche), Perry Malinowski (Maggie Ma), Erin Ulmer (Alexz Johnson), Lewis Romero (Texas Battle), Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton), and Ashley Freund and Ashlyn Halperin (Chelan Simmons and Crystal Lowe). When the survivors start to die one by one in a series of strange accidents, Wendy and Kevin set out to save those who remain. Most of their attempts are futile, with the exception of Julie, and themselves, leading them to believe they have cheated death. However, the three "coincidentally" cross paths five months later and are killed in a horrifying subway accident.

The Final Destination (2009)

Main article: The Final Destination

Ten years after the explosion of Flight 180, nine years after the pileup on Route 23, and three years after the Devil's Flight roller coaster derailment, college student Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) visits the McKinley Speedway for a study break with his friends Lori Milligan, Janet Cunningham, and Hunt Wynorski. While watching the race, Nick has a premonition that a race car crash will send debris into the stands, causing the stadium to collapse on the guests. When Nick panics a fight breaks out and several people leave before the accident occurs, including, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), Janet (Haley Webb), and Hunt (Nick Zano), security guard George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson), and spectators Jonathan Groves (Jackson Walker), Andy Kewzer (Andrew Fiscella), Samantha Lane (Krista Allen), Carter Daniels (Justin Welborn), and Nadia Monroy (Stephanie Honoré). Once again, the survivors are killed in a series of strange accidents except for Janet, who is rescued just moments before her death. This leads the remaining survivors to believe that they have cheated Death, until Nick has another premonition of a disastrous explosion at a shopping mall, which he manages to prevent, saving him, Lori, and Janet. Two weeks later, Nick realizes the mall disaster vision was only meant to lead them to where Death wanted them to be and they are all killed by a runaway semi-trailer truck.

Final Destination 5 (2011)

Main article: Final Destination 5

Sam Lawton (Nicholas D'Agosto) is on his way to a corporate retreat with his colleagues. While they cross the North Bay Bridge Sam has a premonition that the bridge will collapse, killing everyone on it. Sam manages to persuade several of his co-workers to get off the bridge before the accident occurs, including Molly Harper (Emma Bell), Nathan Sears (Arlen Escarpeta), Peter Friedkin (Miles Fisher), Dennis Lapman (David Koechner), Olivia Castle (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), Isaac Palmer (P. J. Byrne), and Candice Hooper (Ellen Wroe). After Candice and Isaac die in bizarre accidents, Sam is warned that Death is still after the survivors and told that if he wants to live he must kill someone who was never meant to die on the bridge, and claim their remaining lifespan. Olivia and Dennis are killed before they have a chance to save themselves, but Nathan claims the lifespan of a co-worker when he accidentally causes his death in a warehouse accident. Peter attempts to kill Molly, jealous that she survived instead of Candice. He eventually gains the lifespan of an investigating agent, but is killed by Sam before he can kill Molly. Sam and Molly later board a plane to Paris, which is later revealed to be Flight 180, and both are killed in the resulting explosion. The landing gear is sent towards New York City and crashes into a cocktail bar, killing Nathan.

Structure of the films

The movies are different in themselves, but all have the same structure.

The movies begin traditionally with the opening credits which is the same in each film, but remixed to accommodate the changing situations and characters. The film then opens with the main character in a place prone to accidents (such as an airport, a highway, an amusement park, a race track, a suspension bridge, etc.) and starts to have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. There are also several signs foreshadowing an imminent disaster. Soon after, the accident occurs, resulting in the deaths of several people. When the main character realizes it was just a premonition they panic, which results in several people leaving just moments before the accident occurs. After the accident the main character still feels as though something is wrong, and after a few survivors die, they seek out an explanation and realize that Death is killing the survivors one by one, and in the same order they would have died in the accident. The main character continues to see signs foreshadowing the next survivors death, and in some cases teams up with some of the other survivors to prevent it. The film then ends with the last two or three survivors thinking they have finally cheated Death, only to realize that their efforts were futile.

