Final Destination 3
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Final Destination 3 is a 2006 horror film, the sequel to Final Destination 2 and the third film in the Final Destination series. Distributed by New Line Cinema, written by Glen Morgan, and James Wong, produced by Craig Perry and directed by James Wong, who directed the first Final Destination movie. Originally scheduled to be released on February 24th, but was changed to February 10th, two weeks earlier than the original set release.
Plot
- Tagline: This Ride Will Be The Death Of You.
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Cast & Characters
- Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead): The visionary of the film. Wendy forsees the rollercoaster disaster moments before it actually happens. Upon getting off the ride with her best friend's boyfriend and several others the coaster wreak occurs. Kevin tries to tell her about the previous incident involving Flight 180 and it isn't until she transfers pictures from her digital camera to her computer that she starts to see that he may be right.
- Jason Robert Wise (Jesse Moss): Wendy's Boyfriend & Kevin's bestfriend. He is in the front seat when the coaster goes off the tracks.
- Kevin Fischer (Ryan Merriman): Carrie's boyfriend. He originally only hangs out with Wendy due to his association with Carrie & Jason. He is one of the roller coaster survivors because he was sitting next to Wendy. After the coaster crash he investigates cases of premonition and comes across the accident of Flight 180. It is he that clues Wendy to what has happened and what will happen.
- Carrie Dreyer (Gina Holden):Wendy's bestfriend & Kevin's girlfriend. She is in the front seat when the coaster goes off the tracks.
- Julie Christensen (Amanda Crew): Wendy's younger sister. She is at the fair the night the roller coaster comes off the tracks even though she is not a senior. The two have a tenuous relationship.
- Perry Malinowski (Maggie Ma): One of Julie's two friends that are at the fair with her.
- Amber Regan (Ecstasia Sanders): One of Julie's two friends that are at the fair with her.
- Frankie Cheeks (Sam Easton): A previous senior (graduated 2 years earlier). He is a womanizing pervert who runs around with a camcorder harassing pretty girls. He is one of the rollercoaster survivors due to the fact he was following Ashley & Ashlyn.
- Lewis Romero (Texas Battle): A graduating student athlete. He is one of the roller coaster survivors. Picked a fight with Kevin prior to the accident and got ejected from the ride.
- Erin Ulmer (Alexz Johnson): She is Ian's girlfriend and is one of the roller coaster survivors due to accidently getting struck in the face by Lewis during his schuffle with Kevin. She is an intelligent young woman who is is a part of the gothic lifestyle.
- Ian Mckinley (Kris Lemche): He is one of the rollercoaster survivors who got off the ride to assist his injured girlfriend. He is an intelligent young man who is is a part of the gothic lifestyle.
- Ashley Freund (Chelan Simmons): A high school "in-crowd" girl & resident beauty queen. Ashley gets off the roller coaster after Kevin & Lewis start fighting because they're acting so "high school".
- Ashlyn Halperin (Crystal Lowe): A high school "in-crowd" girl & the head cheerleader. Ashlyn gets off the roller coaster after Kevin & Lewis start fighting because they're acting so "high school".
Deaths
Death's original design is Ashley and Ashlyn, Frankie, Lewis, Ian, Erin, Julie, Perry, Kevin, and Wendy. The order in which they actually die is different because some get saved and moved to the end of the order. The actual order of death is as follows:
- Ashley Freund and Ashlyn Halperin:
- Death: Incineration. Ashley and Ashlyn decide to go for a tan at the Phoenix Tanning Salon to look good for graduation. When they arrive, the owner of the tanning salon is forced to take a call from his girlfriend. He lets the two girls manage the tanning beds themselves after making sure they throw their drinks out before heading in. As he uses a bottle of lotion to hold the backdoor open while he talks to his girlfriend, Ashlyn locks the front door, and Ashley sneaks her slurpee into the tanning room. As she sets it on the bench above the heater that controls the tanning beds, the two girls search for some CD's to listen to. As Ashley leans on the CD rack, she unknowingly loosens a few screws attaching it to the wall.
