For the last week of Spooky Month, RFMC is looking back at the films of the “Final Destination” series. Our final destination: Halloween! Next up is “Final Destination 3” (2006):
The vision
After skipping “Final Destination 2,” Glen Morgan and James Wong return to the franchise. They pick up “FD2’s” idea where the protagonists look for signs of looming Death. But this time it’s via Wendy’s digital photographs of her classmates. That adds a mild mystery element.
There’s certainly more mood in this one, starting with a wonderful neon-lit amusement park where Wendy gets her vision of a rollercoaster running off the tracks. There’s also more dark comedy, as we brace ourselves for each “accidental” kill, knowing they are coming but not when and how.
SPOILERS FOLLOW as I take a closer look at “Final Destination 3”:
Good performances (?)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Fargo” Season 3, “Birds of Prey”) (pictured), although sometimes upstaged by her bangs, is the series’ best lead so far as Wendy. This is nothing against Devon Sawa or A.J. Cook; the screenplay is simply better this time, as we see Wendy do appropriate things such as be scared and horrified.
I love the idea of two not-close members of the same friend group being the survivors. This makes Winstead’s pairing with Ryan Merriman’s Kevin different from the norm. Wendy’s relationship with her sister, Julie (Amanda Crew), also has depth as it goes from childish sibling rivalry to a true bond after the tragedy.
Oh yeah, he’s in this
“FD3” has several “I think I’ve seen that guy before” actors. Along with Merriman, who looks like Jesse Bradford but isn’t, there’s Kris Lemche, who looks like Adam Brody’s kid brother but isn’t. Digging deeper into the cast list, you’ll find Cory Monteith (pictured), the future “Glee” star who tragically died in 2013. But I admit I didn’t spot him while watching the film.
Tony Todd’s role
Todd isn’t present in “FD3” as Bludworth, the mortician with cryptic yet accurate answers about Death. But he has two voice parts: first as “the Devil” at the amusement park, later as a subway train announcer.
Death becomes them
“FD3’s” dark comedy reaches its zenith in the famous tanning booth scene. Ditzy girls Ashley (Chelan Simmons) and Ashlyn (Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe) – not heeding the lesson from Jennifer Love Hewitt’s “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” misadventure, climb into tanning booths in order to look good for their classmates’ funerals.
They pop in a CD of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Rollercoaster of Love,” oblivious to the irony. After the series of Rube Goldberg events traps them, they get horrifically fried. Then we get the grim punchline: An overhead shot of the tanning booths fades to an overhead shot of the girls’ coffins.
Final thoughts
Dark comedy like that, along with a more sympathetic lead than usual, make “Final Destination 3” the best of the series up to this point. But the fatalism is starting to get a little yawn-worthy. Death still has total control, and we never expect otherwise. It’d be nice to get a sequel that moves this series in a fresh, unexpected direction.
“Final Destination 3” (2006)
Director: James Wong
Writers: Glen Morgan, James Wong
Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche
Photo credits: New Line Cinema