Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: After having a vision of the future, a teen and others manage to survive a plane's destruction only to be killed soon afterward by a supernatural force.
Review: I'll be upfront and say that I love this series. The only entry that was on the weak side was part 4, but it still had its moments. As for part 1, I actually don't think it's the best entry, however, it did establish the scenario in the most concise way. In the age of "Scream" wannabes, this was a welcomed change of pace that offered up something beyond masked killers or ghosts. Now, the filmmakers insist the script was originally intended to be for an episode of "The X-Files." I don't doubt that to be true--there are even characters who somewhat feel like tamer versions of Mulder and Scully. But, and it's a big but, they were clearly inspired by the premise of "The Twilight Zone" episode, "Twenty Two;" the similarities are a bit too striking and the shots of the planes blowing up are almost like a re-creation. Here is a link to my review of that episode if you're curious: http://vagrantrises2.blogspot.com/2014/11/twenty-two.html
In case you're unfamiliar with the premise of this franchise, there is always a person who randomly has a vision of impending doom right before a calamity that claims many lives. For part one, this involves the main guy, Alex, seeing his plane blowing up. When trying to warn people, he and others are kicked off the plane which does, in fact, blow up minutes later. We've yet to learn where the visions come from or why, but we could speculate all day. Since this franchise implies these visions are a form of "cheating death," the characters are eventually picked off by a supernatural force that sets up a series of elaborate coincidences that result in an apparent accidental death. The characters simply refer to this force as death personified, but, like the visions, it's yet to be fully explored by the franchise. What I especially like in part 1 is how Alex continues to receive glimpses of the future; I'm not sure why the other entries don't fully embrace this. Anyway, Alex figures out that everyone is dying in the order they would have died on the plane yet there are rules in order to cheat death again. For example, if someone intervenes to save you again, death will move on to the next person in line. It's also implied you cannot die until it's your turn as well; this is demonstrated by Alex magically surviving close calls in the same coincidental manner people are killed. By the end of the movie, thinking they're free and clear, we get one final instance that demonstrates death's plan is still going. There was an alternate ending that would have killed the franchise-potential so it's good for them that they didn't go with it. One other thing I want to mention is the vague nature of the--I guess--coroner, played by Tony Todd. We still don't know what's his deal and why he, seemingly, knows what's happening.
Intentional or not, the major aspect at play with FD is the notion of synchronicity. This is an idea proposed by Carl Jung that surmises that innocuous coincidences actually exist in a meaningful way; I'm simplifying things of course. In other words, coincidences are not just by sheer chance and probability but hold significance. If you look at the FD series from this perspective, it opens up an incredible way of seeing the events and what everything could mean. Synchronicity is definitely an interesting topic, and I'm not going to do it justice in a couple sentences, so I'd recommend looking into it more deeply if you're even remotely interested.
A few other things to acknowledge: the gore factor. Part 1 is standard fare in my opinion, but each sequel was trying to outdo the previous entry. I do appreciate this "carnage candy" approach, yet, I don't know if that's the direction this franchise should have necessarily taken. The main detractor I have for part 1 is the oddity of the tone. The lighthearted moments are not timed properly and take me out the story. For example, when Alex is hiding at the cabin and death is seemingly fucking around with some fishing hooks...this is dumb. Likewise, it doesn't help when there are characters making stupid jokes when they probably should be super depressed or at least somber. I don't know how to explain it--it's as if they were still trying to capture that snarky tone from "Scream" or whatever.
Overall, this is still a great movie and a unique one at that. Although there are plenty of unanswered questions, none of this hurts the final impression. The elaborate nature of the deaths and scenarios are fun to behold and keeps audiences engaged. Despite being made for the teeny crowd at the time, I think the philosophical implications give it an added layer of depth and longevity for all horror fans to embrace. There are stupid moments, undoubtedly, but nothing is of a detrimental quality. I'd definitely recommend checking out the 5 entries in this franchise alongside me if possible. The trailer alone is awesome enough to get you interested.
Notable Moment: When Alex has the original vision of the plane exploding. The vision is typically the highlight in all the movies.
Final Rating: 7/10
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