As a horror enthusiast who has witnessed more than my fair share of gruesome deaths, I can confidently say that the “Final Destination” franchise knows how to deliver some truly excruciating demises. However, none have left me cringing and squirming quite like the one that befalls Nora Carpenter in “Final Destination 2”. The unbearable agony she endures as her neck gets squeezed by an elevator door is a testament to the filmmakers’ ability to make us feel every ounce of pain.
A significant number of characters have met their end across all the ‘Final Destination’ films, which is remarkable given that there are fewer ‘Final Destination’ installments compared to the dozen ‘Friday the 13th’ movies. This mortality rate is reminiscent of Jason Voorhees’ lethal tally. It’s quite impressive, considering the contrast in numbers. Just as certain deaths in the ‘Friday the 13th’ series seem more agonizing (the death by liquid hydrogen in ‘Jason X’ and Paul’s speargun injury in ‘Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter’ stand out), some deaths in ‘Final Destination’ appear equally gruesome.
Initially, it’s important to clarify some conditions. Not every death from the five ‘Final Destination’ films is included in this analysis. Firstly, deaths that occur in the prophetic visions at the start of each storyline are excluded. Secondly, if a death happened off-screen, it could still be considered, but the audience needs to witness the consequences. This means deaths that occurred between movies were not taken into account, such as Alex Browning from the first film, who was hit by a falling brick. The ‘Saw’ series is more intricate with its characters’ final moments, as the initial movie had a character self-amputate their leg and survive. However, ‘Final Destination’ isn’t far off in terms of complexity. Let’s start with those deaths that appear relatively painless compared to others.
4. The Not-So-Bad, All Things Considered
In the horror film series, Final Destination, the deaths are intricately designed, even for the initial installment. However, as the franchise progressed, the demises became increasingly complex. Generally, they’re abrupt endings, such as Terry Chaney being hit by a bus, Carter Horton getting struck by a billboard, and Seann William Scott’s character, Billy Hitchcock, having his head severed by a metal piece. There are two characters who meet their ends in prolonged fashion, but I’ll discuss that further on.
In Final Destination 2, the quick demises may not be intense when they occur, but they certainly have an extended lead-up. Compared to the original film’s death scenes, which also had build-ups, the sequel introduced a pattern of extending both the duration and the gruesomeness of these build-ups. However, characters Clear Rivers (played by Ali Larter) and Eugene Dix, who reappear and join the cast respectively, die instantly when an oxygen tank in a hospital detonates, skipping the usual build-up process.
In an instant, Lewis Romero, Perry Malinowski, Ian McKinley, Kevin Fischer, Julie Christensen, and the movie’s main character, Wendy Christensen, met their tragic ends. During lifting, objects struck both sides of Romero’s head, while Malinowski was impaled by a flagpole, McKinley was crushed by a cherry picker, Fischer was run over by a train, Christensen was hit by a flying train wheel, and Wendy was also run over by the same train.
In essence, The Final Destination movie predominantly features rapid and improbable deaths of its characters. For instance, Cynthia Daniels is split in half by a car bonnet, Nadia Monroy has half her body destroyed by a flying tire, Samantha Lane dies when a lawnmower mows down a rock that pierces her eye and head during shopping, and Jonathan Groves meets his end after being crushed by a falling bathtub. On the other hand, deaths like George Lanter getting run over by an ambulance, Janet Cunningham being run over by a truck, Lori Milligan’s demise at the hands of a truck, and Nick O’Bannon’s fate of getting hit by a truck are more realistic in terms of occurrence.
In the movie Final Destination 5, known for its superior quality, features prolonged, agonizing deaths rather than quick, compassionate ones. However, it also includes instances of rapid demise such as Agent Jim Block being shot thrice, Dennis Lapman getting hit by a flying wrench, Peter Friedkin impaled by the main character, and Molly Harper being sucked out of Flight 180 (revealed in the third act to be a prequel) and sliced in half by the plane’s wing. This is shot (not by Death, but) by Peter Friedkin.
3. The Slow-Burns, Without Fire
In the movie Final Destination, Tod Waggner, who was the first character to die after a premonition of disaster, experiences a gradual yet distressingly uncomfortable and terrifying demise rather than an agonizingly painful one. His death is depicted as being strangled by a clothesline that’s stretched across his family’s bathtub. Although it’s hard to bear witness to this scene, among all the deaths in James Wong’s initial film for the franchise, Tod’s death is the most gruesome and painful to imagine.
Reflecting on the continuation of the trend set by “Final Destination 2”, I must say that the first sequel is filled with extended periods of tension before a sudden, gruesome conclusion. For example, Evan Lewis receives a lethal blow from a falling fire escape ladder, Tim Carpenter is crushed by a plummeting sheet of glass, and Kat Jennings’ airbag pushes her head towards a previously avoided broken pipe. Although these deaths are swift, they are undeniably painful, making the demises of Clear Rivers and Eugene Dix seem almost merciful (not to mention the button scene featuring Noel Fisher as Brian Gibbons, who meets his end in an explosive grill).
