Final Destination (2000) Rated:  R  Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter (in both), Kerr Smith, Tony Todd. Director: James Wong Genre: Horror | Thriller | Mystery | Fantasy DVD Release Date: 09/26/2000 Tagline: Death Doesn't Take No For An Answer. His entire high-school class is going to Paris, but Alex Browning (Devon Sawa, Idle Hands) can't seem to shake his fear of flying. Once aboard the plane, he has a violently disruptive premonition which gets him and five of his classmates including Clear Rivers (Ali Larter, Varsity Blues, House On Haunted Hill) and Carter Horton (Kerr Smith, TV's "Dawson's Creek") kicked off the plane. As the students watch the plane depart, they witness the horrifying disaster that proves the deadly premonition true. Now having dodged death once, the terror begins in full as fate hunts them down one-by-one. Soon the five survivors will discover you can't cheat death in this bone-chillingly-suspenseful film that critics call "A first class edge of your seat thriller!" -Paul Wunder, WBAI Cast Notes: Devon Sawa (Alex Chance Browning), Ali Larter (Clear Rivers), Kerr Smith (Carter Horton), Tony Todd [I] (William Bludworth), Kristen Cloke (Ms. Valerie Lewton), Seann William Scott (Billy Hitchcock), Daniel Roebuck (Agent Weine), Roger Guenveur Smith (Agent Schreck), Chad Donella (Tod Waggner [as Chad E. Donella]), Amanda Detmer (Terry Chaney), Brendan Fehr (George Waggner), Forbes Angus (Mr. Larry Murnau), Lisa Marie Caruk (Christa Marsh), Christine Chatelain (Blake Dreyer), Barbara Tyson (Mrs. Barbara Browning). User Comment: acidcross (acidcross@hotmail.com) Los Angeles, California • Final Destination has made my list as one of the best horror films in the wake of the teen/slasher revival. in fact it's the most original horror film since the original Scream and it may be better than Scream. There have been many cheap imitations(Urban Legend, i still know what you did last summer, etc) but this one is a keeper. The film begins with the most exhillerating 15 minutes in recent memory(and if you're afraid of flying be prepared to be shocked). Alex browning(Devon Sawa) is getting ready to leave on a class trip to France. while on the plane he has a vision that the plan is going to explode. Later he awakes from this vison and immediately he goes crazy telling everyone the plane is going to explode. eventually 6 students and alex leave the plane and sure enough moments after the plane takes off it explodes. This is where the story gets interesting by getting off the plane Alex soon realizes that him and his friends have cheated Death and they have to figure out when death is coming back at them. The one thing i thought was trully good about this film was whenever "Death" came after the remaining students that got off the plane it wasn't some grim reaper type guy you could see. whenever death was around it was very subtle. shadows, wind, etc. death never showed his ugly head. he used everyday thingst o kill his victims. in fact it was stuff that you could accidentally do in your home and that is what makes this film scary. The acting is great. Devon Sawa proves that he can carry a film. he has great talent. Ali Larter is a terrific actress who is well on her way to becoming the best actress ofher generation, but Kerr smith of dawson's Creek shines here. he was really good and i hope to see him in more films. Great film worth every dollar i spent to see it. 10 Summary: Finally a horror film worth a lot of Praise! Trivia: Most characters in the film are named after directors or stars from black and white horror movies. For example, Chaney (Lon Chaney), Waggner (director George Waggner), Browning (famous "Dracula" director Tod Browning), Schreck (Max Schreck starred in "Nosferatu") and Valerie Lewton (Val Lewton produced several famous horror movies). Billy Hitchcock whose name pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The woman at the check-in desk at the airport tells Alex that the plane leaves at 9:25 which is the same as his birthday (25th September). When he gets on the plane he sits in seat I (which is the 9th letter of the alphabet) and the seat is in row 25. Much of the news footage shown is actual footage from the July 1996 explosion and crash of TWA Flight 800 off East Moriches, Long Island, New York. When the students are boarding the airplane, Alex looks down from the jetway and sees a luggage cart with the number 666 on it. During the opening credits, all of the deaths in the movie are foreshadowed. There is a hanging doll, a guillotine, and a picture of a knife in someone's chest. When Alex and Clear's baby is born, the time of birth is 9.25. The same number is coming back several times in the movie, e.g. the time of the departure of the flight. The neon sign that swings down and kills Carter at the end of the movie can be seen to read 180, which is the number of the Paris flight in the beginning of the movie. The numerous appearances of '180' in the movie refer to the film's original title of 'Flight 180'. New Line decided to rename the film to Final Destination through fear of confusion of other movies like Air Force One or Con Air. The man in the morgue with Tod's body was Tony Todd, who played the "Candyman" back in 1992. As well as footage, Final Destination borrows in other ways from the crash of TWA Flight 800. The July 17th, 1996 flight was also carrying a high school French club, it exploded suddenly and was investigated for a possible deliberate act causing the accident - first a bomb, then a surface to air missile. As with the movie, it was ultimately decided that the crash was a result of mechanical failure (explosion in the central fuel tank), although the FBI investigation is still open. Another character named after a historic horror film maker is Larry Murnau, named after F.W. Murnau, director of the "first" Dracula film Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Die Grauens (1922) Many of the props contain references to assassinated presidents or almost-presidents: Miss Lewton's leaking coffee cup had an inscription for Abraham High, and Carter Horton's car had a license plate beginning with the letters "RFK". The plane takes off from "JFK"-Airport. JFK also was assassinated. The music played by the teacher in her house and later near the Paris cafe was by John Denver, famed musician who died in a plane crash. After the main characters are removed from the plane, Billy is only shot from the rear, showing the name on his jersey, that of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock. Other reference to Hitchcock: the shot of the showerhead when Tod gets strangled. Identical to the Psycho (1960) shower murder. The story was originally the concept for an abandoned _"X-Files, The" (1993)_ television script. Many of the characters' names are derived from classic horror/suspense directors/stars. ------------ IMDb Rating (08/30/03): 6.6/10 from 10,845 users Additional information Copyright:  2000,  New Line Home Entertainment Features:  • Interactive Menus • Filmmaker Commentary by James Wong, Glen Morgan, James Coblentz, and Jeffrey Reddick • Actor Commentary by Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith, Kristin Cloke, and Chad E Donella • 51 Isolated Score and Commentary with Composer Shirley Walker • Deleted Scenes And Alternate Ending • Two Original Documentaries: • -1- Test Screenings -- The Filmmakers and studio executives reveal the process of test marketing, and the impact this has on the storyline of Final Destination • -2- Premonitions -- Meet Pam Coronado, a real life intuitive investigator who taps her psychic skills to help crime fighters crack unsolved mysteries • Theatrical Trailer DVD-ROM Features: • Read The Screenplay While Watching The Film • Internet Access! The Original Theatrical Website Including: The "Death Clock" (See How Long You Have To Live), Animated Postcards (Mail A Daily Terror Card To A Friend), Psychic Games and More! Subtitles:  English Video:  Widescreen 1.85:1 Color (Anamorphic-16x9) Audio:  ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC] ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Surround [CC] Time:  1:38 DVD:  # Discs: 1 -- # Shows: 1 UPC:  794043506123 D-Box:  Yes Other:  Producers: Glen Morgan, Craig Perry, Warren Zide; Writers: Glen Morgan, Jeffrey Reddick, James Wong; running time of 98 minutes;Packaging: Snap Case; Chapters: 19; [CC]. {[V4.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC}