How the Final Destination Franchise Ruined our Childhoods! – Editorial

Give me a “Hell Yeah!” if you were (and maybe, still are) afraid of escalators and your shoelaces getting stuck in it. Yes! You are not alone, and the culprit is the same for us all. THE FINAL DESTINATION FRANCHISE. Based on the tagline, “You Can’t Cheat Death”, it was a film which we as kids were afraid of watching, but, couldn’t resist watching it either.

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I still remember a younger version of me flipping through the channels and stumbling across on a film named the Final Destination. The title was intriguing, the film was addictive, but, I won’t shy away to accept the fact that it scarred me for the rest of my life. I was terrified of aeroplanes after that but, also determined to watch all the parts to overcome my silly fear. Now, I can proudly say that I am terrified of aeroplanes, cameras, roller coasters, cars, and bridges as well. *Sigh*

The Final Destination franchise promises you pure entertainment for ninety minutes, then leaves you with a pathological fear of almost everything. It was eerily petrifying as you know that the end is near yet you won’t be able to do anything about it. It was tough for me to watch these movies as a child.

Death is inescapable in the Final Destination universe. Throughout the franchise, characters tried to find loopholes and ways around it, but ultimately, none of them worked. Things will seem to be normal until you’re in the car, driving home, and notice that there’s a truck in front of you carrying logs or you’re on a train, and it unexpectedly stops or goes over a bridge.

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Or you’re making dinner and suddenly realize how sharp your knife is, and how close your kitchen towel is to an open flame. Suddenly, nothing is safe, and the universe is a cold, uncaring place, and one day you’re going to die, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Here are some of those horrific scenes which forced you to overthink your fictional death.

1. The Premonition Scene

You would be lying if you never screamed at your loudest whenever you saw a truck full of wood logs moving in front of your car. Well, well, well, good news you are still alive and the log didn’t break in through your car. Several tweets and memes were shared regarding the logging truck and by that, we can easily guess how messed up we all are because of this FD Syndrome. Call it our fear or the anxiety hitting it but we will never be able to overcome it.

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2. The Laser Eye Surgery Scene

Laser for your eyes? Anyone? Not after this petrifying incident. Me, as a kid, I was always excited about having laser surgery for my eyes, but the fifth instalment in the Final Destination series is the sole reason why I am still wearing glasses at the age of 23. The sound effects and visuals sell the torture, but ultimately, Olivia’s loose eye serves up the most disconcerting scene of the movie. Rachel in F.R.I.E.N.D.S. was right. “Nobody touches my eyes!” She probably knew what is coming in the future.

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3. The Roller Coaster Scene

Childhood will probably be the most beautiful gift given to us by God. And back in those days, didn’t we used to love adventurous rides like the roller coasters? And the least the makers of the film could do was not to involve them in death. I was 11 when the film came out, and it’s been 13 years since I rode any roller coasters or anything remotely close to that. The dreadful event of the nuts and bolts coming out, and me losing my grip petrifies me every time. However, I do envy people who enjoy their rides.

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4. The Tanning Bed Scene

Being an Indian we have a natural tan and I never had the luxury to lock myself inside a tanning bed. It is a claustrophobic setup and adding more to the fear a character in the movie bursts into flames in the very same setup. Boiling someone and bubbling in the heat is the harshest and the darkest thing to show on TV. Way ahead of its time.

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5. The Escalator Scene

In shopping malls, the only site we have is kids playing on the escalator. Lucky enough that they haven’t seen this scene from the movie. I check my laces twice before stepping on escalators. Whenever my anxiety hits it, I fear for the lives of the children whose parents aren’t even related to me in any way. Thank you Final Destination! Thank you for ruining my life and Thank you for letting me know that I can supposedly die in every situation. I would never be grateful to you for every fear I have in life.

Lastly, I just want to ask that if our psychological system would still be the same if the Final Destination franchise didn’t exist in this world? Will we still overthink about our fictional deaths?