Signs

Signs of Death are always present throughout the films. While some are just perceived by the protagonist, others can be perceived by other characters as well. These signs foreshadow how the next person is going to die, and must be deciphered in order to be understood. They can be visions, photos, signs, banners, songs, numbers, etc. The visions are present in detailed forms in the first, second and fourth films, where as In the third and fifth film they are not as subtle. In the third film the clues are hidden within photos, and in the fifth film, the characters recognize the signs themselves. Some songs are also present in the movies like "Rocky Mountain High" by John Denver (who ironically died in a plane crash), "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC in Final Destination 2, "Turn Around, Look At Me" by The Lettermen in Final Destination 3, and "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas in Final Destination 5. The number 180 (flight number of the first film) is also an important number in the franchise, and appears in all the films before a major disaster occurs.

Examples of signs

Death

Death is presented in each film as an evil presence that follows the main characters, with the intent of reclaiming the lives of those who managed to avoid their original deaths. This is usually done by manipulating the environment in deadly ways. Although Death is not a physical entity, it sometimes appears as a dark shadow in the first film. William Bludworth, a mortician who is more knowlegable about Death than anyone else, reveals that Death decides how and when everyone will die, and although Deaths plan can be cheated, trying to do so will only make it angrier.

Death's plan

It is implied that Death has a grand design that everyone fits into. The survivors end up dying in the same order that they should have died in the initial accident and in reverse order in Final Destination 2. Some movies don't show the order the survivors die in the protagonist original premonition, and it must be discovered by the protagonists themselves. One of the ways to break the list is to save the next person, and then Death will skip them. You also cannot die before it is your turn. Once the list is complete, Death will restart the cycle.

Flight 180 and connections

As shown in the second film, deaths are connected with each other (flight 180 survivors indirectly engaged with the highway survivors), and so on. Clear Rivers says Death was working in the opposite way to repair the edges left in the first film and that leaving the airplane changed the whole scheme of Death. Thus, we can say that the death of all the characters in the franchise are connected to the flight 180 survivors. Hadn't they come out and hadn't Sam left the bridge before the airplane crash, all the characters of the films would already be dead.

Cheating Death

There are several theories on how one can cheat Death:

Future

On February 1, 2011, Tony Todd said in an interview with DreadCentral that if Final Destination 5 was a success at the box office, then two sequels would be filmed back-to-back.[1] On August 23, 2011, when inquired whether he would be directing a sequel, Steven Quale elaborated, "Who knows. Never say never. I mean, it'll be up to the fans. We'll see how this one performs internationally and if it makes as much money as the fourth one, I'm sure Warner Brothers will want to make another one." As of 2016, there have been no further announcements or updates on the two sequels.

Cast and characters

List indicator(s)

