I’m contemplating what sort of gut-busting terror United Airlines will be serving me mid-flight, while in a climbing left turn parts of the plane, including the vertical stabilizer and rudder simply fall from the aircraft. My testicles rocket up my belly and into my throat as the plane begins to nose-dive. Spiraling down through the clouds and towards the earth at ungodly speeds the only thought that survives in my panic frozen brain is “Can I drink myself into a coma before we hit?”

Well that didn’t happen obviously… but it could have. It was possible. That element of “possibility” is what has drawn many fans to the increasingly outrageous Final Destination franchise… and what ultimately convinced this young aero phobic to get into a plane and fly to New Orleans, where the newest entry in the series, Final Destination 4 is lensing under the guidance of FD veteran David R. Ellis (FD 2).

The next morning we’re supposed to wake up tweaker early to visit the set, but me and a couple other web-journalists can’t resist soaking up some of the city’s infamous sleazy charm for an evening. Bourbon street is a weird place. You got obviously homeless people acting as strip club carnival barkers… trying to coax tourists into sketchy shit-holes with the promise of no cover and the twirl of their wooden canes. Clichéd New Orleans blues blasts from every corner. We avoid the beaten path and find some kickass bars on the side streets, devour some amazing po-boys, perv out to a couple tatted up strippers, and drink our weight in alcohol before retiring to our hotels for a just enough rest to be able to wander through the movie set the next day without passing out mid-interview.

A really nice local New Orleans driver takes us on the journey through Jefferson Parish towards the sound-stage. The place is still pretty wrecked looking from Katrina, but seems to be slowly rebuilding. Our driver tells us that this revamping of film-production has been a real god-send for the place, and has practically saved her life. She says that so far Final Destination 4 has been the easiest set to work on… director David Ellis is really friendly, yet keeps the schedule moving on set. It’s so brisk, that crew-members have been able to even get home early sometimes, and they’ve even eliminated a couple days from the schedule. When I ask her what’s been the most nightmarish production she’s ever worked on, she quickly replies that it’d have to be Black Water Transit, some crime thriller which was directed by the infamous Tony Kaye (American History X). She describes him as an “incompetent psychopath”.

We arrive at the set, which is a humongous blue soundstage/warehouse. As soon as we enter, I'm stunned by the sight of tons of smashed NASCAR vehicles, all apparently from the show-stopping opening scene. Many of the cars are covered with blood, which makes me already start to imagine the kind of carnage that could play out.

Led further into the bowels of the set and we pass by a huge procession of extras holding theatre style soda cups and boxes of popcorn. They are drenched with blood, and some have scars applied to their face, while others have nails and hammers imbedded in their heads and torsos. Apparently they are part of one of the bigger set-pieces in the movie… one that takes place in an EXPLODING MOVIE THEATRE! We are promised that more details about the particular scene will be revealed later.

The first person we pass by is director David Ellis (Snakes on a Plane, Final Destination 2), who greets us all heartily and then resumes preparing the set for the epic movie theatre set piece. We’re sat down under a large tent covering the catering area of the set, where we’re immediately greeted by the producer of the Final Destination franchise, Craig Perry. Craig is an immensely likeable cat, and I’m instantly a fan. The guy is completely self-aware of what kind of movie he’s producing, and seems to have a solid knowledge of the genre (his favorite horror film is “Maniac”)

He’s obviously very excited about producing one of the first films to utilize the latest advancements in FUSION 3D, the most advanced from of stereoscopic image capture yet invented. They are working with the PACE camera, which is introducing the industry’s first location-based mobile 3-D post-production units, which allows them to watch high-definition playback (of dailies) in crystal clear 3D.

Craig had originally wanted to do the third Final Destination in 3D, but the technology just wasn’t ready yet, and he believes that the things they are doing now on the set “will serve as a blueprint for the rest of the entire film industry for years to come”.

Surveying the impressive series of 3D cameras as well as the 3D “tent” where the technicians tirelessly render 3D makes me think that he’s right. This is no “Parasite” or “Night of the Living Dead 3D” happening here… this is going to really be a show-stopper technology-wise. When the film is screened, some theatres will host a 3D version, where kids will all receive glasses… while others will watch a 2D version.

