Final Destination: Bloodlinesis the latest in a long line of legacy sequels, with the horror genre rife with reboots and remakes. These continuations in well-established franchises often feature callbacks to events that have come before, whether that be characters or, inFinal Destination’s case, the deaths. Easily the most iconic and memorable aspect of theFinal Destinationfranchise is the death sequences and the way they create new fears out of the mundane. Every viewer will havegained a unique fear from the franchise, but the series is most renowned for creating one universal fear — log trucks.
Final Destination 2’s opening premonition features a highway pile-up that is caused by logs falling from their transport trucks. There is a sense of unavoidability as thelogs fall at such a vicious speedand the domino effect is relentless. Even those who are spared a direct death from the logs are left to burn alive.The sequence has become so iconic that anyone who has seen the movie would struggle to drive past a log truck without thinking of it,andFinal Destination: Bloodlinesis aware of how this scene has almost transcended the franchise, with three separate callbacks to it.
‘Final Destination 2’s Premonition is Still the Franchise’s Most Memorable Moment
The opening premonition ofFinal Destination 2works so well because itcaptures the epitome of what the franchise does so well.The scene takes something mundane that anyone realistically could come into contact with and shows how it can be lethal.Those who fall victim to the log truck don’t do anything foolish or obtuse, and this makes their deaths feel so uncontrollable. The vicious speed of the pile-up captures the feeling that fate is unavoidable, and it is extremely difficult to avoid the jaws of death.
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The fear of death can cause decades-long family rifts.
The log truck premonition doesn’t use build-up in the same way as other deaths in the franchise, asthe zoomed-in shots aren’t of potential dangers, such as screws loosening. Instead, there is this ominous dread from the music choices and the focus on a child crashing two toy cars together. Through this,the movie highlights that an event like this doesn’t have warning signs, it happens unexpectedly.Once the logs fall and one drives through Officer Burke’s car, everything happens so quickly. It creates this feeling of entrapment and evidences to the audience that this situation is not only lethal but inescapable.
The Log Truck is Referenced Three Times in ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’
The premonition hasalmost become bigger than the franchise itselfand is easily the most iconic piece of imagery from the series. Even individuals who haven’t seen the movies can recognize the log truck’s significance and have that innate fear.Final Destination: Bloodlinesis aware of this importance and references the scene on three separate occasions. The first reference comes in Iris’ notebook, which acts as a survival guide for the movie’s protagonists. Since her premonition in 1968,Iris has been tracking potential ways death could get her, so it is assumed the log truck she has drawn is a direct reference to the opening ofFinal Destination 2.It is likely Iris heard about the crash, and the consequent deaths of the survivors, and knew it was related to her own experience with death.
The other references to the log truck show it is still a trusted weapon for death. The first sees a truck similar to the one seen inFinal Destination 2driving in front of the protagonists. The movieuses these callbacks to famous momentsin the franchise as a signal for death, placing the audience on high alert.
Logs Claim More Victims in ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’
However, the best use of the log truck comes in the final moments of the movie, when an overhead shot shows a train carrying logs as cargo. Here, the movie has established that the protagonists are safe as theyused the pre-established rules to cheat death. Then, there is a reveal that their safety is compromised, which is partnered with shots of the train cart uncoupling and the damaged rails. It becomes obvious that history is about to be repeated, but gives the audience just enough time to realize before showing the disaster unfold.
The way the train suddenly pulls to a halt andthe logs spill out and travel towards the main characters manages to breathe life into an iconic killwithout feeling like a gimmick or an attempt to recreate what is already successful. It showsFinal Destination: Bloodlineshas agrasp on what makes the franchise so iconicbut allows it to feel new and consequently meaningful. Yet, it still evidences that nothing will ever topFinal Destination 2’s premonition.
Final Destination 2
