The Final Destination, 2009 Horror Movie: The Last Chapter in the Successful Horror Franchise

In the grand tradition of squeezing every last drop of blood from a franchise until it lies dead and listless on the floor, comes Final Destination 4, or The Final Destination as it is now known.

It always raises questions when studios decide not to screen a film for the press before its release. Apparently convinced that reviews won’t help their movie, the suits over at Warner Bros. made the decision not to have any critics screenings. So early reviews have been few and far between.

The film marks the latest release in the highly popular Final Destination series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror buffs an especially penetrating thrill ride. In this chapter Nick O’Bannon (Bobby Campo) has a bizarre and frightening premonition of death that turns into a horrific reality. Fortunately the quick-thinking dreamboat leads his friends away from the danger before disaster hits.

Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life (and have perhaps gotten a bit cocky about it?), but sadly for Nick and Lori (Shantel VanSanten), it is only the beginning. As Nick’s premonitions continue and the survivors of the original incident begin to die bloody and disgusting deaths, Nick must figure out how to cheat death and beat the curse.

The Final Destination promises to be a gruesome ride, made even more disgusting by it’s 3-D format. As director David Ellis said in an interview available on the Warner Bros. press site, “If you don’t give them (audiences) something new or more graphic, they’re going to go see something else.” Word on the street says to expect some mutilations, impalements, and maybe even some decapitations. Lovely.

What sets The Final Destination series apart from other horror films is its use of entirely possible scenarios that can lead to gruesome deaths, rather than completely outlandish situations more typical of the genre. While the accidents may be elaborate, it really is quite possible to be driving behind a transport truck and have a wheel fly off, or debris be set loose, or have some other horrible accident take place.

As Bobby Campo said in a Warner Bros. interview “The appeal is that these things are everyday situations. This stuff can happen to anybody at any moment.” No matter who, no matter what, no matter where, “Death can be anywhere.” Shantel VanSanten agrees. The film “plays on normal fears that we all have,” she says. That’s what makes it so scary.

Sep 3, 2009 8:03 PM

Malene Jorgensen :

When will they stop? It's like they don't know when enough is enough. Although I haven't seen it, I know in advance that it will create one feeling - disappointment!

The second flick in this series was acceptable because it carried on the story of the first movie, which was a hit because it was unlike anything seen before. However, the third installment was simply corny!

And as you mention in your article, they claim to make this one more scarier by using examples of death that are more common...but lets remember the car accident in the opening scene of the second movie (Yes, I can see that happen - actually has in Canada in 1999), or the plane catching on fire in the first movie, causing it to crash (has happened much within the last few years, not to mention the Air France plane that simply 'vanished' off the coast of South America or the plane that caught fire while landing in Bangkok in 2009).

So what could possibly make this movie better and more scarier than already seen? In my opinion, nothing! I would almost dare to say that watching this movie will be a waste of 2 hours. I am glad you wrote this article to demonstrate a single fact; they should have stopped after making anything after the second installment (which proves the point that you cannot escape death by killing off Devon Sawa) and instead spent time developing a new and creative concept - in the end, its the newer and more unique things that draw us to the theatres! Not unpredictable sequels!