The Final Destination

The Final Destination
Theatrical poster
Directed by	David R. Ellis
Written by	Screenplay: Eric Bress Characters: Jeffrey Reddick
Produced by	Craig Perry Warren Zide
Starring	Bobby Campo Shantel VanSanten Haley Webb Nick Zano Krista Allen Andrew Fiscella Jessica Ritchie
Cinematography	Glen MacPherson
Edited by	Mark Stevens
Music by	Brian Tyler Theme: Shirley Walker
Production companies	Zide/Perry Productions LivePlanet
Distributed by	New Line Cinema (Warner Bros.)
Release dates	August 28, 2009 (US/UK) October 15, 2009 (Aus/NZ)
Running time	82 min.
Country	Template:FilmUS
Language	English
Budget	$43 million
Box office	$47,600,000(domestic)

The Final Destination, also known as Final Destination 4, is a 2009 3-D supernatural thriller/horror film written by Eric Bress and directed by David R. Ellis, both of whom also worked on Final Destination 2. Released on August 28, 2009, it is the fourth installment to the Final Destination film series, and the first of which to be shot in HD 3-D.

The Final Destination is rated R by the MPAA for strong violent/gruesome accidents, language and a scene of sexuality, in the United Kingdom, it is rated cert 15.

Plot Synopsis

While watching a race at McKinley Speedway for a study break, a young man named Nick O'Bannon (Bobby Campo) has a premonition of a car crash which sends debris into the audience, crushing some spectators and resulting in the stadium partially collapsing, killing everyone present. In a panic Nick convinces his girlfriend Lori Milligan (Shantel VanSanten), and friends Hunt Wynorski (Nick Zano) and Janet Cunnigham (Haley Webb) to leave, with the quartet being followed by a handful of others who become angry with Nick after he pushes past them to escape. A security guard named George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson) intervenes when everyone begins to argue outside, just as the catastrophe Nick had foreseen occurs. After a memorial service at McKinley Speedway, two of the spectators who followed Nick and his friends out of the stadium - Carter Daniels (Justin Welborn) and Samantha Lane (Krista Allen) - die violently in freak accidents. Before their deaths, Nick had seen omens of clues how they would die.

Hearing about Carter and Samantha's deaths on the news, Nick and Lori begin doing research, and learn about the disasters that occurred in the previous three films (the explosion of Flight 180, highway pile-up of Route 23, and roller coaster derailment in McKinley, Pennsylvania) and discover that the survivors (who were saved by premonitions) began dying in a series of improbable accidents shortly afterwards. While Hunt and Janet refuse to believe them, Nick and Lori manage to convince George that Death is after them and the trio begin trying to warn other survivors, though fail to save any except for Janet, who nearly drowns getting her car washed. The next survivors to die are Andy Kewzer (Andrew Fiscella), Hunt and Jonathan Grove (Jackson Walker).

George is abruptly killed just before Nick has a second premonition showing him that Lori and Janet will die while watching a film in a shopping mall cinema after an explosion in a room above the theatre. Nick rushes to reach them, while Lori begins spotting omens warning her that the danger is not over. Once Nick arrives, he and Lori attempt to convince Janet to leave, but are unsuccessful in their efforts. Janet is killed in the explosion and Lori also meets her demise in a separate incident. Once snapped back into reality, however, Nick saves his friends by extinguishing the fire that would have caused the initial explosion.

Weeks later, the trio, thinking they have conquered Death's plan, celebrate survival at a cafe. Nick drifts off into thought after seeing omens around him, and realizes that his premonitions and signs, along with all the disasters and deaths that had occurred since the speedway incident, are red herrings from Death used to manipulate them into where and when it would really come for them. Just as Nick realizes this, a truck inexplicably crashes through the cafe window, killing them and thus leaving all connected to the McKinley Speedway disaster dead.

Characters

• Cynthia Daniels (Lara Grice) is married to Carter. She did not leave the stadium because Carter told her to stay back while he confronted Nick. She was killed by being sliced in half by a flying car hood, just as in the premonition. She is the first one to die.

• Nadia Monroy (Stephanie Honore) is Andy's girlfriend. She was spoiled by Andy and is shallow and mean like him. In the premonition she is impaled by a metal rod. She followed Nick out of the stadium because Andy was leaving the stadium to confront Nick. She is then killed right after when a tire from an exploding car smashes into her head, decapitating her. She is the second one to die.