- The two get undressed and lay down in the tanning beds while listening to their music. Ashley's drink begins to drip water down into the heater, causing it to malfunction. Outside the tanning room, the backdoor squishes the bottle of lotion, closing the door and locking it. The girls notice that the tanning beds are getting a bit too hot. As Wendy attempts to get hold of Ashley via her cell phone, Ashley's cell phone vibrates in her coat pocket, causing the coat rack the jacket is hanging on to wobble. The air conditioning kicks in from the heat, and the gust of wind from it topples the coat rack over. The coat rack knocks over a shelf holding a plant, and the plant topples into the CD rack, which falls off the wall and onto Ashley's bed.
- As the two girls attempt to open their tanning beds, the CD rack slides from the top of Ashley's bed and locks into the handle of Ashlyn's bed, and, as she opens hers, it slides into Ashley's handle as well, jamming the tanning beds shut. As the girls start to panic, the heater continues to spark and raise its temperature, causing the tanning beds to get hotter and hotter. The two girls start to panic more, trying to get out, tearing at the fans at the head of each bed, but to no avail. Ashley's struggling causes the glass bed to shatter, causing her to fall into the wiring and lamps below, while Ashlyn continues screaming. As their skin burns and blackens with boils rising from the heat, the lamps above explode, lighting the two beds on fire, eventually roasting the two girls to death.
- Photograph: In their photograph, a bright, flashing red light makes Ashley and Ashlyn seem to be burning from the bottom-right of the picture, where it seems to look like a fire. They are also holding an inflatable palm tree, which appears in their tanning room, and also in the salon's logo.
- Frankie Cheeks:
- Death: Decapitation. After Ashley and Ashlyn's funeral, Wendy and Kevin head to a drive-thru. Ahead of them, there is a man in a convertible, and behind them, a bickering couple in a truck. A large beer truck backs up and jams into Kevin’s truck from the passenger side, and Wendy is trapped. As the two sit and wait, the radio malfunctions, and “Turn Around, Look At Me” by The Vogues comes on. Wendy turns around and notices a large runaway truck rolling down a steep hill, picking up speed as it heads for the drive-thru. Kevin’s door cannot open because it is jammed into the wall of the drive-thru. Kevin honks to get the guy ahead to pull up, but he only responds by giving them the finger.
- The car behind Wendy and Kevin begins to back out of the drive-thru as Kevin smashes the windshield open, and he and Wendy escape just as the large truck smashes into Kevin’s vehicle. His truck is then mounted onto the convertible, and the motor shoots out of the hood, slicing into the driver's head with the motor-fan. Wendy and Kevin look up, and notice that the person ahead of them was none other than Frankie. The motor-fan spins once more, spraying blood everywhere, further slicing open the back of Frankie’s head.
- Photograph: In his photograph which he wasn't supposedly to be in, there's a whirring fan behind his head on the wall which represents the motor-fan.
- Lewis Romero:
- Death: Head trauma. Wendy and Kevin find Lewis working out at the gym with his football team. While arguing with Wendy and Kevin, Lewis sits on a machine and starts lifting weights. Lewis' vigorous pulls cause the two swords on the plaque above the machine Lewis is using to vibrate with each pull. A person lifting weights next to a stuffed bear hits a part of its claw off, which hits a person lifting weights in the eye, causing him to drop his dumbell onto the ground and shakes the area even more. The swords eventually swing loose, slicing the wire holding the weights, and narrowly missing Lewis’ head. Lewis shouts in victory, claiming he is too good to die that way, and does one last pull, not knowing that the wire holding the weights together has been cut. The two weights swing down and smash together, crushing Lewis' head between them and spraying blood everywhere, including Wendy and Kevin.
- Photograph: In his picture, there's a sultan design who's holding two swords, and a bear stuffed animal holding its eye representing the stuffed bear in the gym. The weight above Lewis from the Test Your Might game looks as if it were coming down to his head.
- Ian McKinley:
- Photograph: In his photograph, the wooden flags posts above him have the same shape of the McKinley lag, and the flag posts also spell out the word 'SKILL', but with the letters 'KILL' mostly showing.
- Erin Ulmer:
- Photograph: In her photograph, Ian has a toy gun from a shooting alley game pointed at her head, and Erin has her hand over her face just as when she died.
- Julie Christensen:
- Photograph: In the photograph where Julie is giving Wendy the double bird there is a picture of a ceramic horse.
- Perry Malinowski:
- Photograph: In her picture, a flag can be seen above Perry.
- Kevin Fischer:
- Photograph: In his picture, Kevin's face is white from the flash and he seems to be in pain.