Beyond the 3D, Craig is very excited to bring back director David Ellis, who directed what is hands down the greatest set piece in the franchise: the freeway pile-up in the opening of Final Destination 2. I told Craig that many fans were disappointed by the roller coaster massacre in the opening of the third… and he concurred with that sentiment, and responded that they plan on going “10 TIMES as big as the bloody FD2 pileup”.

The angle on the NASCAR scene will be from the POV of the audience. “Imagine what it’s like sitting in those chairs, watching these chunks of steel zip around the track like hellfire, and notice that there really isn’t that much separating the two of you… and furthermore, there isn’t any room to go if you wanted to get away.”

He claims that "Final Destination 4 will mercilessly bitch slap the 3D “My Bloody Valentine” remake into submission" and seemed to exhibit a healthy competitive attitude towards the film. “Listen, I feel like some of these other 3D films were just rushed into production. We have planned… seriously. We will own any other 3D horror film that tries to oppose us.” Seems like this guy is ready for war.

“We really didn’t want to just throw a bunch of stupid shit at the audience, just as an excuse to do 3D. There isn’t a bunch of scenes where a yo-yo flies towards the screen or anything like that. We wanted to create a truly immersive 3D world, where you feel like you could actually step into it.” When I asked how tits and gore would play into the 3D picture, he responded “Well, there is a 3D sex scene… nudity included. Also prepare to have a bunch of limbs and torso’s shot your way.”

Sadly, this time the film won’t feature a performance by the magnetic Tony Todd of Candyman fame. When pressed as to why, Craig hinted that the man had them over a barrel money wise, and they just couldn’t swing the cash. I find that hard to swallow, but I’m not breaking down the budget, so what the fuck do I know? It would be cool even if we just heard the man’s signature voice somewhere in the film (like the 3rd), but as of now it doesn’t look like its going to happen.

The mythology isn’t going to be explored any further in this one either… Craig felt like in many ways they had “boned themselves” setting down some of these rules in the first two, and just didn’t want to feature a bunch of talking heads spitting out exposition at every turn.

“Listen; at this point… you know why you’re watching a Final Destination movie. You want to see people get killed in gruesome surprising ways. We know that. We’re not trying to bore people with a bunch of half-cocked explanations that even we don’t understand.”

Craig promises that the tone of this film will be lighter than the others. “We’ve had a problem with the kids being really gloomy and moody in the past, and although I would never pull back on the violence or black comic elements, I think it was important to show that this generation has a slightly different view of violence. Look how kids capture everything that happens on their cell phones and upload it to YouTube. There’s more of a care-free ambivalence to the whole thing. It’s the whole “Jackass” where they film each-other getting hit by cars and laughing in the background. Part of the fun will be having these kids take it slightly lighter in the beginning, and then as it gets closer to them… they start to acknowledge the reality of the situation.”

He believes that one of the reasons that franchise has such legs is because of its universal existential quality. There isn’t a masked figure chasing people down… it’s merely coincidence, bad luck… reality. “Slipping in your shower and cracking your skull is scarier then a hulking zombie killer could ever be”.

Craig excuses himself, and the three leads of the film are brought into the web-journalist round table: BOBBY CAMPO (Legally Blondes), SHANTEL VAN SANTEN, and HALEY WEBB. I don’t know these kids from Adam, but at least the girls are pretty smoking. We instantly press them for some spoilers… and see if they’ll tell us who dies, but they’re pretty secretive on that subject. They do divulge the films plot however:

This time the story centers around on a young man (played by Bobby) who – after a premonition of a horrific crash at an auto race that sends cars hurtling into packed bleachers – manages to heroically save several people. However, his actions were not part of Death’s plan, and survivors find themselves being haunted by Death, itself, determined to collect the souls of those who were not intended to survive.

Shantel and Bobby play boyfriend and girl friend in the film… and Haley is their best friend. The three of them exhibit the closeness I’ve often seen on several sets with young actors, and they do admit that it’s hard when a fellow cast member is “killed”.

“It’s like they’re “voted off the island so to speak”, jokes Shantel. She also finds it weird to see her buddies “gored up” or smashed to bits. She’s never been a horror fan before this production, and always had to watch the films with her fingers covering her face… and often finds it difficult to walk away from an especially tense or suspenseful scene.