• Carter Daniels (Justin Welborn) is married to Cynthia, and is a racist and member of the Ku Klux Klan. He is the meanest and rudest of all the characters. In the premonition he is sliced in half by a car hood along with his wife Cynthia. He follows Nick out of the stadium to fight with him for spilling his beer on him. He gets his leg caught on the hook of his tow truck, and is then set on fire then blown up with the truck. He is the third to die.

• Samantha Lane (Krista Allen) is married and has two sons. She is somewhat spoiled and wants things done her way, but she is also kind and caring towards her kids. In the premonition she runs up the steps behind her family only to fall and is trampled by a few people. As she is dying she turns over, only for a car engine to crush her torso. She followed her sons out of the stadium, who had run to watch the fight. A sharp stone flies right through her right eye when a lawnmower runs over it and propels it outwards. She is the fourth to die.

• Andy Kewzer (Andrew Fischella) is a mechanic who is dating Nadia. He is rude and mean to everyone. In the premonition he sobs over his girlfriend's dead body when a car explodes and causes him to fall back into a broken bench, impaling him through the throat. He followed Nick out of the stadium to fight with him after Nick's hysteria annoys both Nadia and him. He is crushed into a fence by a flying CO2 canister, which dices his torso. He is the fifth to die.

• Hunt Wynorski (Nick Zano) is friends with Nick and Lori. He is Janet's ex-boyfriend. He is somewhat insensitive and loves violence and sex. In the premonition he is crushed under rubble along with Janet. He follows Nick out of the stadium to yell at him for ruining his game. His intestines are violently sucked out of his bottom by a pool drainage system. He is the sixth to die.

• Jonathan Grove (Jackson Walker) is a minor comic relief in the film. He wears a cowboy hat and has a southern accent. In the premonition he moves to another seat and an exploding car falls on him. He does not follow Nick out of the stadium because he does not want to be involved in a fight, but he does not die because Nick never asked him to move to another seat. He ends up buried under the debris, but alive. When recovered and sent to a hospital, a small bathtub falls on him through the ceiling from the floor above, crushing him. He is the seventh to die.

• George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson) is a security guard at the stadium. Prior to the McKinley Speedway crash he lost his wife and daughter in a car accident because of driving under the influence. He is having trouble not drinking and is generally mild-tempered because he does not even attempt to defend himself when racist insults are aimed at him. In the premonition he dies next to Lori when a car falls behind them and it explodes. He follows Nick out of the stadium to make sure a fight does not break out in the group. He is run over by a speeding ambulance. He is the eighth to die.

• Janet Cunnigham (Haley Webb) is friends with Nick and Lori. She is Hunt's ex-girlfriend. She is one of the most emotionally fragile of the group and is always uptight and might have believed Nick and Lori about the premonitions, but she was too scared to want any part of it. In the premonition she was crushed under rubble next to Hunt. She decided to leave the stadium because she was scared of a crash in the first place. She would have been beheaded or crushed by a pipe in the car wash if not for the intervention of Lori and George, as well as being impaled by exploding debris and nails at the theater if not for Nick. She is run over by a truck along with Nick and Lori, and is crushed by its front left tire. She is the ninth to die.

• Lori Milligan (Shantel VanSanten) is the female lead in The Final Destination and the first one who believes Nick's premonitions and omens, and eventually learn how to read signs herself through Nick. She is smart and the kindest of the group, and she is also dating Nick. In the premonition she dies next to George when a car falls behind them and explodes. She chooses to follow Nick out the stadium because she is worried about him. She would have been crushed by an escalator conveyor belt if it wasn't for the intervention of Nick. She is hit by a truck, along with Nick and Janet, and is thrown hard against a wall, decapitating her. She is the tenth to die.

• Nick O' Bannon (Bobby Campo) is the male lead in The Final Destination and he is the one with the premonitions and reading omens. He has some heroic characteristics and is dating Lori. In the premonition he is flung back by the explosion that killed Lori and George right into pole that impales him through the torso. He causes a commotion in the seats causing his friends and other angry people to leave the stadium. He is hit by a truck along with Lori and Janet, and the impact smashes him against the cafe wall, breaking his jaw and killing him. Out of all the psychics shown in the series, Nick appears to be the strongest one, getting the original vision and later a series of images predicting deaths. He is the eleventh to die, and he is the last survivor of the McKinley Speedway.

Production

Development

After the success of Final Destination 3, which was initially planned to be in 3-D, Eric Bress wrote a script, which impressed producer Craig Perry and New Line Cinema enough to green-light a fourth installment. James Wong was on board to direct, but because of scheduling conflicts, he decided to drop out. Consequently, the studio executives opted for David R. Ellis to return because of his work on Final Destination 2, who personally accepted because of the 3-D. For the 3-D, which is the same technology James Cameron used for Avatar, Perry said that he wanted it to add depth to the film instead of just "something pop[ping] out at the audience every four minutes."

