I don’t know about you, but I’ve been yearning for the on-screen mayhem these films wrought. I miss the skill with which these films dispensed with their cast; the cascade of violence that would be inflicted by conveniently-placed objects; the outlandish mythology; and, of course, the character that is Death – never seen outright, but omnipresent. In these films, everything was a threat: Whether it was the guy on the lawnpower, a fence of barbed wire, a simple frying pan cooking food or a trip to the dentist.
Where other franchises used vessels to represent “death” – be it through a masked maniac, a giant animal of some sort or a possessed object (car, elevator, truck, lamp, whatever…) – Final Destination knocked on the door of the faceless Grim Reaper himself (herself?) and asked him (or her?) to come out to play. And Death proved to have a sense of humor, bringing theatricality to every kill. I mean, that’s why we kept going back to see these movies, right? To see how everyone was going to get killed. I’ve always said that Final Destination was a new generation’s Friday the 13th. People entered the theater looking to confront death in its purest form and, sometimes, they’d get a slice of mythology to string the carnage together. If they were lucky, they’d get a memorable character.
Critics might say, “The series has run its course. How many ways can they spin death?” To which I say: This world we live in never runs out of ways to wipe us off the face of the planet. Just turn to recent news headlines and I’m certain you’ll find inspiration for a Final Destination film’s “opening disaster” (something that has been the series’ anticipated selling point). And mythology-wise, the sky is the limit. I relished the care with which Final Destination 5 brought things full circle. It demonstrated there was still ingenuity left if the creative team took some care (unlike the tepid entry The Final Destination) with the script.
There was some sort of proof of concept trailer that strutted its stuff around the Internet some time ago. It proposed a “period” Final Destination film. While amusing, that’s not necessarily something I’d personally like to see as a fan. The franchise should always be current. Relatable to the audience to play on their contemporary fears. I mean, didn’t we all cringe during that logging truck highway disaster at the beginning of Final Destination 2? I don’t know about you, but that is more terrifying and unnerving to me than seeing any of the disasters that would befall a group of characters in a period piece.
I’m missing Final Destination in a bad way and I wish New Line would see the value in another film (I’m hearing through the grapevine that they’re over it). The series is timeless, adaptable and transcends genre fads that come and go. Who else is with me on this?
For more related fun reading, try: Isn’t It Time for 28 Months Later?
