Final Destination 2
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''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American
supernatural horror film Supernatural horror film is a film genre that combines aspects of horror film and supernatural film. Supernatural occurrences in such films often include ghosts and demons, and many supernatural horror films have elements of religion. Common theme ...
directed by David R. Ellis. The screenplay was written by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and series creator Jeffrey Reddick. It is the sequel to the 2000 film '' Final Destination'' and the second installment of the ''Final Destination'' film series. The film stars
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made her ...
,
A. J. Cook Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2020, 2022). Cook has also appeared in ''The Virgin ...
, and Michael Landes. After the financial success of ''Final Destination'',
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
contacted Reddick regarding plans for a sequel. Since the original film's crew was unavailable, New Line replaced most of the production team. Filming took place in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
and Okanagan Lake. ''Final Destination 2'' was released on January 31, 2003, and on DVD on July 22, 2003, which includes commentaries, deleted scenes, documentaries, and videos. The film received negative reviews from critics. Negative reviews assessed the film as a "silly and illogical" work that "begins with the same flawed premise" of its predecessor, while positive reviews called the film "a real jolter for horror fans" that "recognizes the close relationship between fright and laughter" and "surprisingly good fun for the current crop of horror films". The film grossed $46million domestically and $43million overseas, earning $90million internationally, making it the lowest-grossing film in the ''Final Destination'' franchise. It was also nominated for four awards, including the
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
for Best Horror Film. A third film, '' Final Destination 3'', was released in February 2006.


Plot

One year after the explosion of Flight 180, college student Kimberly Corman departs with her friends to Daytona for spring break, while en route, Kimberly grows uncomfortable when they enter a highway with several other vehicles; these include lottery winner Evan Lewis, Nora Carpenter and her teenaged son Tim, teacher Eugene Dix, slacker Rory Peters, pregnant Isabella Hudson, business woman Kat Jennings and Officer Thomas Burke. After a log truck loses its load onto the highway, a chain of events lead to the deaths of everyone including Kimberly, who wakes up still on the onramp to the highway, she panics and blocks the onramp, preventing everyone from getting onto the highway. As Burke asks Kimberly what's happening, the accident occurs, sparing everyone except Kimberly's friends who are killed as Burke tackles Kimberly out of the way of an oncoming truck. The group is mostly aware of Flight 180 but none believe the stories of death hunting them down. That afternoon, Evan returns to his apartment, but a fire breaks out and in his escape, his eye is impaled by a fire escape ladder. The following day, Kimberly visits Clear who seems startled that Evan died last in her vision instead of first. Clear refuses to help, so Kim turns to Burke who go to find Nora and Tim who had gone to a dentist's appointment. After a scare in the office, Tim recklessly startles some pigeons as they are calling out, the pigeons cause a crane operator to drop a sheet of plate glass on top of him, crushing him. Clear offers to help and the two of them visit Bloodworth the mortician who hints that new life can invalidate Death's list, forcing it to start anew, hinting at Isabella's unborn baby. The group meets up at Burke's apartment to explain everything. Nora, accepting her time may come leaves with Eugene who refuses to believe and they board an elevator. Rory sees a sign of a man with hooks, and Burke calls to warn Nora who becomes entangled in the basket of prosthetic limbs another man in the elevator is carrying. She gets caught in the elevator door and is lifted up until she is decapitated. Eugene tries to take control of the situation and tries to use Burke's gun to kill himself, but all six bullets misfire. They get word that Isabella; who had been in custody, is going into labor and they go to meet at the hospital. On the way, the group realizes they've all cheated death before; having been prevented by the delayed deaths of the original survivors of flight 180, connecting them all as Death is trying to clean the slate. They nearly crash into Isabella's van and Kat's truck is thrown into a farmer's field, pinning her in the driver's seat and injuring Eugene. As Eugene is rushed to the hospital, Rory saves the life of Brian; a resident who is nearly hit by a news van. Kat is killed when the operator of the
jaws of life Hydraulic rescue tools, also known as jaws of life, are used by emergency rescue personnel to assist in the extrication of victims involved in vehicle accidents, as well as other rescues in small spaces. These tools include cutters, spreaders, ...
accidentally sets off her airbag, sending her head into PVC piping sticking through her headrest. Her hand drops her cigarette that ignites the gasoline leaking from the nearby news van, which explodes and trisects Rory with barbed wire thrown by the explosion. At the hospital, Isabella has her baby, but Kimberly realizes that visions she's been having of someone drowning was actually herself and that Isabella was never meant to die in the pileup. She is unable to warn Clear who runs to the room Eugene is in, which causes a massive explosion, killing them both and Kimberly saves Burke from the debris. She then takes an ambulance, hoping that being revived after she died would be considered new life. This works and she and Burke survive. Sometime later, Brian and his parents have Burke and Kimberly over to their house for a barbecue, and Brian's father tells them about the news van that nearly killed Brian but Rory had saved his life. As they realize what this means, the barbecue explodes, killing Brian. Much to his mother's horror.


