Final Destination 3 2006 New Line Home Entertainment Official Website Buy It Now

The movie industry loves trilogies. Franchise like The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even Back to the Future have all been big box office draws (though there is talk of yet another Back to the Future film at some point, but that’s merely a rumor currently.) Horror films rarely, if ever, stick with things in three’s. There’s talk of yet another Friday the 13th film at some point, there are far too many Nightmare of Elm Street movies to even make the series attractive anymore, the Hellraiser series was only good until the second film, and Child’s Play simply won’t end. Occasionally however we do find a movie series that is intent on only giving fans three films, at least that’s the intention (until studio execs decide to take their cash cow even further.)

Final Destination steered away from the usual brand of teenage terror, and instead of some masked serial killer waiting for just the right moment to dispense them to the afterlife; we found unavoidable death stalking a group who thought they were lucky enough to escape deaths grand design. The film was the brainchild of Glen Morgan and James Wong, two names that should be widely recognized by any X-philes, fans of the Millennium television series, or even Fox’s ill-fated Space: Above and Beyond just to name a few. The original film was simply and unused story for The X-Files and the third film is, for all intents and purposes, the final in the series.

The premise behind Final Destination 3 is essentially the same as what is found in the other two films, the only difference being characters, methods of execution, and such, but when you really think about it, all the Friday the 13th movies are identical, just with minor changes. Set six years after the plane crash seen in the first film, FD3 goes back to the teenagers as victim scenario and we find a group of teens about to graduate high school enjoying a trip to the local amusement park. Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) is documenting the trip for the year book, but when it comes time for them to board a roller coaster, The Devil’s Flight, she has a horrible premonition.

Wendy become hysterical and is removed from the ride as are others from her class (seven teens in all) and as she foresaw, a terrible accident happens. Later while examining the photos she’s taken, she realizes that the pictures actually foretold the death of her classmates that stayed on the ride, and for those that didn’t go, it seems that death isn’t willing to simply let them go. Although she’s managed to convince one classmate, Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman) the rest aren’t so willing to believe her and one by one, death comes for them while Wendy and Kevin try and piece together the clues of who will be next and if there is a way to avoid becoming the next victim.

So, why does anyone watch Final Destination? For the exact same reason they watch any Halloween movie, Nightmare on Elm Street or any other horror film of this nature; it’s to see the way that the characters die . . . . at least that’s my personal belief. After having sat through the first two FD movies in the past, I already was well aware of what the general plot devise was going to be; teens escape death, but death isn’t quite finished with them, now the question was, what creative ways could the characters die in? There are plenty to be found here.

Some instances play on urban tales, such as the fate is of the two annoying survivors, Ashley Freund (Chelan Simmons) and Ashlyn Halperin (Crystal Lowe), and the two unfortunate souls are burned to death in a pair of tanning beds. Death continues to claim the souls that have managed to elude its cold, icy fingers through such creative means as one character getting a car engine slammed into the back of his head, an unlucky lady become the recipient of a nail gun through the back of the head, and the grim and grisly accidents continue. You will find crushed skulls, impalement, a survivor ripped to shreds when sucked through a window, and all in bloody disgusting fashion . . . just what fans are looking for in the series.

Like with the slasher sub-genre of horror, Final Destination 3 are it’s “dead teen” approach isn’t necessarily a film that one goes into expecting some huge revelations, but you will find characters that you can both identify with and in many cases, dislike. But, who watches these films for a character driven movie/ No one. Again, I will point out that it’s all about the death, the FD3 does present some very interesting demises for our survivors who we all know, and it’s just a matter of time before death catches up to them. You will find however that Morgan and Wong have put in a great deal of irony in many instances, at times though the use of music, much like the duo did during their time working on various Chris Carter related series. The touch they had in those cases simply hasn’t faded away because they are doing big, Hollywood productions.

Characters aside, for me, FD3 is more importantly looked at from a standpoint of special effects, and many horror films have cheapened some of what viewers see on the screen. That isn’t the case here, and I’m pleased to see blood that doesn’t look like watered down paint. The blood and guts are gruesome here, though there still is something of a comic book approach in some instances, but that does make the movie fun. Most American horror films of this nature really do tend to use this style, though there are a few that don’t follow the rule, but it was really Europe that during the 80’s took gore to an extreme that is seldom seen in cinema these days. FD3 falls a bit in-between in some ways, trying to use gore that looks great on screen, but at times presenting it in a way that will either get shock or in the case of the heavily desensitized, like myself, laughs and probably a one-liner of some sort thrown in (probably for me due to watching too many Elm Street films.)

But, maybe you’d like to tempt fate, at least for the characters, and the DVD goes allow you to do that. Final Destination 3 can be watched in the “Choose Their Fate” mode. In this version, you will be allowed to make selections at various times, and this may save or doom a character depending on how you’ve selected. The first option actually ahs some humor depending on what you have decided, and cuts the movie down to a mere 20 minutes, then asks if you’d like to choose the other options. Should you decide not to, the credits continue, and I found this to be most humorous. One thing though, fate waits for no one, so if you simply sit there and do nothing in this mode, the DVD moves on to the next point.

The feature itself includes commentary by Morgan and Wong as well as Robert McLachaln, the films director of photography, but Final Destination 3 also comes with a second disc filled with extra features. There’s an animated short, “It’s All About You,” a funny take on the premise of the Final Destination films, but that’s only the start. Dead Teenager Movie examine the horror sub-genre with a look at other films, attempts to deduce why they have remained popular, and quite a bit of insight as well as a very good behind-the-scenes feature. Also on the DVD is an extended scene and what I really enjoy about this is that it’s one continuous shot, something that has been done extremely well in other films as well as on the X-Files episode “Triangle.” There is also a collection of promotional spots for the film including not only the theatrical trailers, but the television spots.

Final Destination 3 isn’t a movie that you should approach expecting some redeeming social message, but if you’re looking for a body count, and creative ways of making it happen, FD3 is just the thing. Morgan and Wong really did an outstanding job in the past of various projects, and here they show that not only are they as good as ever, in many ways they seem to be even better than before. Death undoubtedly is certain, and Final Destination 3 is certainly bloody and grim fun for those looking for some scares or horror fans with a more sinister and dark side just waiting for the next body to fall . . . or get cooked . . . or to be dismembered . . .

-mike-