  • (v) indicates the actor or actress used only his or her voice for his or her film character
  • (f) indicates the actor or actress did not appear in any new footage for the film; footage from an earlier film was used.
  • (photo) indicates the actor or actress appeared in a photograph for the film.
  • (s) indicates that the actor did not appear, but a CGI skeleton represented that character and their mode of death.
  • A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
Character Film
Final Destination
(2000)
Final Destination 2
(2003)
Final Destination 3
(2006)
The Final Destination
(2009)
Final Destination 5
(2011)
William Bludworth Tony Todd Tony Todd (v)   Tony Todd
Clear Rivers Ali Larter   Ali Larter (s) Ali Larter (f)
Alex Browning Devon Sawa Devon Sawa (photo)   Devon Sawa (f)
Carter Horton Kerr Smith Kerr Smith (photo)   Kerr Smith (f)
Billy Hitchcock Seann William Scott Seann William Scott (photo)   Seann William Scott (s) Seann WIlliam Scott (f)
Valerie Lewton Kristen Cloke Kristen Cloke (photo)   Kristen Cloke (s) Kristen Cloke (f)
Terry Chaney Amanda Detmer Amanda Detmer (photo)   Amanda Detmer (f) Amanda Detmer (f)
Tod Waggner Chad Donella Chad Donella (photo)   Chad Donella (s) Chad Donella (f)
George Waggner Brendan Fehr   Brendan Fehr (f)
Larry Murnau Forbes Angus   Forbes Angus (f)
Agent Weine Daniel Roebuck  
Agent Schreck Roger Guenveur Smith  
Kimberly Corman   A. J. Cook A. J. Cook (photo)  
Thomas Burke   Michael Landes Michael Landes (photo)   Michael Landes (f)
Eugene Dix   T. C. Carson    reference T. C. Carson (f)
Rory Peters   Jonathan Cherry   Jonathan Cherry (s) Jonathan Cherry (f)
Kat Jennings   Keegan Connor Tracy   Keegan Connor Tracy (s) Keegan Connor Tracy (f)
Nora Carpenter   Lynda Boyd   Lynda Boyd (s) Lynda Boyd (f)
Tim Carpenter   James Kirk   James Kirk (f)
Evan Lewis   David Paetkau   David Paetkau (s) David Paetkau (f)
Dano Estevez   Alex Rae    reference Alex Rae (f)
Frankie Whitman   Shaun Sipos    reference Shaun Sipos (f)
Shaina McKlank   Sarah Carter    reference Sarah Carter (f)
Brian Gibbons   Noel Fisher  
Isabella Hudson   Justina Machado  
Wendy Christensen   Mary Elizabeth Winstead   Mary Elizabeth Winstead (f)
Kevin Fischer   Ryan Merriman   Ryan Merriman (f)
Julie Christensen   Amanda Crew   Amanda Crew (f)
Ian McKinley   Kris Lemche Kris Lemche (s) Kris Lemche (f)
Perry Malinowski   Maggie Ma Maggie Ma (s) Maggie Ma (f)
Erin Ulmer   Alexz Johnson Alexz Johnson (s) Alexz Johnson (f)
Lewis Romero   Texas Battle Texas Battle (s) Texas Battle (f)
Frankie Cheeks   Sam Easton Sam Easton (s) Sam Easton (f)
Ashley Fruend   Chelan Simmons Chelan Simmons (s) Chelan Simmons (f)
Ashlyn Halperin   Crystal Lowe Crystal Lowe (s) Crystal Lowe (f)
Jason Wise   Jesse Moss  reference  
Carrie Dreyer   Gina Holden  reference  
Nick O'Bannon   Bobby Campo Bobby Campo (f)
Lori Milligan   Shantel VanSanten Shantel VanSanten (f)
Janet Cunningham   Haley Webb Haley Webb (f)
Hunt Wynorski   Nick Zano Nick Zano (f)
George Lanter   Mykelti Williamson Mykelti Williamson (f)
Andy Kewzer   Andrew Fiscella Andrew Fiscella (f)
Samantha Lane   Krista Allen Krista Allen (f)
Carter Daniels   Justin Welborn Justin Welborn (f)
Nadia Monroy   Stephanie Honoré Stephanie Honoré (f)
Jonathan Groves   Jackson Walker  
Cynthia Daniels   Lara Grice Lara Grice (f)
Sam Lawton   Nicholas D'Agosto
Molly Harper   Emma Bell
Peter Friedkin   Miles Fisher
Agent Block   Courtney B. Vance
Nathan Sears   Arlen Escarpeta
Dennis Lapman   David Koechner
Olivia Castle   Jacqueline MacInnes Wood
Isaac Palmer   P. J. Byrne
Candice Hooper   Ellen Wroe
Roy Carson   Brent Stait
John (Roy's friend)   Roman Podhora

Novels

Throughout 2005, publishing company Black Flame released a series of Final Destination books which faithfully follow the premise of the films, with each involving a group of people who find themselves targeted by Death after surviving a catastrophe of some sort due to a character experiencing a precognitive vision.