Cast


Production


Development

The first film, '' Final Destination'', was conceived by writers Jeffrey Reddick, James Wong, and Glen Morgan from ''Flight 180'', a spec script intended for use in ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''. The film premiered across the United States and Canada on March 17, 2000, grossing $10,015,822 on its opening weekend and an overall gross of $112,880,294 internationally. The film's success inspired
New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...
then-President of Production
Toby Emmerich Toby Emmerich (born February 8, 1963), is an American producer, film executive, and screenwriter. He has been with Warner Bros. for much of his career, and formerly served as the chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group. Biography Emmerich ...
to approach Reddick for a sequel, to which he responded positively. Reddick asserted that he "wanted to expand on the mythology and not just tell the same story over again." Unfortunately, Wong and Morgan weren't available for production since they had already signed on their respective projects '' The One'' and '' Willard''. Instead, New Line hired second unit director and stunt coordinator David R. Ellis as director and writing partners Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber as co-writers. "Second unit is like an extension of directing, you're doing big action sequences on film and it was just something I was going after. Once I got the offer from New Line and we got a good script, it was kind of a natural transition," Ellis professed. "I wanted our film to be able to stand alone but I watched ''Final Destination'' to see what they did that was so successful. I tried to use some of that while trying to keep a stand-alone feel for our movie. I kind of took what worked and tried to improve on it," Ellis added. "We wanted to take what the first film did effectively, and add levels and layers that would come out through the characters. When we first started writing this, we were trying to think, 'How can we make Death just a total badass?' and to be perfectly honest, the first crack we ever took at this script had to be reined in!" Bress uncovered. On the other hand, producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide from Zide/Perry Productions also returned and helped on financing the film, with Perry stating, "We could have made no other movies and the first one still would have been a satisfying experience. But when we were given the opportunity to make a sequel, we jumped at it."