- Wendy Christensen & Ian McKinley:
- Photograph: In his photograph, the wooden flags posts above him have the same shape of the McKinley flag, and the flag posts also spell out the word 'SKILL', but with the letters 'KILL' mostly showing. A second photograph showed
- Julie Christensen:
- Photograph: In the picture where she was partially showing on the rollercoaster, the ride attendant's hand which was waving represents the wheel which had hit her.
- Kevin Fischer:
- Photograph: In his picture, Kevin's face seems to be in pain and pushed against glass, with his face brightly over-exposed from the subway.
- Wendy Christensen:
Original Ending
The original ending takes place right after the death of Ian. Wendy, Kevin, and Julie discover the yearbook camera on the ground. In a fit of rage, Wendy crushes it with her heel. The three friends walk away and just as they do, the camera takes a picture of the group.
However, this ending wasn't favored at the very first test screening, so they reshot the theatrical ending on the subway exactly five months after production wrapped (ironically, since the subway accident occurs five months after Ian's death at the Tri-Cinntenial).
This ending is featured on the DVD in the "Choose-Their-Fate" feature.
Response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film was rated at 45%, although the original two films, both financial successes, received equally poor scores. Besides deriding the film for the high level of violence and the reference to the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001, a common complaint directed at the film was that it failed to offer anything new. The BBC awarded a rare 1 star out of 5 [link], despite awarding the first installment four stars and the second three.Box Office
The film was released in the United States on February 10th, 2006 with an opening weekend slightly under twenty million US dollars. As of June 15th, 2006, the film has made $54,098,051 in the U.S. and $55,271,612 overseas, for a total of $109,369,663 worldwide, slightly less than Final Destination 1.
DVD
The DVD will be released on July 25th, 2006, as a 2-disc Thrill Ride Edition, and the 4-disc Thrill-ogy will be released the same day. You can go to:http://www.dvdtown.com/coverart/finaldestination32-discthrillr/18740/ to see the Wide Screen DVD Cover, front and back. Also, the Wide Screen version has a red background, while the Full Screen version has a blue background.
Special Features
- Commentary by director and co-writer James Wong, co-writer Glen Morgan and director of photography Robert Mclachlan
- "Choose Their Fate" feature--New interactive feature lets YOU decide the fate of the characters! Tons of possibilities! Over 15 minutes of new scenes! Over $1 Million was spent making the new footage, which was also directed by James Wong.
- It’s All Around You animated short
- "Dead Teenager Movie" - in-depth look at a sub-genre of horror films, featuring clips from other blood-curdling horror films
- Kill Shot: a 10-Part Making of Final Destination 3 documentary
- "Planned Accidents" a look at the making of the rollercoaster
- "Police Station" deleted scene
- DVD ROM Features
- Theatrical trailer
Trivia
- Tony Todd, who played the mysterious mortician in the first two films and was not expected to return for the third, had a cameo. Less than a month before release the filmmakers decided to draft Todd in for a voiceover role. The actor’s deep intonations were now heard as the demonic host of the doomed roller coaster that the movie’s victims board at the beginning of the movie. His voice is also heard as the driver of the train at the ending of the film.[link]
- The title was previously known as Cheating Death: Final Destination 3 & Final Destination 3-D. 3-D was considered for the film, but it was deemed too expensive and complicated.
- The tanning bed scene was based on two urban legends. One is the legend of a bride-to-be, in some versions a sorority girl, who wanted the perfect tan but ended up cooking her insides by over-using tanning beds. The second legend involves The Ohio Player's hit song "Love Rollercoaster" which plays during the tanning scene. The legend goes that the scream heard between the first and second verses of the song is that of a woman being murdered while the song was being recorded. Both these legends were also featured in the Urban Legend horror film series. "Love Rollercoaster" was heard in the first installment while the third installment, , featured a tanning bed death scene.
- In the movie, Frankie dies at Andy's Burgers. However, in the book, it is called Butchie's Burgers.
- The song they play at Ashley and Ashlyn's funeral in the background is the same song from the memorial of the crash flight 180 in Final Destination.
- The song that plays on the small radio that's turned on during the weight room scene is (Həd) P.E.'s "Killing Time".
- The HICE Pale Ale truck that blocks in Kevin's car at the Fat Burger joint is the same truck that Kimberly notices passing her just before the car pileup happens in FD2.
