Final Destination (2009)

Since I couldn't find an existing thread for this particular movie, I figured I’d start one myself:

So, we have the fourth installment in this series, and it looks like they're wrapping things up here. The decision to shoot this in 3D suggests it might offer a bit more visceral entertainment value than its predecessors. As for the cast, it's a complete overhaul—entirely new characters this time around. The director is David R. Ellis, who also helmed the second entry in the franchise.
Here is the high-definition trailer:

TRAILER

Man, what a waste. That trilogy was actually solid, but now it’s just 😬
. I'm really hoping they find some way to tie this back to one of the earlier entries. If they play their cards right, the movie should be a hit for those of us who actually enjoyed the original run. But why do you think the last one sucked? Is that just your take, or... personally, I don't feel like this is the end. My gut tells me there'll be some survivor barely making it out in the final scene, basically auditioning for a role in a fifth installment 🍿, but who knows... honestly, it might be better to just call it quits before the whole franchise turns into a complete joke
.

The trailer looks awesome, and the deaths seem pretty creative 🙂 I'm a huge fan of the franchise, so I'm seriously stoked for this sequel!

I’ve always been a fan of the franchise, but honestly, only when it comes to the first two movies. I just watched this trailer, and that one death—where the guy is mowing the lawn and a stone flies off the mower and hits a woman right in the back of the head? It felt pretty pointless to me.🙄

I think the whole gimmick with this series is making the deaths look spectacular rather than actually scary or tense.

Raymond Anderson4 said:Look, I’m a huge fan of the franchise, but honestly, only when we're talking about those first two movies. I just caught this trailer... that death where some guy is out there mowing the lawn, a rock flies up from the mower and hits a woman right in the back of the head? Total garbage.🙄.

I feel like the whole gimmick with this series is making the deaths look flashy and over-the-top rather than actually scary or tense...

And if you ask me, the second one was the weakest link—mostly because they brought back the "sole survivor" from the original to bridge the gap. "Blair Witch" kind of brought back that high standard. As for "Final Destination 4"... it feels like it might turn into some teen-drama mush since I haven't seen a single character worth rooting for yet. If they're going to do it, they better at least lean into the spectacle. That lawnmower bit... I mean, sure, it's "cool," but realistically, how many times is that actually gonna happen while road crews are working? Not likely...

First off, thanks for sending over that trailer link. I honestly didn't expect it to be released already. 😍

I just caught the trailer, and honestly, the movie looks pretty rough. It’s a bit frustrating to see them lean on yet another car crash sequence, but I’m still holding out hope that the actual film won't be quite as bad as its preview suggests.

And yes, the movie will be produced in 3D.

The movie is scheduled to hit American theaters on September 24th.

I find myself quite puzzled by the decision to title this particular movie Final Destination rather than simply labeling it Final Destination 4.

Samuel Green80 said:Man, what a letdown. That initial trilogy was absolutely top-tier, but honestly? It’s all downhill from here. 😬

This movie was never intended to be a trilogy; it feels much more like a serialized saga.

briskhound2 said:The second installment was arguably the weakest point of the series, particularly because they attempted to bring back the sole survivor from the original film to create a sense of continuity. In my view, the third movie actually managed to restore the franchise to its former glory.

Actually, I have to disagree. The second installment is definitely superior to the third, without question. There was a period where I was quite critical of the second one—though, in my estimation, the third remains the absolute bottom of the barrel—but my perspective shifted over time. I ended up seeing it played on FOX about four different times, and honestly, those repeated airings completely rewired my brain. 😛 The third installment is easily the weakest link in the chain. It feels incredibly half-baked; the scope is far too limited, and the lack of diverse locations makes the whole thing feel less like a cinematic experience and more like a low-budget TV series.

When I look at the landscape of modern horror, I find myself returning to a few specific benchmarks. If we are talking about more recent releases, I would say that alongside *The Ring*, *Final Destination* stands out as my absolute favorite.

It’s definitely going to beat My Bloody Valentine 3D. For me, the first Final Destination is the absolute best, followed by the second, and then the third.

Jonathan Collins43 said:....

I honestly don't get why they titled it The Final Destination instead of just calling it Final Destination 4.

....

Maybe Steven Kelly97 thinks it’s actually the last one, which would make sense.