Filming

Although shooting was to be done in Vancouver, which was where the previous three films were shot, David R. Ellis convinced the producers to shoot in New Orleans instead to bring business in the city, and because the budget was already big. The opening crash sequence at "McKinley Speedway" was filmed at Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, Alabama. Filming began in March 2008 and ended late May in the same year. Reshoots were done in April 2009 at Universal Studios Florida.

Promotion

Producer Craig Perry presented clips of the film at San Diego Comic Con. Additionally, a number of video games feature The Final Destination posters: Saints Row 2 has posters around the city taped to walls and poles, Skate 2 features billboards with posters on them, and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames added billboards with the movie's logo in a content update. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 also features the promotional posters hidden around certain maps with the main goal to find all of the posters for a chance to win $1,300.

Music

The Final Destination (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

This is the first Final Destination soundtrack. There were no soundtrack available for any previous film.

Untitled

1. The Final Destination (2:56)
2. The Raceway (3:07)
3. Memorial (2:46)
4. Nailed (3:22)
5. Nick’s Google Theory (1:30)
6. Revelations (2:28)
7. Raceway Trespass (1:39)
8. Stay Away From Water (2:38)
9. Flame On (1:43)
10. Moment Of Joy (1:17)
11. Signs And Signals (2:51)
12. George Is Next (1:12)
13. Car Washicide (3:05)
14. Newspaper Clues (1:57)
15. Premonition (1:50)
16. The Salon (3:53)
17. Questioning (1:04)
18. Death Of A Cowboy (2:08)
19. Gearhead (1:56)
20. Sushi For Everyone (2:53)
21. The Movie Theater (3:03)
22. You Can’t Dodge Fate (1:28)
23. The Final Destination Suite (13:29)

• Produced by Brian Tyler
• Executive Producer: Robert Townson
• Executive in Charge of Music for New Line Cinema: Erin Scully
• Music Supervisor: Dana Sano
• Performed by The Czech Philharmonic
• Orchestrated by Brian Tyler, Dana Niu, Robert Elhai, Brad Warnaar, Andrew Kinney, and Pakk Hui
• Additional Arrangement and Programming by Keith Power, Tony Morales, Stuart Thomas, and Pakk Hui
• Original Final Destination Theme composed by Shirley Walker
• Score Mixed by Brian Tyler
• Music editing by Gary L. Krause
• Music Preparation by Eric Stonerook
• Mastered by Patrica Sullivan Fourstar

Songs not included within the soundtrack

• "Why Can't We Be Friends"- Performed by War
• "Devour" - Performed by Shinedown
• "Corona and Lime"- Performed by Shwayze
• "The Stoop" - Performed by Little Jackie

Release

The film was released in 3-D as well as in conventional theaters on August 28, 2009, the same release of Halloween II (2009 film). It was initially planned for an August 14 release. It is also the first 3-D film to feature D-BOX motion feedback technology in select theaters.

Future of the film series

Producer Craig Perry has confirmed that there are no plans to go ahead with a new Final Destination film, making The Final Destination the last installment in the series. It had already been speculated that The Final Destination would be the last in the series, due to the name of the film. Notably, the fourth installment wasn't called Final Destination 4, but rather The Final Destination. However in Japan, the producers have already come up with ideas and promotions for another sequel.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews by critics. As of August 29, it holds a 30% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. There was general agreement that "The Final Destination is predictable, disposable horror fare". Likewise, based on the 13 reviews collected, Metacritic awards the film an average score of 34/100, which denotes "generally unfavorable reviews".

Many critics opined that "the series has clearly run out of ideas". "The biggest sin of The Final Destination is its general lack of imagination," says one. "It's death porn, pure and simple," says another. "Whatever hints of originality lay in the series' previous editions have been all but sucked out of this one," spoke Jordan Mintzer of Variety.

The Final Destination has the lowest user rating of the series' 4 films on IMDb.

Some positive reviews referenced its "OK sense of humor","swift [progression]" and "effective opening sequence of racetrack destruction that puts its Fusion 3-D technology to good use." "The Final Destination has some surprising sparks of life to it yet," says Dustin Putman of TheMovieBoy.

According to USA Today and Newsday, The Final Destination debuted as the top of the North American box office, beating Rob Zombie's Halloween II, by earning $28.3 million during its first weekend. It is also topped the box office in the UK.

External links

• Official website
• Official trailer site
• The Final Destination at IMDb
• The Final Destination at AllMovie
• Final Destination Gallery