Comics

The first Final Destination comic book, entitled Sacrifice, was published by Zenescope Entertainment and came packaged with a limited edition DVD of Final Destination 3 sold exclusively at Circuit City. The premise of the story involves the survivor of a terrible accident, who continually experiences images of other people's deaths, isolating himself from the rest of the world to escape the visions that torment him. Zenescope later released a five issue miniseries, subtitled Spring Break, which involves a group led by Carly Hagan being stalked by Death after surviving a hotel fire and becoming stranded in Cancún, Mexico.[2] The miniseries was later released in a trade paperback collection, which included the Sacrifice comic as bonus content.[2]

Reception

Box office performance

Film Running time Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Ref(s)
North America Outside North America Worldwide All time
North America
All time
worldwide
Final Destination 98 min March 17, 2000 $53,331,147 $420,543 $112,880,294 #1,187 $23 million [3]
Final Destination 2 90 min January 31, 2003 $46,961,214 $43,465,191 $90,426,405 #1,372 $26 million [4][5]
Final Destination 3 93 min February 10, 2006 $54,098,051 $63,621,107 $117,719,158 #1,166 $25 million [6]
The Final Destination 82 min August 28, 2009 $66,477,700 $119,689,439 $186,167,139 #907 $40 million [7]
Final Destination 5 92 min August 12, 2011 $42,587,643 $115,300,000 $157,887,643 #1,523 $40 million [8]
Total $263,455,755 $401,624,884 $665,080,639 $154 million
List indicator(s)
  • A dark grey cell indicates information is not available for the film.

Critical and public reception

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Final Destination 34% (94 reviews)[9] 36 (28 reviews)[10] B-[11]
Final Destination 2 48% (109 reviews)[12] 38 (25 reviews)[13] B+[11]
Final Destination 3 43% (115 reviews)[14] 41 (28 reviews)[15] B+[11]
The Final Destination 29% (94 reviews)[16] 30 (14 reviews)[17] C[11]
Final Destination 5 61% (129 reviews)[18] 50 (24 reviews)[19] B+[11]

Spinoff works bibliography

Comics

Novels

  1. Rhodes, Natasha (2005-03-15). Final Destination: Dead Reckoning. Black Flame. ISBN 1844161706.
  2. McIntee, David (2005-03-15). Final Destination: Destination Zero. Black Flame. ISBN 1844161714.
  3. Levene, Rebecca (2005-06-07). Final Destination: End of the Line. Black Flame. ISBN 1844161765.
  4. Roman, Steven (2005-09-13). Final Destination: Dead Man's Hand. Black Flame. ISBN 1844161773.
  5. Collins, Nancy (2005-11-29). Final Destination: Looks Could Kill. Black Flame. ISBN 1844163164.
  6. Rhodes, Natasha (2006-01-03). Final Destination. Black Flame. ISBN 1844163172.
  7. Collins, Nancy (2006-01-31). Final Destination 2. Black Flame. ISBN 1844163180.
  8. Faust, Christa (2006-01-03). Final Destination 3. Black Flame. ISBN 1844163199.
  9. McDermott, Andy (2006-08-01). Final Destination: Death of the Senses. Black Flame. ISBN 1844163857.
  10. Johnson, Alex. Final Destination: Wipeout. Black Flame. ISBN 1844164098.

References

  1. "Exclusive: Tony Todd Talks Final Destination 5! Parts 6 and 7 Already in the Cards?". Dread Central. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011. They expanded my part, and the producer told me as we were leaving Vancouver that if it opens at Number 1 – which statistically it has – they're going to shoot the next two simultaneously.
  2. 1 2 See: #Further reading
  3. "Final Destination (2000)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  4. "Final Destination (2003)". IMDb. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  5. "Final Destination 2". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  6. "Final Destination 3 (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  7. "The Final Destination". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  8. "Final Destination 5". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  9. "Final Destination". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  10. "Final Destination". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  12. "Final Destination 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  13. "Final Destination 2". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  14. "Final Destination 3". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  15. "Final Destination 3". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  16. "The Final Destination". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  17. "The Final Destination". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  18. "Final Destination 5". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  19. "Final Destination 5". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved September 6, 2012.

External links

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