Casting

One of the prior film's main characters, Alex Browning (
Devon Sawa Devon Edward Sawa (born September 7, 1978) is a Canadian actor. Sawa began acting when he was a teenager and appeared in several films in the 1990s including '' Little Giants'', ''Casper'', '' Now and Then'', '' Wild America'', ''Idle Hands'', a ...
), was killed off-screen in the film. Rumors indicated that Sawa had a contract dispute with New Line concerning the deduction of his salary; however, Perry resolved the issue with the statement that "it had everything to do with narrative, and nothing to do with money or Devon's unwillingness to come back." Despite this, New Line reinstated
Ali Larter Alison Elizabeth Larter (born February 28, 1976) is an American actress and model. She portrayed fictional model Allegra Coleman in a 1996 ''Esquire'' magazine hoax and took on guest roles on several television shows in the 1990s. She made her ...
to reprise her character as Clear Rivers. "When New Line asked me to come back, I thought it was great. They showed me the script and let me have some input, and it was really terrific," Larter revealed. Larter indicated that Clear " asgotten to a hardened place and tucked herself inside because she has felt so much pain in her life. By having herself committed to a mental hospital, she has created a safehouse so that Death can't get her."
Tony Todd Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954) is an American actor who made his debut as Sgt. Warren in the film ''Platoon'' (1986), and portrayed Kurn in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990–1991) and ''Star Trek: Deep Space Ni ...
also resumed his character as mortician William Bludworth. "It's the same character that we saw before that the audience loved," Ellis expressed. The role of Kimberly Corman was given to Canadian actress
A. J. Cook Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama ''Criminal Minds'' (2005–2020, 2022). Cook has also appeared in ''The Virgin ...
, who previously starred in the 1999 film ''
The Virgin Suicides ''The Virgin Suicides'' is a 1993 debut novel by the American author Jeffrey Eugenides. The fictional story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sisters, the Lisbon girls. The novel is w ...
''. Cook described her role as "a very strong girl, very determined because her mother died a year earlier, right in front of her eyes, so she had to grow up quick." Ellis described her role as "a girl who can have some fun cause they're going on a trip and they're gonna have a good time, yet someone who can stand up to Clear, to come and challenge Clear on a race, and to bother with Clear." Cook added that "it's rare to find one strong female lead in a horror film, not to mention two
arter Arter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Harry Arter * Jared Maurice Arter * Kingsley Arter Taft * Philip and Uriah Arter, after whom Philip and Uriah Arter Farm is named * Robert Arter * Solomon Arter, after whom Solomon ...
" Ellis and Perry were amazed by her sensitivity and vulnerability in her performance, and she was hired instantly. " ewere at the beginning of what's going to be a long successful career for her," Perry cited. Michael Landes, who appeared in the TV series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', was cast as Thomas Burke. Landes defined him as "a real nice, decent guy who comes across this huge car accident ndwho is very intrigued to begin with" and as "the guy who bumps into the girl and he goes nuts as her protector." Ellis pointed out that he "just wanted to find someone who's young and who can relate to these kids. It wasn't an older guy, but still strong enough and yet sensitive.
andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
brought this really good balance to his part." Landes was cast a day after his audition, which caused flight schedule problems on his departure two days after and cancellation of his appointments. Former ''
Living Single ''Living Single'' is an American television sitcom created by Yvette Lee Bowser that aired for five seasons on the Fox network from August 22, 1993, to January 1, 1998. The show centered on the lives of six friends who shared personal and profes ...
'' star Terrence C. Carson was hired as Eugene Dix. Carson identified his role as "a very by-the-book type of person but soon has a change of heart as the corpses begin to pile up." The crew was enticed of Carson's casting, with Bress mentioning how his "originally envisioned Woody Allen-type of character has got ten more times life than it ever had. It's got ten times the personality, this charisma that T.C. brings to it...he's just such a great presence." Similarly, Perry was astonished by how Carson "can take the most absurd lines and deliver them in such grammatized form with his eyes and his deep rich speaking voice."
Jonathan Cherry Jonathan Cherry (born February 3, 1977) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Rory Peters in the supernatural horror film ''Final Destination 2'' (2003). His other notable film roles include '' House of the Dead'' (2003) and '' ...
, who recently emerged in the 2003 film '' House of the Dead'', was appointed as Rory Peters. Cherry characterized Rory as "a very opposite of me whose arc goes from, 'I don't really care at all', to 'Oh my God, this is really happening!'" In the script, Bress said that Rory was his favorite character to write since "he's great comic relief, he's got a drug problem, he's funny, and he's all that." Bress bragged that "Cherry is awesome, awesome casting cause he's just so funny and the way he delivers his lines. It's like 'Oh yeah. That's good! That's better!'" "What I think was surprising on him was that from all of the humor he's involved and his sort of itchiness that he has with Kat, there is some moments where he reveals how vulnerable he really is and so the shield comes down and right in there you're really becoming sympathetic to Rory. You like him at first cause he's the funny guy, but then you care about him because you realize that there's a place that humor comes from that we all share," Perry appended. '' Blackwoods'' actress
Keegan Connor Tracy Keegan Connor Tracy (born December 3, 1971) is a Canadian actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Audrey Malone in the Showtime comedy-drama series '' Beggars and Choosers'' (1999–2000), the Blue Fairy in the ABC fantasy drama ...
played Kat Jennings. Tracy claimed that " atdoesn't really buy it at first, but pretty soon even her cynical attitude can't ignore the truth of the situation they're all in." Perry defined the role as "someone who is really so self-absorbed that without being overly malicious is incredibly rude and insensitive to the feelings of all those around her." Her casting was assessed by Perry as "full of energy" and "embodies the self-aware nervous energy of Kat.
racy Racy may refer to: * Racy, West Virginia * An unincorporated community in Chapin Township, Michigan * ''Racy'' (album) * Mridula Ahmed Racy Mridula Ahmed Racy, who is known by her stage name Racy, is a Bangladeshi actress, business person ...
created a character that you kind of dislike intensely but you don't dislike so much that you don't understand why she is the way she is." Rounding up the cast are
Lynda Boyd Lynda Boyd (born January 28, 1965) is a Canadian actress, singer, dancer, musician, and writer. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the films '' Final Destination 2'' (2003), '' An Unfinished Life'' (2005), ''She's the Man'' (2006), and ' ...
(Rachel Todd in ''You, Me and the Kids'') as widow Nora Carpenter and James Kirk (Kyle Morgan in '' Once Upon a Christmas'') as her son Tim Carpenter, David Paetkau (Hunter Kerrigan in ''
Just Deal ''Just Deal'' is a comedy-drama series that aired Saturday mornings on NBC as a part of the network's TNBC lineup. The series premiered on September 23, 2000 and ended on September 7, 2002. Premise The show revolves around Dylan Roberts, an ordi ...
'') as gambler Evan Lewis, Justina Machado (Vanessa Diaz in '' Six Feet Under'') as pregnant Isabella Hudson, and
Noel Fisher Noel Roeim Fisher (born March 13, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of Mickey Milkovich on the Showtime series '' Shameless'', as well as his portrayal of Cael Malloy on the FX series '' The Riches''. He played Ellison " ...
(Todd Tolanski of '' X-Men: Evolution'') as farmer Brian Gibbons. Novice actors
Sarah Carter Sarah Sanguin Carter (born October 30, 1980) is a Canadian-American actress. She is known for her recurring role as Alicia Baker in the superhero series ''Smallville'' (2004–2005), Madeleine Poe in ''Shark'' (2006–2008), and main role as ...
, Alejandro Rae, and
Shaun Sipos Shaun Sipos (born October 30, 1981) is a Canadian actor, known for playing Jack on the ABC series ''Complete Savages'', Eric Daniels on ''Life Unexpected,'' David Breck on The CW series ''Melrose Place'', Aaron Whitmore on The CW's ''The Vampi ...
were hired as Kimberly's friends Shaina McKlank, Dano Estevez, and Frankie Whitman correspondingly.
Andrew Airlie Andrew Airlie (born September 18, 1961) is a Scottish-born Canadian actor. Early life Airlie was born in Glasgow, Scotland on September 18, 1961. Career He has starred in television series including ''Breaker High'' and his TV credits include g ...
portrayed Kimberly's father Michael Corman, while Enid-Raye Adams appeared as Dr. Ellen Kalarjian.


