Final Destination (film)

Final Destination is a 2000 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wong, with a screenplay written by Wong, Glen Morgan, and Jeffrey Reddick, based on a story by Reddick. It is the first installment in the Final Destination film series and stars Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, and Tony Todd. Sawa portrays a teenager who cheats death after having a premonition of a catastrophic plane explosion. He and several of his classmates leave the plane before the explosion occurs, but Death later takes the lives of those who were meant to die on the plane.

The film began as a spec script written by Reddick for an episode of The X-Files in order for Reddick to get a TV agent. A colleague at New Line Cinema persuaded Reddick to write it as a feature-length film. Later, Wong and Morgan, The X-Files writing partners, became interested in the script and agreed to rewrite and direct the film, marking Wong's film directing debut. Filming took place in New York City and Vancouver, with additional scenes filmed in Toronto and San Francisco. It was released on March 17, 2000, and became a financial success, making $10 million on its opening weekend.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. While it was praised for "generating a respectable amount of suspense", being "playful and energized enough to keep an audience guessing", being "an unexpectedly alert teen-scream disaster chiller", and for Sawa's performance, it was criticized as "dramatically flat" and "aimed at the teen dating crowd". It received the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film and Best Performance by a Younger Actor for Sawa's performance. The film's success spawned a media franchise, encompassing four additional installments, as well as a series of novels and comic books. The first sequel, Final Destination 2, was released on January 31, 2003.