Final Destination 3

Final Destination 3
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Wong
Produced by	Craig Perry Warren Zide Glen Morgan James Wong
Written by	Glen Morgan James Wong
Based on	characters created  by Jeffrey Reddick
Starring	Mary Elizabeth Winstead Ryan Merriman
Music by	Shirley Walker
Cinematography	Robert McLachlan
Editing by	Chris G. Willingham
Studio	Hard Eight Pictures Practical Pictures Matinee Pictures Zide/Perry Productions
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release dates	February 10, 2006 (2006-02-10)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$25 million
Box office	$117,719,158[1]

Final Destination 3 is a 2006 American horror film, and the third installment of the Final Destination film series. It was directed and co-written by James Wong, who also directed and co-wrote the first film, and was produced by Wong and his writing partner Glen Morgan, with franchise producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide. Released on February 10, 2006, the film performed well at the box office and gained a mixed reception from critics.

Plot

Wendy Christensen, a teenage high school student and a school year book photographer visits an amusement park with her boyfriend Jason Wise, best friend Carrie Dreyer and Carrie's boyfriend Kevin Fischer on their senior class field trip. As they board the Devil's Flight roller coaster, Wendy has a premonition that the hydraulics securing the seats and roller coaster cars will fail, causing the roller coaster to de-rail and crash, killing everybody on board. When events from her vision begin to repeat themselves in reality, she panics and attempts to stop the coaster from being launched. Wendy and several other people leave or are forced off the ride - Kevin, best friends Ashley Freund and Ashlyn Halperin, athlete Lewis Romero, goths Ian McKinley and Erin Ulmer, and alumnus Frankie Cheeks. As these people leave, they witness the roller coaster derailing and crashing. All the remaining people on the ride are killed in the crash, including Carrie and Jason, devastating Wendy.

Afterwards, Kevin tells Wendy about the explosion of Flight 180 and the subsequent events that killed the survivors. Believing that Kevin is mocking her, Wendy dismisses this theory and moves on. Later on, Ashley and Ashlyn are killed at a tanning salon when their tanning beds malfunction, catch fire and burn them alive. Believing Death may be after them, Wendy and Kevin set out to save the remaining survivors, using what they believe to be omens contained in photos that were taken of them prior to the crash. Frankie dies next at a drive-thru when a runaway truck crashes into the back of Kevin's truck, causing the engine fan in Kevin's truck to blow out and slice off the back of Frankie's head. The next day, they try to save Lewis at the gym. He states he does not believe them, shortly before two iron weights from the machine he is using swing down and crush his head.

They find Ian and Erin working at a hardware store. As they explain to them what is going on, Ian speculates that if the last in line were to kill themselves, it would ruin Death's plan and save the remaining survivors. Wendy manages to save Ian as he is about to be crushed by planks of wood, but one of the pieces of falling plywood causes a small bag of sawdust to burst, prompting Erin to stumble backwards onto a nail gun and she is shot repeatedly through the head. This leaves Ian devastated, which causes him to resent Wendy.

Wendy learns that her sister Julie was also on the coaster and rushes to the county fair in an attempt to save her. She and Kevin are able to prevent Julie from being impaled on a harrow. Wendy then asks Julie who was sitting next to her on the coaster. Her question is answered when Julie's friend, Perry Malinowski is impaled by a flagpole launched by a rope tied to a horse, as Wendy and Julie watch in horror.

Wendy saves Kevin and Julie from a propane canister explosion caused by the commotion and is confronted by a deranged Ian, who blames her for Erin's death. Another explosion sets off fireworks which nearly hit Wendy and Ian, but instead strike a nearby cherry picker. As Ian shouts that Death cannot kill him, the cherry picker collapses on him and crushes him in half. Wendy believes the cherry picker was meant for her, but Ian intervened and inadvertently took her place.

Five months later, Wendy is on a subway train with her roommate Laura and her teenage friend Sean and spots Kevin and Julie. Suddenly the train derails and everyone on board dies - Julie's head is hit by a loose wheel and ejects her out of the train; Kevin's face is pressed against a cracked window which breaks and shreds his body against the subway wall; Wendy is the final survivor of the crash but is hit by an oncoming train. This turns out to be a premonition by Wendy and the three try to stop the train in vain, and the screen cuts to black with the sound of screeching metal being heard.

Cast

• Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Wendy Christensen
• Ryan Merriman as Kevin Fischer
• Kris Lemche as Ian McKinley
• Texas Battle as Lewis Romero
• Alexz Johnson as Erin Ulmer
• Jesse Moss as Jason Wise
• Sam Easton as Frankie Cheeks
• Crystal Lowe as Ashlyn Halperin
• Chelan Simmons as Ashley Freund
• Gina Holden as Carrie Dreyer
• Amanda Crew as Julie Christensen
• Maggie Ma as Perry Malinowski
• Ecstasia Sanders as Amber Regan

Production

Development

Final Destination 3 was originally considered as the final part of the trilogy and was in talks since the time of Final Destination 2's release, according to the interviews of FD2. The idea of death omens appearing in photographs was taken from the 1976 horror classic The Omen, in which characters are impaled and decapitated.