Filming

Like the first film, the film was shot in and around
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest by ...
. "We know the area, we know the people up there and let's be honest, there's an enormous economic incentive to shoot there. We were very fortunate to get nit production managerJustis Greene, who's been working as a line producer up there for 30 years and who was able to get us the best crew working in town right now. It was advantageous to us on so many levels, that it was just the right place to go for this movie," Perry stated as the reason for the film's production in
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...
.
British Columbia Highway 19 Highway 19 is the main north-south thoroughfare on Vancouver Island from Nanaimo to Port Hardy. A highway has existed on the Island since about 1912. Originally gravel and rough, the highway was an essential link together with the Esquimalt & Na ...
was utilized as Route 23. The Plaza of Nations was used as a stand-in for Ellis Medical Complex, the site of Tim's death. The farm and lake scenes were filmed in Campbell River and Okanagan Lake respectively, though it is depicted in
Greenwood Lake, New York Greenwood Lake is a village in Orange County, New York, United States, in the southern part of the town of Warwick. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 3,154. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– M ...
. "We shot part of it at the lake where it was 37° cold, which is beyond an ice cream headache. And the second stuff we shot in a big huge tank where we filmed all the underwater sequence, that was in a 93° pool," Landes clarified. Cook and Landes performed their own stunts in both sequences. "My biggest fear is being trapped in a car underwater. So it was kind of cool to face my fear and all that," Cook divulged. "We took a couple of lessons with a scuba guide to be comfortable being underwater and breathing off the regulator," Landes enunciated. To avoid confusion with Larter and Carter, Cook was required to dye her hair brown for the role. "I like being a chameleon. It opens you up for so much more in this work. You don't get typecast," Cook professed. Landes also denied plots regarding Thomas and Kimberly's relationship. "It's kind of a protected relationship, more like a brother/sister thing than a love interest. They didn't want to go there, I guess. They did go that way in an earlier draft of the script but they didn't want it to seem like the cop is like lascivious or something. So what they have now, hopefully, is a little bit of chemistry and you get the idea that through tragedy something good will come. So it ends in an optimistic way, that maybe they can be together but there's no real love story," Landes articulated.


