The Most Effective Horror Movie Ever Made
There are many films throughout history that have earned the label of being historic, iconic, or game-changing, but these monikers almost always only apply within the film industry itself. There are far fewer, if any, that have had an influence outside of Hollywood and literally changed the world at large.
Now the key word here is Effective. It's not the scariest movie, and with a 6.2/10 on IMDB, 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 38 on Metacritic, it barely even touches the bar of being a good movie. But it definitely deserves more credit and respect for what it managed to achieve. In my very biased opinion as a 90's kid, no other film has infected the public consciousness in such a way, on such a scale, and to such a degree, as Final Destination 2.
Generational Trauma
Final Destination 2 was released in 2003, so if you haven't seen it, I'm going to assume you're on the younger side. But over the years you may have noticed certain habits exhibited by your parents whenever they find themselves driving behind a logging truck. That, or you've no doubt seen countless memes online. It is a situation that anyone who saw the movie when it came out absolutely refuses to be in, thus, certain other cares and fears go out the window. In this situation, one of two things will happen:
You get off at the next exit and find a detour. It doesn't matter where we're going or how late we are, you are NOT driving behind that thing.
If you're lucky enough to have a passing lane, getting a ticket is the least of your worries, because you're pedal to the metal trying to get in front of it.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that Final Destination 2 changed the world, because it changed the way people see the world. It changed the way people respond to an everyday, mundane occurrence that goes beyond Hollywood and cinema. It effectively traumatized the world, and scarred an entire generation with how feasible it was. Everything in the scene is believable: a motorcycle weaving through traffic; someone drinking and driving; someone trying to hide drugs from a passing cop; a child playing to get your attention; spilling coffee in your lap; a water bottle getting stuck under the pedal. All of it could actually happen and unfortunately does.
The Sounds of Chaos
From a filmmaking standpoint, the genius of the scene is that it took our reality and what we know to be true, and showed us the worst-case scenario. We always knew it was a possibility but then, with the power of movie-magic, we saw it happen in all its brutality. Subconsciously hammering home its effectiveness is the audio. You may notice there's no overlayed music, all the audio is coming from what you see on screen. Being able to hear all the sounds of the cars, the tires, the engines, and the freeway as a whole makes the ensuing chaos all the more impactful.
Credit for video to @shauneyboy1999 on YouTube.