2. The Slow-Burns, Sometimes with Fire
Starting off with the close-to-tragic deaths in the “Final Destination” series, we find Valerie Lewton from the initial movie among the first. Unlike the other characters who were teenagers, Lewton was an adult and initially skeptical about the idea of Death targeting the survivors of Flight 180. Her demise unfolds with a mug leaking vodka, causing her computer to short-circuit and its monitor to explode. A falling internal part pierces her neck. After extracting the computer piece, she continues to bleed heavily. The vodka then ignites, trailing until the whole bottle explodes. In an effort to extinguish the fire, she grabs a towel but accidentally pulls out a knife rack, causing one of the knives to stab into her chest.
In the movie Final Destination 2, Rory Peters experiences one of the most striking exits. Immediately after Kat’s death, her dropped cigarette sparks a gasoline trail that leads to a van. The van detonates, propelling a wire fence towards Rory, resulting in his quad-sectioning. While other characters will face longer ordeals as they meet their end, losing an arm, having one’s chest separated from the torso, and the torso detached from the legs is undeniably gruesome.
Discussing the roughness, the way the fence affects Andy Kewzer’s back in “The Final Destination” is a chilling nightmare. As for terrifying last moments on Earth, the snapping of Candice Hooper’s spinal cord in “Final Destination 5” is nearly impossible to endure, with the protruding bone from her thigh making it even more gruesome to watch.
As a dedicated movie buff, I must admit that Olivia Castle’s demise in this franchise comes close to being one of the most harrowing. During an eye surgery, a mishap with the laser sends a shockwave into her eye. Remarkably, she breaks free from the operating table. However, her luck runs out when she falls through a window nearby. To put it another way, it’s a classic case of a ‘Final Destination’ death, where the anticipation and agony preceding the event are far more intense than the actual outcome.
1. The Absolute Worst-of-the-Worst
In the second installment of the ‘Final Destination’ series, Nora Carpenter endures an agonizing ordeal. She witnesses her son, Tim, meet a gruesome end, but that’s just the start of her torment. For those with a common fear of elevators, Nora’s fate is a terrifying nightmare. Her hair becomes entangled in a mannequin arm hook within a box of mannequin parts, which a lewd man had just been handling after sniffing her hair. She attempts to escape the elevator, but the doors close around her neck as it starts to ascend. The elevator gets stuck due to Nora, and her neck is squeezed from three directions. It tries to move several times, eventually managing to, resulting in Nora’s decapitation. Unlike most of the series’ decapitations, this sequence is prolonged and excruciatingly slow.
In the movie “Final Destination 3”, the first person who meets Death following a rollercoaster accident is not by herself in her fate’s end, and this is the only comfort to be found. Ashley Freund and Ashlyn Halperin visit a tanning salon that has an absent-minded owner. A chain of unfortunate events unfolds, trapping them in their individual tanning booths. The audience bears witness to their agonizing ordeal as their skin blisters. To make matters even more harrowing, the goggles they wear are flammable and eventually fuse into their eyes.
In my opinion, among all the deaths I’ve witnessed in this franchise, none have been as agonizing as these two particular ones. However, there are a few others in the subsequent films that come close. For instance, the third film has some moments that are equally distressing – Frankie Cheeks’ gruesome demise at the hands of a truck’s engine fan is not far from the horror of death by a faulty tanning bed, and Erin Ulmer’s grisly end due to repeated nail gun shots to the head is just as harrowing.
The Last Installment in the Series is considered the least effective for several factors, such as poor scripting, subpar acting, and occasionally humorous special effects. The special effects, in particular, detract from the intensity of the movie’s death scenes. However, there are some positive aspects to note, specifically the audience’s ability to empathize with the characters’ suffering. Among these, Hunt Wynorski stands out for his gruesome scene involving his internal organs being vacuumed from his rectum and into a pool drain – quite an uncomfortable image!
To put it plainly, there’s no easier route to end up in the “most terrible” category than perishing in a fire. It’s difficult to imagine a more painful way to depart. For instance, Carter Daniels from “The Final Destination” met this fate when pulled behind his truck filled with gasoline, which caught fire and dragged him along. Eventually, the explosion that followed was almost like mercy. However, based on the expression on his burning head as it flew towards George Lanter (played by Mykelti Williamson, who you might recognize as “Bubba” in “Forrest Gump” ), it’s hard to tell if he felt any relief.
Regarding the film “Final Destination 5”, the most agonizing scene is undeniably the demise of Isaac Palmer, orchestrated by a Buddha statue. However, what truly makes this scene excruciating isn’t the statue itself, but the multitude of acupuncture needles leading up to it. This film series demonstrates that Death has a knack for humor, and we can only hope that the upcoming “Final Destination: Bloodlines” in 2025 continues this trend while also raising the bar on its already macabre plot.
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2024-12-09 03:10