Effects

Digital Dimension took charge of the
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
of the film. CG supervisor Jason Crosby pointed out that their studio was mainly selected for the highway sequence after the crew realized real logs only bounced about an inch off the road when dropped from a logging truck. "They were concerned about how they would make the shot happen, not knowing if CG would work. The timing was great because we had just finished a test shot of our CG logs bouncing on the freeway. We sent a tape to Vancouver and after seeing it the crew was convinced that any of the log shots could be done with CG," Crosby indicated. "It began with R&D on the log dynamics. Scripts were written to help manage the dynamic simulations with real world numbers for gravity, density, etc. The results were remarkably similar to the original logs shot in Vancouver, a testament to the accuracy of the software and the data we had collected, however the logs still lacked the 'jumping through
windshields The windshield ( North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mo ...
killer instinct' we were looking for. By tweaking the parameters, we coaxed the logs into a much livelier role." Senior
technical director A technical director (TD) is usually a senior technical person within e.g. a software company, engineering firm, film studio, theatre company or television studio. This person usually has the highest level of skill within a specific technical f ...
James Coulter added creative 3D tracking on shots with fast pans, motion blur, and filters such as dust, mist, slabs of bark, broken chains, and other debris.
Digital artist Digital art refers to any artistic work or practice that uses digital technology as part of the creative or presentation process, or more specifically computational art that uses and engages with digital media. Since the 1960s, various names ...
Edmund Kozin manipulated high resolution photos which were carefully stitched together to achieve realistic texture amongst the 22 CG logs of the film. Hair shaders were also used for splintering and frayed wood looks for the logs.
Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...
such as speed and height of the logging truck, length and width of the logs, type of wood and density of a
Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
were also considered. In spite of this, there are no CG cars incorporated in the actual film. "It was a possibility in the beginning so we did some dynamics tests using the logs as rigid bodies to hit cars with soft body deformers on them, but when they were done shooting they didn't end up needing any CG cars," Crosby avowed. Lifecasts of the actors were also used for all of the death scenes, including the highway setting. Landes experienced
claustrophobia Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms wit ...
during the procedure. Fake blood was also used, but CG blood was also shown.


Music


Soundtrack

Like its predecessor, no official album accompanied the motion picture; however, there are ten songs featured in the film itself and two music videos embedded in its subsequent home release. Two singles of The Sounds, ''Dance with Me'' and ''Rock 'n Roll'', were promoted on Kimberly's
car stereo Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), ...
. Besides these, the music video of ''Seven Days a Week'' accompanied the film's DVD. ''Middle of Nowhere'' by The Blank Theory was both heard on Evan's car radio and inserted in the DVD along with its music video. ''
Rocky Mountain High "Rocky Mountain High" is a folk rock song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado. Recorded by Denver in 1972 it is the title track of the 1972 album '' Rocky Mountain High'' and rose to No. ...
'' by
John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
was covered twice in the end credits by Pete Snell and Jude Christodal. Christodal also performed ''My Name is Death'' during Brian's death and the end credits. Other songs integrated were ''
Highway to Hell ''Highway to Hell'' is the sixth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 27 July 1979. It was the last album featuring lead singer Bon Scott, who would die early the following year on 19 February 1980. Background By 1978 ...
'' by
AC/DC AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
(on Kimberly's car AV), ''Jon F. Hennessy'' by FT (on Rory's vehicle audio), ''Vitamin'' by
Incubus An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
(during Evan's house fire) and ''I Got You'' by (hed) Planet Earth (during Rory's party).


