i'm going to get mine today

Play God on 'Final 3' DVD
Updated 7/24/2006 8:51 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | Subscribe to stories like this





By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Like a good roller coaster ride, Final Destination 3 gave fans of teen horror films thrills and chills in theaters this February.
A fateful roller coaster ride, which served as the main event in the theatrical version of the film, offers some new curves in the DVD, out Tuesday ($30, New Line).

Viewers can watch the movie in an interactive "Choose Their Fate" mode, allowing them to alter the outcome of the film, even helping some characters cheat death.

FILMS OFFER TWISTS OF FATE: DVDs put viewers in the director's seat

For a film franchise that generated more than $150 million dollars at the domestic box office and $200 million in home rentals and purchases, the interactive element seems a natural fit for its youthful, video-gaming fan base.

The first of seven "Choose Their Fate" moments comes 11 minutes into the movie. As the main characters get on the amusement park ride, Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead ) has a vision that it will crash.

Viewers have to decide whether to call heads or tails when Kevin (Ryan Merriman ) flips a quarter to decide whether he or Jason (Jesse Moss) rides in the coaster's front car.

Depending on the choice made, director James Wong says, "I realized, wow, the movie could end in 20 minutes if they don't get on the roller coaster at all. We had fun with what could be possible."

After that juncture, viewers can make several choices that produce different endings, including one in which the main characters Wendy, Kevin and Julie (Amanda Crew) survive.

Wong and fellow screenwriter Glen Morgan wrote the various alternate plot paths, which required an additional week of filming. "Some (scenes) were pretty difficult because we didn't want to do just one little thing," Wong says.

The filmmakers were working on the interactive DVD "well before the film was in theaters," says Mike Mulvihill, New Line's senior vice president of creative development.

Other extras on the DVD:

•Kill Shot: The Making of Final Destination 3, an 89-minute documentary.

•Dead Teenager Movie. Critic Roger Ebert and pop-culture experts look at the history of teen horror films in this 24-minute featurette.

•It's All Around You, an animated short by DVD producer Julie Ng that chronicles fatal truths and consequences.

Although not all filmmakers will embrace interactivity, Wong says he enjoys the flexibility it offers.

"I got to shoot a scene (as a DVD alternate scene) that the studio wanted us to trim and I thought would be effective," he says. "And it gave them something new to promote."

And will the cursed teens be back for more horror?

Wong confirms that Final Destination 4 is "in gestation."

Posted 7/24/2006 8:38 PM ET
Updated 7/24/2006 8:51 PM ET



On Final Destination 3, players get to choose how the plot turns. Example: When Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Kevin (Ryan Merriman) are trapped in line at a fast-food window, you decide whether Wendy should honk again at the car in front of them. Your choice has two consequences.


If you choose yes: Kevin will save Frankie, who is in another car picking up food, and Frankie (Sam Easton) gets more scenes.


If you choose no: The scene plays as in theaters. A truck hits Kevin and Wendy’s car, which slams into Frankie’s, killing him.

I wonder how short the movie would be if you just let everyone die off quickly?

Bwahahahhaaaaa...

Actually, I'm not a big fan of this type thing. I don't even like movies with "alternate endings", it's like if you are going to tell a story, don't let me pick the ending.

I've been wondering about this product. It seems quite kitchey.