- When in the "Build It!" warehouse, the emergency key that gets pulled out by the chain from the magnetic pole being knocked into it,says the backhoe is unit 081 which, of course, is 180 backward.
- In the novelization of the movie, and in the previous versions of the script, Kevin and Wendy begin to have strong feelings for each other as more characters die. There was even a scene in which Kevin and Wendy ran from the death scene of Lewis and into an empty locker room to shower Lewis' blood from themselves. Kevin strips nude and Wendy is rather bashful. To avoid suspicion, from intruding jocks, they fake intercourse so the boys will leave them alone.
- The film has an alternate ending (as the train ending was later put in) and it will be available on DVD.
- When the new ending (the subway train ending) was being filmed, Kimberly and Officer Burke from Final Destination 2 were supposed to be on the subway train that crashes with Wendy, Kevin, and Julie. But due to scheduling problems, A. J. Cook and Michael Landes could not make it. Instead, the audience will have the option to read of what happened to them in the subway scene on Choose Their Fate on the DVD.
- Like the first two films, some of the character's names are derived from actors and directors of classic horror movies, including George A. Romero and Roman Polanski.
- In the original script, some of the characters had different names. Ashley and Ashlyn were originally "Jennifer and Jessica"; Lewis was "Hector"; Ian was "Logan"; Erin was "Phoebe". On IMDB, Perry was "Ling".
- In the novel & original script, Julie had heart conditions and was almost killed from the trauma of her near death experience at the Tri-centennial.
- In the original script, the hardware store that Ian and Erin worked in was called "HomeLand Warehouse" but in the final script it was changed to "Build It!"
- Unlike the predecessors, the original script had a large number of characters who were either friends with the victims, classmates of certain characters or were present at the death scenes. Both the cops, Polanski and his partner, Mitchell and his wife (at Frankie's death as they were buying food to help a stray pet) and the characters David Steinmetz and Tanya, Yuri's girlfriend. [[Citing sources citation needed]]
- In the final destination 3 DVD in an interview James Wong says: "I'm finishing a movie called Black Christmas out in December. They want to do Final Destination 4 in 3-D, which I'm interested in. I love the idea of trying new technology. They expect at least 500 screens with digital projection coming in the next two years. I think 3-D could be pretty spectacular with a digital projection, so we're hoping to catch the next wave." (Final Destination 4-D)
Choose Their Fate
The DVD version contains a special feature called "Choose their Fate" that at certain moments in the film allows the viewer to make a decision that could affect the fate of the characters.Using this feature, alternate sequences are edited into the film, affecting a number of death scenes:
Jason and Carrie:
When Kevin flips the coin to determine who sits with Wendy, viewers can choose either Heads or Tails.
The Change: After choosing tails, the movie plays out as it did theatrically, only Wendy’s vision ends with her still in line instead of when she is already sitting on the coaster. She convinces her friends to leave, saving Jason and Carrie. The four of them witness the coaster crash, but then the film ends after about 20 minutes with text information about what would have happened to the characters. Surprisingly, even though they escaped death’s design, death apparently does not target them in the alternate version.
- Carrie: Desperate to "start living," Carrie dumped Kevin the day after the incident. She enrolled at Berkeley, dropping out after one semester to travel the world. Presently, Carrie is a groupie for Doctors Without Borders.
- Kevin: After the incident, Kevin's obsession with Wendy grew dramatically. To avoid being slapped with a restraining order dictating he stay one hundred yards away from the Christensen home, Kevin joined the army and was sent to Iraq. Citing "bizarre and erratic behaviour," Kevin was discharged after refusing to go on patrol in Basra because three consecutive coin flips landed on "heads." The patrol was subsequently ambushed. Kevin Fischer is presently back in McKinley, staying one hundred and one yards away from the Christensen home.
- Jason: After months of intense contemplation and study of the world's various religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Orthodox Judaism, Shiite Muslimism, Taoism, Unitarianism and Yoga, Jason emerged from his room and founded the Church of Ultimate Beliefs. Preaching "enlightened preordination," Jason and his followers have built a self-sustaining compound in Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire.
- Wendy: No longer in denial about her "gift," Wendy Christensen changed her name to "Ming". She advices politicians and celebrities and often gives "pro bono" readings to police departments around the country. Last reported seen in Vancouver, British Columbia, her present whereabouts are unknown.