Score

''Final Destination 2: Original Motion Picture Score'' was the promotional film score conducted by
Daytime Emmy The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...
-winning composer
Shirley Walker Shirley Anne Walker (née Rogers; April 10, 1945 – November 30, 2006) was an American film and television composer and conductor. She was one of the few female film score composers working in Hollywood. Walker was one of the first female c ...
. Though it was not officially released, it was made available alongside '' Willard: The Original Motion Picture Score'' on September 30, 2003. The score received positive reviews among commentators. Robert Koehler of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' applauded that "Shirley Walker's score displays a thorough understanding of horror jolts." Pete Roberts of ''DVDActive'' admired the score as "top notch." Anthony Horan of ''DVD.net Australia'' told readers to "crank up the volume and prepare for a sonic feast". Nonetheless, Chris Carle of '' IGN Movies'' noted that "while the score is nothing you'll remember, it gets the job done."


Release


Box office

The film premiered in 2,834 theaters across the United States and Canada on January 31, 2003, earning $16,017,141 in its opening weekend with an average of $5,651 per theater. ''Final Destination 2'' placed at #2 in the United States
box office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fre ...
in its opening weekend, only $200,000 short behind the
thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
film ''
The Recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * ''Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (En ...
'', which debuted on the same day, starred
Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...
and
Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A leading man in projects across various genres in both blockbuster and independent films since the 2000s, he has received numerous accolades including a Golden Globe Award. ''The ...
, and cleared $16,302,063 domestically. The film dropped to #5 in the next weekend and descended to #7 in its third weekend during Washington's Birthday. The film dropped out of the top-ten list in its fourth weekend until its last screening in 42 theaters in its sixteenth weekend, grossing $27,585 and placing in #65. ''Final Destination 2'' grossed $46,961,214 in the United States and Canada on its total screening and produced $43,465,191 in other territories, having an overall gross of $90,426,405 internationally, making it the lowest-grossing film in the franchise. In comparison with its precursor, ''Final Destination'' ranked #3 on its opening weekend with net worth of $10,015,822, which is $6million less than the first weekend of ''Final Destination 2'' at #2. The previous film received $53,302,314 domestically throughout its 22-week run, $6.4million more than its sequel's gross all through its 16-week presentation. ''Final Destination'' amassed $59,549,147 in other countries and $112,802,314 overall, getting $16million and $22million more than ''Final Destination 2'' in that order.


