Friday 4 October 2013

30 Days of Horror | Day 4

Movie That Kills Off Countless Named/Main Characters
Final Destination

Apologies for this being a day late.

Pretty much any slasher film could meet the criteria for todays post easily, but for the sake of diversity I think the Final Destination films are a perfect example.

The plot of all 5 films in the series is exactly the same; a group of teens escape a freak accident due to one have them foreseeing the event, and then Death comes after them one by one in order to meet his monthly quota. The entire purpose of these films is to kill off almost every cast member in the most obscure ways possible.

Despite having an intriguing premise these films, like most horror franchises, have become increasingly worse with each sequel that gets released. While the nature of the deaths as complex freak accidents could be used to build up a sense of dread and constant danger within a mundane, everyday life the films opt for spectacle,  turning each death into a clearly signposted set-piece that creates very little suspense. 

It's a shame that such an original concept has become so mundane in its repetitive execution. According the the Final Destination Wiki the five films contain a total of 506 deaths, with around 118 being name characters. Each film has a larger than average number of main characters, usually 7 or more who mostly all die. Cheerful times all round.

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