The 3D resurgence of the early aughts had Hollywood in a vice grip thanks to advances in technology, and, by 2009, horror began to embrace the format in a big way. That included the fourth installment of the Final Destination franchise, The Final Destination.

The success of Final Destination 3 meant a sequel was inevitable, this one planned for 3D. Final Destination 2 scribe Eric Bress and director David R. Ellis returned, with the latter taking the helm because of the 3D. The sequel makes full use of its 3D, incorporating requisite CGI jump scares of flying car parts and viscera leaping out of the screen, which, in turn, dates this entry more quickly than its counterparts.

Not helping is that this sequel puts all its eggs in the baskets of 3D gimmicks and embellishing Death’s morbid sense of humor; The Final Destination dials up the puerile humor with its more expansive deaths, aiming for revulsion along with raucous gore – it’s not the blood splatter that’ll test your lunch but an extreme closeup with gnarly sound foley of a toenail cleaning.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering its maligned reputation, the fourth Final Destination still holds the mantle as the highest grossing of the franchise.

In anticipation of the sixth installment, Final Destination Bloodlines, we’re retracing Death’s steps to examine the established lore, formula, and, of course, the standout kills from the series, with The Final Destination getting the solo spotlight today.

The Inciting Disaster

The Final Destination has the misfortune of boasting the film series’ blandest protagonist yet in Nick O’Bannen (Bobby Campo) and the weakest opening disaster that incurs Death’s wrath once again. As Nick attends a race event at McKinley Speedway with girlfriend Lori Milligan (Shantel VanSanten) and pals, the telltale signs of an impending premonition set in. Once Death’s order is set, so too is a chain of events that causes fiery crashes, deadly debris careening into the fans, and a collapse of the stadium. 

The setup at least ensures a variety in terms of creative kills, from freak engine crushes to flying tire decapitations, but the 3D constraints render these grisly scenes in garish CGI that doesn’t hold up well. And while the franchise is known to bend the laws of physics for the sake of a crowd-pleasing kill, this sequel doesn’t bother much with them at all. Not that you seek these out for any sense of realism, but NASCAR races have extreme noise levels ranging from 90 to 130 decibels, the type of noise that can damage your hearing from prolonged exposure. The Final Destination opens to a crowd unphased by the stadium shaking audible onslaught, solely for the sake of a tampon in the ears joke. Oh, the early aughts.

Like its predecessor, The Final Destination picks up the previous film’s inclusion of a climactic catastrophe involving a second premonition, shifting the big spectacle carnage from a professional speedway to a shopping mall, incorporating killer escalators and movie theater death traps. 

The Standout Kills

Pool Disemboweling

The Final Destination boasts one clear frontrunner that stands apart from the rest, and also makes a strong case for the franchise’s most outlandish death yet. It’s a two-for-one death that sees Nick racing to help Janet Cunningham (Haley Webb) and Hunt Wynorski (Nick Zano), who died in such close proximity that Nick struggles to predict Death’s order. Ellis cuts between Janet’s car wash of terror and Hunt’s poolside relaxation gone awry to build anticipation and keep viewers guessing which one will perish. As creative as Janet’s eventual death can be, it pales in comparison to the audacity of Hunt chasing his lucky coin to the bottom of a public pool that’s unwittingly had its drainage system activated.

The pressure becomes so excessive that Hunt finds his rear end sucked into the drain, the clog forcing the pressure to rise until poor Hunt’s insides get sucked up and spewed out all over the pavement. An alternate version of this death sequence wasn’t nearly as showy with the organs, driving up the implausibility and silliness of a fatality that drew inspiration from real life. 

For more on Death’s designs in this sequel and beyond, read our franchise kills ranking here.

Death’s Expert?

One of the most noticeable flaws of The Final Destination is its lack of the film series’ unofficial mascot, William Bludworth, or the actor who portrays him. Final Destination 3 included Tony Todd in a voiceover twice to bookend the standalone sequel. The Final Destination doesn’t even bring Todd back in that capacity, and his absence is noticeable.

Campo’s flat performance struggles to keep Nick’s plight engaging, and his visions guiding him through Death’s design are a pale stand-in for the charismatic Tony Todd.

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