Final Destination’s Genius Villain Choice Has Always Had a Hidden Downside — but Maybe it’s Time to Fix It
When Final Destination was released in 2000, it was different from any horror film we’d ever seen. Sure, all the trademarks of a post-Scream era slasher were there, with a young cast, a final boy or girl, lots of blood and guts, and a high body count, but unlike Scream or slashers such as Halloween before it, this killer couldn’t be seen. Rather than being some guy in a mask with a knife, the villain in Final Destination was death itself. The grim reaper isn’t represented by a physical form, but is an invisible force. This set the movie apart from anything else in the horror genre — but it also hindered it. Not having a Ghostface or Michael Myers limited how Final Destination could promote itself or make money off merchandise. Is there a way to change this?
The Creators of ‘Final Destination’ Speak About Their Invisible Villain
In the recent “Blockbusters Previews” issue of Empire Magazine, they sat down with some of the creators of the first Final Destination film to discuss its origin story. The film had originally started as an X-Files spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, but his villain was going to be a shadowy figure who was the angel of death. When co-writer and producer Glen Morgan entered the scene with director James Wong, that changed. They wanted the villain to be unseen, with Morgan telling Empire, “It was kind of Death personified. We were both like, ‘You can’t see Death, and you can’t beat it?’ So we pitched, ‘Death’s just a force.’ And they [New Line] said, ‘Cool!’, much to our surprise.”
It is a surprise that New Line would agree to this because it limits how the film could be promoted. There was no face to put with it to easily sell Final Destination like you could do with Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street, Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th, Chucky in Child’s Play, or a dozen other similar examples. An invisible villain also limited how to sell merchandise. Morgan joked to Empire, “But now every Halloween I go, ‘We blew it!’ There’s no costume to buy, there’s no action figure.”
Final Destination’s Villain Is Scarier by Being Unseen
Final Destination could have created a villain with a physical form if they wanted to, whether it be someone more human-looking or a Grim Reaper-like figure in a black robe. If death were seen on the screen in a solid representation, the eventual popularity of the franchise could have created the next Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, or Freddy Krueger. Their choice not to go that route was risky but genius because that’s not what Final Destination is about or what it needed.
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I came to be grossed out, not to start sobbing!
If death had been in a human form, it would have been all too familiar. Oh, look, another slasher killer hacking up a bunch of young people. Making it an invisible force not only sets Final Destination apart from all of the other slasher franchises, but it also makes for a much scarier movie. It’s always more terrifying to imagine the horror rather than see it. How can we make any physical representation of death scarier than what we already feel? If we had a slasher-like killer simply murdering all of those who’d escaped, there would be no fear. It’s much more intense to watch this invisible force slowly wind up the tension with these elaborate kill scenes.
Those deaths have become the most famous part of the films, which has put them at an advantage. No one is trying to remember who the killer in Final Destination is or what mask he wears. Everyone, even non-horror fans, knows they’re the movies where the invisible grim reaper kills people in gory ways. That puts them alone in their own category. Final Destination isn’t just another in a long line, but an innovator in a genre where it looked like everything had already been done.
Can ‘Final Destination’ Find a Way To Capitalize With Merchandise?
Final Destination could have created its own icon that made it tons of money, but it would have failed in time. Now, 25 years later, the franchise is still popular and making money, rather than going into the usual horror sequel decline, and that’s in large part due to its villain being so different from everything else we get in horror. There is no getting used to the killer and not finding them scary anymore, or a need to craft absurd plots to find ways to bring the killer back from the dead, like we do with Michael and Jason. Death doesn’t need to come back from anything or have a backstory because it’s already there from the beginning. No Halloween costume or action figure can top that.
Still, what if the Final Destination films had something visual and concrete to promote it? Go to Amazon and all you’ll find if you search for “Final Destination” are DVDs from the franchise. There should be something out there to collect. The movies are fun horror, which can be used to create fun merchandise not to be taken too seriously. Unfortunately, not only is there no physical form of a killer to recreate, but there is no series-leading final girl like Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) in Halloween. In every movie, all the characters die, the end. A few have made it to a second film, but not for long. But there is one character who has become beloved.
Tony Todd is often seen as the face of the franchise because he appeared in four of the six movies, including posthumously in this year’s Final Destination: Bloodlines, as funeral home director William Bludworth. He is the one who knows about death and what it can do, like a harbinger of doom. So, how about an action figure of his character, which would mean even more now that he’s passed away? Or what about a diorama or action figures of the elaborate death scenes? Imagine being able to buy the log truck from the second film or have one of the race cars from the fourth.
While the villain in Final Destination will never have a literal face, there are still plenty of fun and clever ways to promote it with merchandise. There won’t be masks and dolls of the bad guy, but in today’s world, where toys for adults are so popular, don’t be surprised to be holding a Final Destination action figure one day. The creators of Final Destination didn’t blow it when they decided to make death a formless presence. They simply came up with an idea so great and ahead of its time that we haven’t caught up yet. If Final Destination: Bloodlines is a big hit, that could easily change. Crushed gymnast action figure, anyone?
- Release Date
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March 17, 2000
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Director
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James Wong
- Writers
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Jeffrey Reddick
- Producers
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Brian Witten, Craig Perry, Glen Morgan, Richard Brener
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Kristen Cloke
Valerie Lewton
