Editorials
[31 Days of Halloween] Day Eleven: Playing with Death in ‘Final Destination 5’
By the time you get to the fifth entry of any franchise, quality can be a gamble. There’s a risk of convoluted mythology this deeply entrenched into the series, or even a real possibility of tired repetition. That doesn’t even touch upon the complications behind the scenes if the torch gets passed between films. Sometimes that means lows, like A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child or Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Sometimes a late sequel does enough to reinvigorate the franchise, like Prometheus or Curse of Chucky.
Final Destination 5 does something else entirely; it retains the core essence of what made fans fall in love with the series in the first place, while upping the ante in inventiveness, quality, and flair. Moreover, it paid its respects to the circular nature of these films in a massively surprising way. Because of this, and because it’s the final entry of the franchise in its current iteration, Final Destination 5 is our Franchise Friday pick this week for #BloodyHalloween.
Synopsis: It’s part five. You probably know the drill already, but just in case; one man’s terrifying premonition spares him and his co-workers from death after a catastrophic collapse of a suspension bridge. But this group wasn’t meant to have survived the disaster, and Death comes to claim them all one by one. Unless that is, they can figure out a way to escape Death’s designs.
Key Players: Nicholas D’Agosto is Sam Lawton, the central character plagued by premonitions of disaster. Emma Bell plays his estranged lady love Molly. Ellen Wroe, Miles Fisher, P.J. Byrne, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Arlen Escarpeta, and David Koechner round out the group of unlucky souls who only thought they escaped death. Courtney B. Vance plays the FBI Agent trying to make sense of it all. Of course, look for series staple Tony Todd to provide ominous warnings.
Why It’s on the List: You can always count on the Final Destination series to offer up the most intricate death sequences of all, and this sequel absolutely delivers. With long stretches of suspense and an added layer of 3D, too. The cast is likable, for the most part anyway, and the clever writing pays its respects to the franchise’s standout moments and horror in general. All of the character’s surnames are wry winks to horror royalty, for example. Part 5 isn’t afraid in the least to utterly destroy even what appears to be the safest of characters, and often in the most graphic ways. Most of all, though, the clever ending makes this one arguably the best sequel of the bunch.
No Pain, No Gain: The most brutal death in the entire franchise…?
Where You Can Watch: Final Destination 5 isn’t currently available to stream for free, but it is available to rent on digital.
Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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