Home media

The film was released on DVD on July 22, 2003, as part of New Line's Infinifilm series. The DVD includes bonus features including an audio commentary, six deleted scenes, three documentaries, two music videos, three trailers, interactive menus and subtitles. The audio commentary presents Ellis, Perry, Bress, and Gruber providing information about the making of the film and their intentions overall. Deleted scenes are a cross-examination with Isabella's husband Marcus Hudson (
Roger Cross Roger Cross (born October 19, 1969) is a Jamaican-born Canadian actor who has made numerous appearances in several films and television series, mostly on productions shot in Canada. He is known for his work as CTU Agent Curtis Manning in the ...
), a conversation between Eugene and Nora, a car chase concerning Kimberly's reckless driving, and Eugene's meeting with Death at the hospital, and extended versions of Kimberly's interrogation at the police station and the encounter with Bludworth. The first documentary labelled ''Bits & Pieces: Bringing Life To Death'' runs for 30 minutes and recalls the history of
splatter film A splatter film is a subgenre of horror films that deliberately focuses on graphic portrayals of wikt:gore, gore and graphic violence. These films, usually through the use of special effects, display a fascination with the vulnerability of the h ...
, on top of accounts in relation to the
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
of the film. The second documentary entitled ''Cheating Death: Beyond and Back'' progresses for 18 minutes and brings out people recounting their own real-life experiences with death. ''The Terror Gauge'', the third documentary, is a test screening system of the film in which viewers are subjected to
biofeedback Biofeedback is the process of gaining greater awareness of many physiological functions of one's own body by using electronic or other instruments, and with a goal of being able to manipulate the body's systems at will. Humans conduct biofeed ...
and neurological examination under neurophysiologist Dr. Victoria Ibric. Other featurettes of the DVD include the interactive game ''Choose Your Fate'', the music videos of ''Middle of Nowhere'' by The Blank Theory and ''Seven Days a Week'' by The Sounds, the theatrical trailers of this film and its antecedent, in addition to informative trivia provided throughout the featurettes. A
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
edition was released on August 30, 2011.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "This sequel is little more than an excuse to stage elaborate, gory scenes of characters getting killed off." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, it has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". In 2010, Nick Hyman of ''Metacritic'' included ''Final Destination 2'' in the website's editorial ''15 Movies the Critics Got Wrong'', denoting that "the elaborate suspense/action set pieces from the first two films are more impressive than most". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Negative evaluations condemned the film's plot, acting, and screenplay.
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...
'' wrote that "perhaps movies are like history, and repeat themselves, first as tragedy, then as farce". James Berardinelli of ''ReelViews'' stressed that "the movie mandates complete gullibility and vacuous attention in order to work on any level". Claudia Puig of ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' complained that "there is an audience for a movie in which innocent people suffer hideous accidental deaths is troubling enough, but a group of creative people chose to direct their energies on this repulsive spectacle
hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
simply provokes disgust". Justine Elias of ''
The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' asserted that "this risible thriller is merely a sadistic series of misread premonitions and vile murders". David Grove of ''
Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
'' stated that " ewasn't much scared by anything in ''Final Destination 2'' which is silly and illogical". Jeff Vice of ''
Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...
'' censured to "not even get into the awful script or the numbingly awful performances", while Bruce Fretts of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' stated "everything else about the film is also deadly". Some critics praised the film's comedic theme.
A. O. Scott Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic. He has been chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' since 2004, a title he shares with Manohla Dargis. Early life Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in ...
of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' imparted "it's not as cheekily knowing as the '' Scream movies'' or as trashily
Grand Guignol ''Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol'' (: "The Theatre of the Great Puppet")—known as the Grand Guignol–was a theatre in the Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it specialised in natura ...
as the '' Evil Dead franchise'', but like those pictures it recognizes the close relationship between fright and laughter, and dispenses both with a free, unpretentious hand". C. W. Nevius of ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...
'' conveyed its "funnier than the original".
Maitland McDonagh Maitland McDonagh () is an American film critic and the author of several books about cinema. She is the author of ''Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'' (1991) and works of erotic fiction and erotic cinema, as well a ...
of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...
'' pronounced "if this is your idea of fun, step right up". William Arnold of ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was fo ...
'' found it as "a series of Grand Guignol skits played for mean-spirited laughs". Marc Savlov of ''
Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'' admired how "it is surprisingly good fun for the current crop of horror films, reasonably well-plotted and full of jaw-dropping, white-knuckle scares. That said, it's most definitely not for the squeamish nor the easily offended." Nev Pierce of '' BBC'' saw that "it's simple, but effective", whereas Sheila Norman-Culp of ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' proclaimed that "what ''Final Destination'' did for the fear of flying, ''Final Destination 2'' does for the fear of driving". Amongst the cast ensemble, Carson, Cherry, Cook, Landes, Larter, and Todd were prominent amidst the analysis for their performances as Eugene, Rory, Kimberly, Thomas, Clear, and Bludworth respectively. Koehler of ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said that "Carson as skeptical Eugene energizes what had been a rote conception on the page"; "Cherry offered some dry comic balance"; Larter was "casted little light"; Todd was squandered by his "single, distinctly flat scene"; and "the generally awful thesping, led by Cook, whose blurry grasp of emotions betrays Ellis' apparent disinterest in his actors". Grove of ''
Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
'' panned Cook, uttering that "she's no great actress, but she's a real looker" and teased that "since when did a horror movie suffer from having two dumb blondes as leads", the other actress being Larter, who "spends the whole movie looking miserable with her frigid acting". Dustin Putman of ''TheMovieBoy.com'' commented how "Cook is serviceable as the premonition-fueled Kimberly, but doesn't evoke enough emotion in the scenes following the brutal deaths of her close friends." Robin Clifford of ''Reeling Reviews'' stated that "Cook was strident as the catalyst that sparks events with her premonitions of disaster and her fervent desire to cheat the Reaper" whereas Larter was "giving the smart-ass edge her character needs", while Brett Gallman of ''Oh, The Horror!'' claimed that Larter "is again the bright spot", along with Cook and Landes who were "serviceable as leads" and Todd "whose purpose has still yet to be revealed in the franchise". In January 2022, Stephen Rosenberg of
MovieWeb MovieWeb is an entertainment news website and video brand. Overview MovieWeb reports on entertainment news through their long-running website and related social media and video platforms. The site also maintains a searchable database of films. H ...
ranked the franchise's films from worst to best. Rosenberg highlighted ''Final Destination 2'' as the best installment of the franchise, citing the opening sequence as, "memorable in the entire horror genre, let alone the franchise" and praised Todd's performance.


