6 'Final Destination' Scenes That Scarred Millennials For Life
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The Final Destination franchise is responsible for some of the most inventive and grizzly death scenes in modern times. Its concept was simple. The main protagonist has a vision that prevents a catastrophic accident. Death comes for all the lives saved in the order that they would have died from said accident. The deaths occur as a result of “bad luck” or chain reaction scenarios. Some are quick jump scares, while others are large set pieces. The series shook a whole generation of moviegoers with their “it could happen to you too” style of disaster horror. A slasher movie without a villain made it even scarier. James Wong co-wrote and directed the first and third films and has an impressive horror pedigree, his most notable work being The X-Files. Wong wrote “Squeeze & Tooms,” arguably the scariest episodes in the series, so it is no surprise his movies pushed the envelope.
6. The Billboard – Final Destination (2000)
This death is right at the end of the movie, just as the audience thinks everyone is safe, the final four get attacked one final time. Although Kerr Smith’s death is less gruesome than some of the others, it is a great jump-scare, and it re-enforces the relentlessness of the chase that continues in the rest of the saga.
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5. The Rollercoaster – Final Destination 3 (2006)
The camera hints that something is wrong as soon as they board the fated coaster with shots of chains and dripping oil. In the end, the accident is triggered by user error. Safety harnesses soon fly up, and the audiences root for the teens to help each other stay aboard. As always with the Final Destination movies, the initial sequence ends in death. This was a great opener and made millennials think twice before bending the rules in a theme park. Those safety signs matter!
4. The Semi And The Logs – Final Destination 2 (2003)
There isn’t a millennial alive who does not get nervous driving behind a heavy-laden semi thanks to this film. The stunt work on this sequence is truly incredible, from the tree trunk that is launched through the cop car to the vehicle that flips more times than Simone Biles during her floor routine.
3. The Tanning Bed – Final Destination 3 (2006)
We know that tanning is bad for you, but this scene takes it to a whole new level. Ashley (Chelan Simmons) and Ashlyn (Crystal Lowe) become trapped in the beds and are burnt to a crisp. The camera shows us their screams and struggles, and we feel their fear as they are unable to escape. It is harrowing. Ironically, this scene may have actually reduced sunbed-related cancer deaths as it was so off-putting for millennials.
2. Laser Eye Surgery – Final Destination 5 (2011)
It is lucky for LASEK that Final Destination 5 did not do better at the box office (although it beat out Final Destination 2). If this film had become more popular, it could have squashed the whole industry. This is every patient’s worst fear on screen. There is a little of A Clockwork Orange about it as Olivia’s (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) bloodshot eye darts around in a panic in its metal cage before it finally gets seared.
1. The Plane Crash – Final Destination (2000)
Number one has to be the plane crash in the first movie. The impact of this scene on a generation of millennials is not to be underestimated. 9/11 occurred in September 2001, almost exactly a year to the day after the DVD release, and just as it was making its way onto terrestrial TV. The attention to detail is what makes this scene particularly scary: luggage falling from the overhead compartments, help lights flashing, and everyone struggling to fit their oxygen masks. The action stays hyper-real even as the plane starts to break up and whole rows are sucked out into the night. Even though the first Final Destination movie was made twenty years ago, the special effects still haunt today’s audiences.
These films have stood the test of time, despite a slightly abstract concept. They are still chilling twenty years later. Few horrors have tapped into the everyday fears of a whole generation the way that the Final Destination series did with such ease. There is nothing else like it.
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