The Change: A setting of 76 degrees apparently gives Ashlyn enough time to leave her booth to answer Ashley's cell phone before the board could trap both girls. However, the board knocks her unconscious, before locking Ashley in her tanning bed. Ashlyn soon regains consciousness and manages to open Ashley's bed, but as she is pulling her out, the glass under Ashley gives way, and she lands on some wires, coursing lethal electricity through both girls.
Frankie Cheeks:
At the drive-thru window, viewers can make Wendy honk the horn again.
The Change: Wendy honks again, infuriating Frankie, who promptly turns around. Wendy spots him and as she and Kevin escape, Kevin pulls him out.
This also causes a few alterations to the remaining film. Upon seeing the picture of Frankie next to the fan, Kevin and Wendy refer to what could have happened to Frankie had they not saved him. Later, when leaving the police station, Kevin walks by a police car that pulls up, and Frankie is dragged out of the car under arrest. Viewers are then asked if saving Frankie was worth it, unlocking hidden footage of police evidence that consists of Frankie’s home movies, including what he filmed at the amusement park.
Lewis:
Before visiting Lewis in the weight room, viewers can give Wendy another chance to look at the pictures.
The Change: Instead of the next scene beginning in the weight room with Wendy and Kevin trying to convince Lewis of his impending doom, it features Wendy and Kevin walking across the track stadium to the weight room talking about how they will convince Lewis of the danger. As soon as they walk into the weight room, Lewis sees them, asks why they are there, and his head is immediately crushed by the weights. This is actually the alternate scene of Lewis’ death, as was originally scripted.
Erin:
Before Ian shoots the birds, viewers are given the option of a kill shot or warning shot. A kill shot returns to the theatrical version of the movie, while a warning shot changes things up.
The Change: Having failed to kill the birds, Ian mutters menacingly that they cannot escape. The film progresses as it does in the theatrical version up until after Ian is rescued from the falling debris. A falling board flips up a stake, which lands on a higher shelf among some pigeons. They fly out into Erin, startling her, and she falls back into the nail gun.
Ian:
After Ian stalks Wendy to the fair and the cherry picker is about to crush him, viewers can make him jump to the left or to the right. Jumping to the left leads to the theatrical version.
The Change: Jumping to the right makes Ian completely crushed by the cherry picker, rather than thrown to the side as it is in the theatrical version. This reveals the original ending in which Wendy crushes the camera.
Kimberly Corman and Officer Burke (From FD2):
The fates of these two characters from Final Destination 2 are revealed when the camera pans a newspaper in the subway station. In “Choose Their Fate” mode, viewers are given the option of reading the full article about what happened to them.
The Article:
According to eyewitnesses, Kimberly stopped at a hardware store to ask for directions but was surprised to see Thomas there who was buying a fire extinguisher. The two hadn't seen each other since young Brian Gibbons was killed. At the same time the brakes failed at an unmanned Camaro parked at the top of the hill, which rolled down and crashed into the front of the store. In their effort to escape they ran out the back door, where a large industrial woodchipper was being serviced for a malfunctioning safety guard. Subsequent details are unclear but apparently Kimberly's coat got tangled in the woodchipper's spinning blades and when Thomas tried to save her they both fell into the machine. The Camaro that rolled into the front of the building used to belong to Evan Lewis, another survivor from the pileup who was killed outside his apartment. The woodchipper belonged to Roger Gibbons, who owned the farm where several other survivors were killed and is also the father of Brian Gibbons who was killed when both Kimberly and Thomas were present. Finally, the attending physician who signed the death certificate was Ellen Kalarjian, who delivered a baby whose mother was near the pileup.
Wendy:
In the final subway scene, Wendy examines a route map. Viewers are asked if she should continue to examine the map.
The Change: After examining the map further, Wendy sees how it says “End of the line,” then gets the strange feeling and sees Kevin and Julie, as she does in the theatrical version. The train crashes, and Wendy finds herself on the tracks about to be run over by another train. Instead of this being a vision, Wendy is hit by the train, and the credits roll.
External links
- [Official site]
- [Trailer]
- [Movie Stills]
- Review for the [movie] and [DVD] at Dread Central
- [Discussion Board]
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