Accolades

Like its predecessor, the film was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film in 2004, as well as Choice Movie - Horror/Thriller in the 2003
Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United ...
; likewise, the awards lost to ''
28 Days Later ''28 Days Later'' is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland. It stars Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier who awakens from a coma to discover the accidental release of a highly contagiou ...
'' and '' The Ring'', respectively. In the 4th
Golden Trailer Awards The Golden Trailer Awards are an American annual award show for film trailers founded in 1999. The awards also honor the best work in all areas of film and video game marketing, including posters, television advertisements and other media, in ...
, it was voted for the Golden Fleece, but lost to the surfer film ''
Blue Crush ''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 sports film directed by John Stockwell and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 ''Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem. The film tells the story of ...
''. Furthermore, the ''Collision on Highway 23'' was nominated for Best Action Sequence at the
MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...
in 2003, but lost it to the ''Battle for
Helm's Deep The Battle of Helm's Deep, also called the Battle of the Hornburg, is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'' that saw the total destruction of the forces of the Wizard Saruman by the army of Rohan, assisted by a fores ...
'' of the fantasy film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'', another New Line film. The highway scene was regarded by Grove of ''
Film Threat ''Film Threat'' is an online film review publication, and earlier, a national magazine that focused primarily on independent film, although it also reviewed videos and DVDs of mainstream films, as well as Hollywood movies in theaters. It first ...
'' as "a monument to smashed cars, flying objects and scorched metal" and Garth Franklin of ''
Dark Horizons ''Dark Horizons'' is an Australian website focused on film, television and videogames. The site was launched on 10 January 1997 and was nominated for a Webby Award for film in 1999. ''Dark Horizons'' is owned and written by Garth Franklin of ...
'' as "utterly spectacular." Anne Billson of ''
Guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...
'' exclaimed it as "one of the most terrifying sequences I've ever seen, all the more effective for being grounded in reality; few drivers haven't felt that anxious twinge as the badly secured load on the lorry in front of them starts to wobble." The Route 23 pile-up scene was number 1 in the lists of best car crashes or disaster scenes by ''Screen Junkies'', ''Made Man'', ''Unreality Magazine'', ''All Left Turns'', ''Chillopedia'', ''Filmstalker'', ''
io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
'', ''
UGO Entertainment UGO Entertainment, Inc. was a website that provided coverage of online media in entertainment, targeting males aged 18–34. The company was based in New York, New York, United States. History The company started in 1997 as Unified Gamers Online ...
'', '' Filmcritic.com'', and ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...
''. ''
Filmsite Filmsite is a film-review website established in 1996 by senior editor and film critic-historian Tim Dirks, and continues to be managed and edited by him for over two decades. Overview The site contains over 300 detailed reviews of English langu ...
'' enlisted all fatalities in its ''Best Film Deaths Scenes''. The demise of Kirk's character entered these listings of the most shocking deaths on film: George Wales of ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched ...
'' (#28), James Eldred of ''Bullz-Eye.com'' (#20), and Jeff Otto of ''
Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news site/website specializing in information services that covered various horror medias, including: film, television, video games, comics, and music. T ...
'' (#9).


References


External links

* * * * * {{David R. Ellis 2003 films 2003 horror films 2000s supernatural horror films 2000s teen horror films American sequel films American teen horror films American supernatural horror films Films directed by David R. Ellis Films about road accidents and incidents Films set in 2001 Films set in New York (state) Films shot in Vancouver Films scored by Shirley Walker Final Destination films New Line Cinema films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films