Casting

On March 21, 2005, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ryan Merriman, co-stars of The Ring Two, portrayed the main characters Wendy Christensen and Kevin Fischer.^[2] Winstead's performance was met with generally positive reception from critics. James Berardinelli says she "does as competent a job as one could expect in these dire circumstances."^[3] Felix Gonzalez, Jr. speaks positively of Winstead and Merriman's performances, saying "the film is not entirely unwatchable. Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ryan Merriman are likeable in the lead roles."^[4] In the DVD features, it is revealed by James Wong that he originally intended for Wendy to be a perky blonde. Winstead, who had previously auditioned for the previous two films, eventually won the role as she reportedly brought emotion and character that impressed Wong and Glen Morgan.

In April 9, 2005, Ginger Snaps actor Kris Lemche and Canadian singer Alexz Johnson took the roles of goths Ian McKinley and Erin Ulmer. One of the critics wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer: "The characters are so loathsome, you're glad to see them go. Except for two: the goth couple Ian and Erin. He's a cynical know-it-all, like Dennis Miller with black fingernails; she's like Parker Posey with raccoon mascara."^[5] Jesse Moss, who was also starred in Ginger Snaps, joined the film to play Jason Wise, Wendy's boyfriend. Texas Battle, known to star in Coach Carter, portrayed athlete Lewis Romero. Chelan Simmons, who portrayed in television films It and the 2002 television remake of Carrie, took the role of popular girl Ashley Freund. Underclassman's Sam Easton portrayed school alumnus Frankie Cheeks and novice actress Gina Holden played Kevin's girlfriend Carrie Dreyer.^[6]

Crystal Lowe joined the cast as student Ashlyn Halperin. Tony Todd, who appeared in the first two films of the franchise, did not return for his role as the mortician Bludworth but provided the voices of the devil statue at the roller coaster and a subway conductor in the end.

Other cast members, Amanda Crew portrayed Wendy's sister Julie Christensen, Maggie Ma and Ecstasia Sanders portrays Julie's friends Perry Malinowski and Amber Regan.^[7] Dustin Milligan, Cory Monteith and Harris Allan appeared in the film by small roles.^[8]

Music

Score

The soundtrack for Final Destination 3 was composed by Shirley Walker, who composed the scores for the first two films. Final Destination 3 is also the only film in the series to not have a released musical score.

Soundtrack

1. "Smokin" – Performed by Boston
2. "Amos Moses" – Performed by Jerry Reed
3. "Turn Around, Look at Me" – Performed by The Lettermen
4. "New York City" – Performed by the Statler Brothers
5. "One Step Forward" – Performed by The Desert Rose Band
6. "Bed of Rose's" – Performed by the Statler Brothers
7. "Turn" – Performed by Eddie Rabbitt
8. "I Love a Rainy Night" – Performed by Eddie Rabbitt
9. "Love Train" – Performed by Tommy Lee (main theme)
10. "Killing Time" – Performed by (hed) p.e.
11. "Make the World Go Away" – Performed by Mickey Gilley
12. "Tribal Dance" – Performed by 2 Unlimited
13. "Turn Around, Look at Me" – Matt Ellis
14. "Love Rollercoaster" – Performed by The Ohio Players

Release

Box office

Final Destination 3 grossed $19,173,094 on its opening weekend. At the end of its run, March 30, it made $54,098,051 in North America while grossing $63,621,107 overseas, for a worldwide gross of $117,719,158. For a time, it was the highest grossing film in the Final Destination franchise until the arrival of 2009's The Final Destination, which grossed $186,167,139 worldwide.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on July 25, 2006 in both widescreen and fullscreen. There is a second disc of special features, including three documentaries. Two of these documentaries involve the making of the film, while the third is about the final girl character in horror films.

The DVD also includes an optional "Choose Their Fate" feature which allows the viewers to make different decision at few points in the film. Most provide only a minor alternate scenes, but the first choice allows the viewer to stop the four characters from getting on the roller coaster before the premonition, ending the film immediately.

Reception

Critical response

Final Destination 3 received mixed reviews from critics. Rating site Rotten Tomatoes reports that the film holds a 44% approval rating, based on 114 reviews and an audience rating of 69%. The site's consensus is: "Final Destination 3 is more of the same: gory and pointless, with nowhere new to go." BBC film reviewer Stella Papamichael described the reference to the 9/11 attacks as tasteless and gave the film 3 stars out of 5; she awarded the first installment four stars and the second three. Most critics agreed that the film was "running out of ideas", and that there was nothing new the series could offer other than the theme of death. Positive reviews praised the death scenes, such as the tanning bed and nail gun deaths, describing them as "gruesome" and "painful". Most of the critics praised Winstead's performance, stating: "...the real tragedy is that promising young actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead must endure this torture."

Accolades

The film was nominated at the 33rd Saturn Awards for Best Horror Film and Best DVD Special Edition Release for the Thrill Ride Edition on May 10, 2007, but lost to The Descent and Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, respectively.^[9] It was also nominated at the 2006 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards for Highest Body Count, Line That Killed (Best One-Liner) for Crystal Lowe, Most Thrilling Killing for the drive-thru scene and Sickest FX (Best Special Effects).^[10]

References

External links

• Final Destination 3 at the Internet Movie Database
• Final Destination 3 at allmovie