Each entry in the Final destination The franchise begins with the foreshadowing of a deadly cataclysmic event. The original film set the bar high with a harrowing plane explosion through the air. Its direct follow-up, released in 2003, upped the ante in terror with a far more statistically likely disaster striking closer to home. Final Destination 2it is the opening premonition still induces road angst nearly twenty years later.

Set a year after the events of the first film, this sequel opens with an introduction to college student Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook), who is on his way to Florida for spring break with some friends. In typical franchise fashion, this sequence sets up the latest group to get caught up in Death’s design, all unaware that they are moments away from meeting a gruesome death. As the camera moves in and out of vehicles to introduce key players, it also begins to play with viewers and build suspense.

An unbuckled Rory Peters (Jonathan Cherry) presents the perfect example of a distracted driver, as he is more focused on snorting coke and avoiding detection by the police. Deputy Marshal Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) spills hot coffee on his lap. Meanwhile, a motorcyclist drives in and out of traffic and a very wet stretch of freeway. Each is a potential trigger for a fatal pileup.

The real cause is ultimately revealed to be the logging truck, whose mountings break and cause its massive logs to roll out into traffic. This sets off a chain reaction of car crashes, explosions, freak accidents and violent deaths for everyone on this stretch of road. Immediately, a log smashes into Burke’s patrol vehicle, exiting the rear covered in its viscera. Stuck in her overturned vehicle, Kimberly watches in horror. Before a fairing car comes to pick her up, she exits the vision on the entrance ramp, dodging the pile-up and starting Death’s new game.

Blood, fire and metal spill out onto the sidewalk. Shattering glass, the screeching of tires trying to drive away from evil, the screeching of drivers burning to death as they’re stuck in place. Director David R.Ellis slows death stacking to capture the horror of it all in disturbing detail. This attention to detail graphically paints a picture of an everyday event that happens in the blink of an eye.

Driving is part of everyday life and accidents happen daily. Logs detaching from their transport and crashing into vehicles also create a troubling and plausible scenario that is arrived before. Freak accidents do happen, but the chances of being involved in a plane explosion, roller coaster derailment or stadium collapse are not as high as a traffic accident.

This intense streak effectively transformed the logging truck into a real-life boogeyman. Kimberly’s premonition is embedded in your skull. Once you see Final Destination 2it’s nearly impossible to shake off that instantaneous spike in anxiety that comes with driving near a similar flatbed semi truck carrying potential impalement cargo.

Stage screams is a recurring column that shines a light on the horror scenes that make us scream, whether through fear, laughter or tears. It examines the most memorable and often chilling horror scenes and what makes them get under our skin.