I’m talking about the beginning. Please... Like I mentioned before, this sequel seems obsessed with making everything look as spectacular as possible. To me, it just feels silly. The first movie was the gold standard; they really should have used that as their blueprint. Take that death scene in the original, for instance—where that woman ends up choking because a shower curtain cord gets tangled around her neck through a freak series of accidents. To me, that is what a true Final Destination death looks like.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I’m talking about the beginning. Please... Like I said, this whole sequel feels like it was designed just to look flashy and spectacular. To me, it’s just nonsense. The first one is easily the best—they really should have looked back at that for inspiration. For instance, that death in the first movie where the woman gets strangled by the shower curtain cord because of a crazy chain reaction? That’s what a real FD death looks like to me...

Actually, that guy dies exactly like that 😉 But yeah, the first one is unbeatable in that department. That kitchen scene... I definitely found myself being extra careful while making coffee over the last few days.

It's the same old story we've seen a million times—someone gets a vision of some massive disaster, manages to save their friends, but then Death comes knocking anyway, and things just start going sideways. You could make a thousand sequels like this using different casts every single time. For true horror junkies, the only real draw left is watching how the characters actually die, just to see how twisted the writers and directors can get with their imagination.

Honestly, though, I still think the first two movies were the best since they actually felt connected.

I remember catching the first one in theaters when it first dropped—man, it was killer. Not just because it was a great movie, but because I could actually get lost in the story. I was just a teenager back then, barely a few months out of high school...
I caught the sequel on TV a couple of years later, but for some reason, I just couldn't get into it. As for the third one? Never even bothered.
PS.
It also felt pretty lame that they didn't even bring back the lead from the first movie in the second one—they just gave him a quick shout-out and called it a day...

briskhound2 said:Actually, that's how he dies. 😉But yeah, you're right—the first one is great at that. That kitchen scene actually had me looking over my shoulder while making coffee for the next few days.

Fair point... you're right, I mixed up the kitchen scene with the shower one.

restlessfox5 said:It felt pretty dumb too—how they didn't even really show the lead from the first one in the sequel... they just gave him a quick mention and called it a day...

Probably because Devon Sawa suddenly decided he was some massive A-lister and tried to demand 20 million bucks to show up for the sequel... so the producers just laughed in his face and killed him off instead. Cost them zero dollars...

True. The first one was the best. I guess all those trilogies and sequels always seem to work better when you just stick to the original.
I've seen the first and second movies a few times, but I haven't gotten to the third yet. I suppose I'm just afraid of ruining the experience.
The first one was alright since it felt a bit different, but once a movie starts down a certain path, later ones just end up being lazy copies of the same thing 😢

briskhound2 said:Basically, Devon Sawa suddenly thought he was some huge A-lister and tried to demand $20 million for a role in the sequel—so the producers just laughed him right out of the room and killed him off instead. Cost them absolutely nothing.

Yeah, honestly, his biggest claim to fame was being in that Eminem music video. They really could’ve just cast someone else... maybe not even the lead, but still...

Anyway, like I mentioned before, the second one just never really clicked for me as a good movie.

I am eagerly anticipating this film! It hits theaters on October 1st, which is just around the corner. I truly hope the quality holds up, especially since I have encountered several reviews claiming it is quite poor.

I am seriously counting down the days! I can still vividly remember watching the first one back when I was just a high schooler, though it feels like a lifetime ago now.
I know for a fact the impact was massive. The second movie caught me completely off guard in the best way possible, and while the third was good, it felt almost like its own standalone story—maybe a bit disconnected? Honestly, my memory is getting a little fuzzy on the details, but I do know how much I loved them. That’s exactly why I’m so hyped for this next chapter.

So, I finally sat down the other night to watch the movie—and man, I had it in such crisp quality on 😁 (God bless streaming services 😁)... What can I even say? It definitely hits those familiar beats from the previous films, and I totally agree with what Jonathan Collins43 mentioned in an earlier post about how this installment seems way more focused on making death scenes look flashy and spectacular rather than actually building up any tension. In my book, that’s a huge step backward 🤷
I was honestly hyped to see this one, but I walked away feeling pretty underwhelmed... If I'm being real, this might be the weakest entry in the franchise so far 😢

Jonathan Collins43 said:I can't wait for this movie! It drops October 1st—not long now! I just hope it isn't a total disaster, despite all those comments saying it's terrible.

Yeah, it’s bad. I watched a leaked version a few days ago; it’s watchable, but still bad. Basically, whoever was in charge of the title sequence did a decent job, but they clearly focused everything else on making the death scenes look as realistic as possible—ensuring characters die through a ridiculous chain of about a hundred stupid mistakes that a sane person would never make. Plus, there’s none of that tension you felt in the first one. Here, once a scene starts, you already know someone is toast; you're just sitting there thinking, "Alright, let's see how they pull this one off." The original was fine—nothing groundbreaking, but fine. The sequels? Total flops...