Final Destination

Final Destination

- Characters

Devon Sawa as Alex Browning

Ali Larter as Clear Rivers

Kerr Smith as Carter Horton

Kristen Cloke as Ms. Valerie Lewton

- Setting

The film is set in their home town, and as such the setting varies considerably from place to place. However, setting is only important in terms of the way they die. For instance, the first person to die dies in a shower, and as such the shower is only really important because it adds verisimilitude to the death. However, what the setting does do is let the audience feel closer to the characters, as the feel of a large town helps to create realism and this, in turn, helps to instil fear in the viewer.

- Sound

Through the film, both non-diegetic and diegetic sound are used to quite good effect. In death scenes, diegetic sound is of upmost importance, as it helps to create verisimilitude with the audience. As well as this, non-diegetic sound is kept to a low when someone is dying, or there is something important happening, because the lack of anything but the diegetic sound helps to create an even greater sense of verisimilitude, which helps the audience member become more scared at the thought that this could actually happen.

- Camera shots/movement

Many different camera shots where used. One of the more often used one is a mid/close shot, used more when the person is dying/dead. This is because it allows the person watching to feel closer to the death, and as such they feel more strongly about what is happening, and it installs more fear in them. In terms of movement, there is a lot of handheld camera usage, so that we feel closer to the characters, and as well we see tracking shots for when things are moving quickly, like in cars.

-Edits

Throughout the film, the most common edit I found, like in many other forms of horror film, was the straight cut. It creates pace, and it also helps to add realism too it, which is key for this film, as it plays of the minds of the audience, making them believe that these things could actually happen, and that death is only inches at any point.