If there’s a franchise that can make you thanatophobic, at least for a little while, it’s Final Destination.
The Final Destination franchise is comprised of five supernatural slasher horror films that follow a group of young people who, by averting or escaping perilous circumstances following a warning, have “cheated” Death, who comes back for them in various gory ways. They eventually discover photographic evidence that teases their manner of death and, though they try to save themselves, Death shows them he will not be cheated twice.
Release History
The films were released between 2000 and 2011 to mostly negative reviews (except for Final Destination 5). Regardless, they were all commercially successful.
Death Called. He Wants to Rest In Peace.
Tony Todd, who portrays the enigmatic recurring character William “Bill” Bludworth, has refuted speculations of a sixth installment. Let’s think of why Final Destination 6 might not happen.
- Overused, weak plot. There is no novelty in the films: the story’s getting old. We only get a new cast and a variety of ways to die (inadvertently). Loose ends are never tied up. For instance, how and why does someone get a warning?
- Stiff competition. In recent years, there have been several commercially successful horror film series such as The Conjuring, Resident Evil, and Underworld that recycle a few motifs but do not overlap to the extent that they become indistinguishable.
- Cast and characters. While the films mentioned above are noteworthy for memorable performances by Vera Farmiga, Milla Jovovich, Kate Beckinsale, and others, Final Destination is remembered only for freaky deaths of characters you vaguely remember as they were underdeveloped and mundane.
- Ubiquity. The Final Destination films are famous for being overplayed on channels like Sony Pix.
If at all Final Destination 6 happens, let’s hope it’s a little more than the cat-and-mouse game the previous films have done to death.
If you’re interested in watching or rewatching, all of the titles are available for streaming on Netflix, while three are on Hotstar and two on Amazon Prime.