Final Destination started off as a small-scale horror film, but it’s turned into one of the more resilient and consistent horror franchises over the years.
The history of the original Final Destination actually charts back to an unproduced spec script for The X-Files. However, the concept of a vengeful Death who doesn’t like it when people escape its grand cosmic plan is perfect material for horror. James Wong’s film turned into an unexpected success and spawned a wealth of sequels that continued to improve upon themselves. There’s something strangely addictive about the way in which the world can be one giant Rube Goldberg machine designed to take someone out through coincidence.
None of the Final Destination films deviate too far from the first film’s original premise, although some of the movies get a little more creative with the universe’s rules. Even though the movies get increasingly bigger, there’s still something special about the first Final Destination and how it executes the idea so well. Part of the fun of the movie is not knowing how Death will lash out at these teenagers, but the film is also full of subtle nods and Easter eggs, both in regards to who is next on the chopping block as well as references to beloved horror films of yesteryear.
Final Destination’s Character Names Are Easter Eggs
An easy place for movies to hide in references to other films is within the names of their characters, which is exactly what James Wong and Glen Morgan did with their Final Destination screenplay. Many of the main cast gets their namesakes from influential directors or performers from horror’s classical black-and-white era. Devon Sawa’s Alex Browning is named after director Tod Browning (Freaks), Terry Chaney comes from Lon Chaney, who played the original Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, Tod Waggner plays tribute to director George Waggner (The Wolf Man), and Seann William Scott’s Billy Hitchcock is a clear nod to the prolific Alfred Hitchcock. Even the more ancillary characters in Final Destination subscribe to this rule. Valerie Lewton (Val Lewton), Larry Murnau (F.W. Murnau), Blake Dreyer (Carl Theodor Dreyer), and Agent Shreck (Max Shreck) all also owe their names to old horror legends. To go one step even further with the symbolism behind the characters’ names, Tod Waggner is intentionally spelled with only one “d” since “Tod” translates to “death” in German.
While these figures are not necessarily influences on Final Destination, they’re still figures from horror’s history who have inspired Wong and Morgan. Since some of these names are more obvious than others, figuring out the significance of one can help clue audiences into the others and realize that there are hidden things to watch out for in the film. Paying attention to all of these horror Easter eggs may not help save these perilous teenagers from Death, but they’re still a bonus that reflects the level of love and research towards the horror genre that’s gone into Final Destination’s production.
