At this point in the plot, the audience in the movie theater all let out astonished gasps. In a short amount of time, the movie's storyline flipped twice. First, the male lead woke up from a dream and realized that the incredibly realistic scene he had just witnessed was merely a dream.
The second flip occurred when the airplane exploded in the sky. Just when everyone thought the young man's warning was a false alarm, the disaster unfolded just as it had appeared in his dream.
At the beginning of the movie, the audience had been whispering about the rumored curse associated with the song supposedly linked to John Denver playing in the airport lounge. As the plot progressed, however, they were completely engrossed in the story, with no energy left to ponder other trivial matters.
"This is such an intriguing start!" an enthusiastic fan of the movie exclaimed.
Merely witnessing this unconventional beginning was worth the price of admission, even if the rest of the movie turned out to be terrible. They felt they had made the right choice by coming. But would the rest of the movie be terrible? Of course not, because this was a film by Director Moran! She only brings us classics!
Even some critics in the audience were amazed; they recognized the brilliance of this opening section. Not only that, but they also noticed the significance of this part to Laila – it was a segment crafted with visual effects!
Compared to the first two films, "Final Destination" was more refined, with even more impressive effects. Just looking at the shots of the airplane explosion from a moment ago was enough to tell that the director had enlisted the services of a top-notch visual effects company.
However, creating a great film isn't just about spending money, nor is enhancing a movie's quality solely achieved by incorporating impressive visual effects. It's about allocating resources where needed, seamlessly integrating special effects with regular scenes, and making the audience unconsciously accept what they see as if it were happening – that's where a director's skill truly shines.
And in this aspect, Laila had done exceptionally well.
"She's progressing at an astonishing pace!" one critic couldn't help but sigh.
From the rough "The Blair Witch," to the gory "SAW," and now to "Final Destination," each installment clearly showed her improvement. The speed of her growth was almost unbelievable as if she was proving to the world through her work that there was an unbridgeable chasm between genius and ordinary individuals. She was undoubtedly a genius born for filmmaking!
Everyone believed that a spectacular beginning hinted at an equally impressive follow-up, and they were both right and wrong. The subsequent events were not just impressive, they were brilliantly executed.
Several individuals who escaped a plane crash in their dreams thought they had escaped Death's embrace through sheer luck. Little did they know that Death was steadily drawing near. Various signs, various deaths, and the chilling sensation of Death's approach, which was invisible yet palpable, left the audience in the cinema exhilarated and on edge.
When the movie concluded, everyone rose to their feet, applauding the director and the cast for several minutes.
"It's truly fantastic!"
"I knew Director Moran wouldn't disappoint."
"I want to watch this amazing movie three times!"
Media and critics watched in amazement as the excited fans expressed their enthusiasm. It was just a horror film, rumored to have a budget of just over ten million, yet it managed to fall into the low-budget category and still garnered the love of so many viewers.
Why was that?
True, the storyline was excellent and thrilling, with an unprecedented narrative approach, and some elements were so remarkable that they could be considered for the Hall of Classics. The fact that the director was an under-twenty-year-old girl added several layers of astonishment.
But as amazing as it was, some overly self-assured critics didn't consider it a genuine film. Did it have educational value? Did it provoke deep thought? If it couldn't achieve these, could it be called a film?
Yet the audience didn't share that perspective. They saw an exciting story and gained satisfaction from the movie – that was enough for them.
Undoubtedly, this was another successful premiere.
After the movie ended, Laila, the cast, and the crew members, along with various actors, participated in interviews with the media, addressing numerous fan questions. Of course, the most frequently mentioned topic was John Denver and his song.
In response, Laila had long since instructed everyone to deny the authenticity of any claims, no matter what was said.
Curses and such were just too ridiculous, weren't they? Was it a curse that a movie depicting a plane crash used a song and supposedly killed its singer? If there truly was such a curse, then wouldn't all past aviation disaster movies lack musical scores? What about disaster movies – did the singer who provided the score for "Alien" get eaten by the alien? It was all nonsensical!
When they first heard rumors about curses, the crew, and actors had treated it as a joke. After all, if there was a curse, those who died at the hands of Death in the movie were the most likely to be cursed, weren't they?
Initially, they didn't believe those reports, but after Laila repeatedly emphasized denial, they began to feel an eerie sensation.
If the reports were all untrustworthy, why would she insist on denying it? Wouldn't it be better for publicity to go along with it? As they thought about this, the notion of a curse began to swirl in the minds of the crew members.
Thus, during the interviews, those who weren't adept at hiding their emotions couldn't help but show their concern. Those who pursued journalism were all keen observers of human behavior, so how could they not notice the anomalies?
Why were they wavering? They must have learned something!
The public was always interested in such topics. Since the topic had surfaced a month or two ago, the enthusiasm hadn't died down much. It was clear that there was still plenty of potential to explore this subject, and they had to keep digging deeper!
But what dominated the entertainment sections the next day were more reviews of "Final Destination."
Louise had chosen an opportune time; there were no formidable competitors, and the initially slow-moving ship had steadied itself after earning a fortune for several months. Coupled with the curse-related buzz surrounding the movie, the media's attention reached a fever pitch.
Naturally, the Moran Media Group's "Entertainment Daily" devoted a significant portion of its coverage to "Final Destination." In their bid to promote their future boss, they spared no effort.
"A Terrifying Feast Born from the Unknown" – was the title of the review written by "Entertainment Daily" for "Final Destination."
The article stated, "Authoritative research confirms that humans fear death the most, followed by darkness, ghosts, illness, and so on. The fear of these intangible and incomprehensible entities stems from their unknowable nature.
We don't know when death will arrive, so we fear it. We don't know what dangers lurk in the darkness, whether ghosts exist in this world or if they could harm us, so we fear them. We also don't know when we might succumb to dreadful, incurable illnesses, which is why we fear them."