Haley on the other hand “Loves this shit!” She says that the FX and how it works is one of the most exciting parts of the production. She’s a total horror fan, claiming 28 Days Later as one of her favorite films of all time. She doesn’t even have a problem with “dying” onscreen… and claims “the gorier the better! But that’s probably because I’m sick and have problems.” The horror geek journalists present all fall in love simultaneously.

Bobby says that he was initially attracted to the project because he loved the idea of “an underdog story. It’s totally about this young guy that has to fight death, an entity that’s obviously never been beaten.” When asked if Bobby does eventual prevail… Bobby simply grins. I’m guessing that it will seem like he’s managed to outsmart death’s design, and then in the final scene where him surviving buddies drink celebratory margarita’s at the beach… a giant whale carcass will flip out of the sea and crush them. Don’t argue with me either, that really is exactly how the fucking film will end.

We let the actors go, and then we’re led into the 3D hut where we were treated to some actual 3D footage from the film. They handed us a pair of oversized 3D glasses and let the footage rip!

This is some of the stuff we saw (keep in mind, everything below is spoiler heavy):

1. A shrieking Krista Allen (Feast) getting SMASHED FLAT by a NASCAR engine bloc.
2. Haley Webb getting trapped in a steadily flooding car in an automatic carwash.
3. Justin Welborn (The Signal) getting set ablaze… and dragged down the street by a tow truck, which then explodes!
4. Girl’s getting their heads knocked off by gloriously 3D debris.
5. A scene of carnage at an auto repair shop.

Craig Perry was right. The 3D did look fucking great. I did have a couple issues with the “look” of the film, which was a bit bright and “video” for my taste… but I think those are things that might be changed with color correction, and I have no idea what the final result will look like. The tone of this one does seem goofier and lighter then the ones in the past, but has no shortage of violence, and the 3D factor makes this one a must-see in my book.

Finally we met with the director David Ellis who gave us a full tour of the set. He showed us the movie theatre stage… which was promptly destroyed as soon as we stepped outside. We were then shown the footage: the movie screen EXPLODES with flames.

They showed us footage of the debris flying out of the screen, which they will superimpose over the other effect… and then plan on adding some light CGI.

“I don’t like using much CGI… and would prefer if all effects were practical, but in cases like this a like augmentation really sells the effect.”

David says that the theatre will be filled with all those mutilated extra’s we saw earlier. We ask him how a bunch of nails and hammers come flying out of a movie screen, and he says that there is supposed to be a construction site right by the theatre.

“The exploding theatre set-piece takes place in a busy mall… the location where the majority of the climax takes place in the film.”

One of David’s problems with the other films is that “They all started out with a bang… but then seemed to slow down as they reached the climax. There was no way to match the intensity of the beginning. In this one, in the script stages screenwriter Eric Bress really tried to layer in some truly awesome set pieces towards the ending as well, so the movie wouldn’t feel lopsided.”

Being that David has an extensive stunt man background, he was the obvious choice for Final Destination 2’s car crash heavy entry… and was also the reason why he was invited back for the fourth.

“Well, actually I did it because nobody else would take the job. No, just kidding. They knew that I had the car crashing chops, and I could handle the NASCAR set piece.” David said that he loves working on horror films, and has another one in the works. “The details on that one are mum, but it does have supernatural elements woven in.”

His film “Asylum” comes out on DVD soon… a project which he claims was “screwed”. “At the time there were several R-rated horror films tanking in the theatre, as well as a glut of them trying to find distribution. Mine just got thrown in the mix, and now it’s coming out DTV.”

Undiscouraged, David claims that it’s just a part of the industry, and he seems very excited about the direction Final Destination 4 is going. “I just try to have fun with it… and hopefully the audience will too.”

With that, we are ushered off the set and into our waiting vans where we’re taken to the airport on our respective flights.

I spend the next four and a half hours on a turbulence heavy flight… where my only comfort is a never ending procession of cheap merlot mini-bottles, and the various statistics that planes are far safer then cars. It still doesn’t ease my mind completely though. Let’s hope that Final Destination continues to successfully tap into those every day fears… and keep our view of the routine/day to day as scary as fucking possible.