Slasher film fans, tech geeks unite

There weren’t many expectations back in 2000 when the initial Final Destination appeared. What had originally been intended to be an episode of The X-Files had instead become a supernatural production about what happens to a group of teenagers that managed to avoid sure death thanks to a premonition that one of them had about it happening. Unfortunately, once they cheated their destiny, then they began being killed in freak and bizarre ways.

Final Destination, the fourth movie in the franchise and first shot in HD 3-D, opens Friday. David R. Ellis will be directing and this time the scene shifts to a racetrack. Nick O’Bannon (Bobby Campo) is the person who has the premonition. He sees some horrible crashes, with debris going into the stands, the upper deck collapsing and all his friends dying. Once he snaps out of the bad daydream, Nick gets his girlfriend Lori (Shantel VanSanten) and other buddies Janet (Haley Webb) and Hunt (Nick Zano) to leave right before what he saw actually does happen.

Now they think they’re all safe. But just like in the other three films, freak accidents keep taking the lives of the survivors. It’s up to Nick to figure out a way to beat the odds and survive, presumably so he can also star in Final Destination 5 or whatever they call the next one. There’s also a bit of social commentary, with Justin Welborn and Lara Grice portraying an openly racist couple whose attitudes encounter scrutiny and eventually gruesome correction.

It’s easy and in some ways almost mandatory to sneer at such franchises, which usually make anywhere from decent to exceptional profits for the studios. For one thing, they’re not paying out $18-30 million a piece to the likes of Bobby Campo or Haley Webb or even Krista Allen, who does have some TV familiarity.

Secondly, the various ancillary products are reliable moneymakers as well. The video game world has been plugged into this franchise from the beginning. And, reportedly, clips of the film went over well with some of the crew at this year’s Comic-Con. There are Final Destination posters included in current video games Saints Row 2 and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, as well as Skate 2. There’s also been plenty of television exposure, with Final Destination clips and trailers airing regularly on MTV, 4Music and such shows as Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl and Big Brother.

A third area of interest concerns the film’s technology. The HD 3-D is the same technology being used by James Cameron for his upcoming (and highly anticipated) Avatar. David R. Ellis directed <Final Destination 2, so he’s certainly acquainted with franchise formula. The production also got some positive PR out of changing the shooting locale from Vancouver to New Orleans, as well as Mobile International Speedway in Irvington, Ala.

With a commercially solid track record of success, Final Destination should prove another of those conceptually flimsy films whose core audience (slasher film fans, comic book lovers, even some techno types) will no doubt make it another hit in the series.

The Final Destination 3-D
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Written by: Eric Bress
Starring: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb, Nick Zano, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Jessica Ritchie, Justin Welborn, Lara Grice, Stephanie Honore
Time: 82 minutes
Rating: R
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