The original Final Destination movie seems to have been inspired by the 1961 Twilight Zone episode "Twenty-Two." Final Destination is a horror film franchise that started in 2000 with the Devon Sawa-led original where protagonist Alex Browning has a premonition that the plane he and his classmates are about to depart on is going to explode. Browning tries to warn his fellow passengers of his premonition, causing chaos that sees him and a few others kicked off the ill-fated Flight 180. As it turns out, Browning's premonition comes true, the plane explodes, and Death starts picking off the survivors one by one in creatively gruesome ways.
SPOILERS for Final Destination and The Twilight Zone follow.
Final Destination's brutal story proved to be a winning formula, with all six films enjoying box office success. The latest entry in the series, Final Destination Bloodlines, is dominating the box office right now and setting franchise records in the process, showing that there is clearly still an appetite for Rube Goldberg-style carnage. As it turns out, the wildly successful Final Destination movies might never have materialized if it wasn't for a 1961 Twilight Zone episode called "Twenty-Two" that features a very similar concept.
Final Destination Bloodlines: 7 Callbacks & Easter Eggs
Final Destination Bloodlines is a continuation of the series, rather than a reboot, and as such, it's loaded with franchise callbacks and Easter Eggs.
It's unclear if Final Destination was actually inspired by the classic Twilight Zone episode or if it's simply a coincidence, but the similarities are striking. "Twenty-Two," itself inspired by E.F. Benson's short story "The Bus-Conductor," follows Liz Powell as she suffers from disturbing nightmares about a morgue, marked Room 22, and a nurse who repeatedly says, "Room for one more, honey." When Powell goes to the airport to board a flight to Miami, she begins noticing all kinds of details from her dreams in the real world. The flight attendant is identical to the nurse from her nightmare and the plane is assigned Flight 22. Powell flees, and as the plane takes off, it explodes, not unlike what happens at the beginning of Final Destination.
Final Destination Shares a Lot in Common with a Classic Twilight Zone Episode
Both Final Destination and the Twilight Zone episode depict a person having a premonition about an exploding plane that comes true. The difference is Final Destination takes the idea a step further. Whereas The Twilight Zone episode ends with Powell having successfully avoided death, Final Destination is primarily about the aftermath of the Flight 180 disaster. It uses the plot of the Twilight Zone episode as its set-up, but then explores the catastrophic consequences of cheating Death's plan.
The Final Destination formula is tried-and-true at this point, but one has to wonder if it would have ever come about if it weren't for The Twilight Zone and "The Bus-Conductor" laying the groundwork. Final Destination lore has continued to expand since the original film, adding many new layers to the original idea, and it will be interesting to see what potential future entries bring to the table.
- Release Date
- May 16, 2025
- Runtime
- 110 minutes
- Director
- Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
- Writers
- Lori Evans Taylor, Guy Busick
- Producers
- Craig Perry, Toby Emmerich, Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, Sheila Hanahan Taylor
- Prequel(s)
- Final Destination, Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3, The Final Destination, Final Destination 5
- Franchise(s)
- Final Destination
Cast
-
Kaitlyn Santa JuanaStefanie Reyes -
Teo BrionesCharlie Reyes
