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One moviegoer in Argentina got more than she bargained for when the ceiling of the theater where she was watching the newest Final Destination film collapsed – right in the middle of the movie. The franchise, known for traumatizing audiences with elaborate death scenes, suddenly became all too real for those in attendance.
Final Destination has spent 25 years perfecting the art of unlocking new fears for viewers. The premise is deceptively simple: characters who’ve narrowly escaped death find themselves systematically picked off in increasingly gruesome accidents.
What makes these films particularly terrifying is their grounding in reality. Despite the over-the-top nature of many deaths, they harness everyday situations that could – at least theoretically – happen to anyone.
They’ve left their mark on our collective psyche.
If you find yourself frantically changing lanes whenever you end up behind a truck hauling logs on the highway, you can probably blame Final Destination 2 for that particular anxiety.
The franchise now includes six films after the release of Final Destination: Bloodlines earlier this month. The latest installment has enjoyed largely positive reviews and has already grossed over $185 million worldwide against a $50 million production budget.
According to Infobae, some Argentine moviegoers contributed to those box office numbers when they attended a screening in La Plata on May 19th – only to find themselves thrust into their own version of a Final Destination scenario.
Fiamma Villaverde took her 11-year-old daughter to see the film on a whim. As the movie approached its conclusion, they heard what she described as a “really loud noise.” Initially assuming it was coming from the theater’s speakers, they quickly realized something was wrong when a piece of the ceiling came crashing down.
The falling debris struck Villaverde’s shoulder, back, knee, and ankle. She later explained that the chunk narrowly missed her head due to the angle at which she was sitting. While she wasn’t seriously injured, she was understandably shaken by the experience.
Heavy rainfall in the days preceding the incident may have been a contributing factor to the ceiling’s collapse. However, the theater has not yet issued an official explanation for what happened.
Thankfully, the rules of the Final Destination universe – where Death relentlessly pursues those who’ve cheated it – don’t apply in real life. Though it would be hard to blame Villaverde if she doesn’t rush back to that particular theater anytime soon.
