How ‘The X-Files’ Inspired a Horror Film Franchise
The X-Files is an iconic TV drama that aired from 1993 to 2018 and spawned two feature films and a miniseries. Horror and sci-fi fans loved the show’s themes and storylines. Each weekly episode brought new paranormal experiences that stretched viewers’ understanding of science. The X-Files also inspired a horror franchise spanning 11 years and five movies.
‘Final Destination’ began with ‘The X-Files’
It’s not a big stretch to love The X-Files on TV and the Final Destination movies on the big screen. Could it be because these two horror franchises are related?
Jeffrey Reddick, the creator of Final Destination, shared with Bloody Disgusting in 2015 an unused script for an X-Files pitch. It was for an episode titled “Flight 180.” The script never saw the light of day on The X-Files, but it came out another way.
Reddick revealed that he wrote Flight 180 in 1994 as a spec script for The X-Files because he was a big fan of the show.
“I decided to use the basic concept of people cheating death as the catalyst … But when you write a spec for a series, you want to follow the framework of the show and go deeper. So I had [Agent Dana] Scully’s brother have the premonition, which made the story more personal. I won’t spoil the rest, but for the spec script, the concept isn’t front and center.”
He added, “But when I decided to write it as a feature [Final Destination], I made the story all about the concept. And tweaked it.”
Reddick kept death more of a vague concept so he could focus on the believer/skeptic relationship between The X-Files characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. But fans of Final Destination know that isn’t the case in the movies.
The ‘Final Destination’ series has thrilled a generation of horror fans
The Final Destination movies are among the scariest, most suspenseful horror films thanks to the death sequences, gore, screams, and sudden deaths.
Viewers can watch the movies in chronological or release order. Fiction Horizon argues the best way to view them is in release order to get a feel of the “tension and excitement of how each film is linked.”
The release order is as follows:
- Final Destination (2000)
- Final Destination 2 (2003)
- Final Destination 3 (2006)
- The Final Destination (2009)
- Final Destination 5 (2011)
A general theme weaves through all the movies. They’re not the typical slasher series but one where the killer is death itself.
Every film begins with a tragic accident that kills numerous people in horrific ways. The plot later reveals that the opening scene was the lead character’s premonition. This time, the protagonist and friends avoid death thanks to the hunch.
However, as the action progresses, each character who should have died in the beginning is picked off one by one in increasingly horrendous ways. Their demises become more elaborate and gorier. The appeal of the Final Destination movies isn’t the plot but the deaths.
‘The X-Files’ became a phenomenon of horror TV
The X-Files follows the believer/skeptic trope as FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully investigate seemingly paranormal cases. Mulder is a believer in the supernatural angle, while Scully is a skeptic who sticks to the scientific explanation. As the partners investigate, they fall down a rabbit hole of bizarre occurrences and alien conspiracy theories within the U.S. government. They often put their lives in danger while chasing leads.
The show debuted on Fox in September 1993 and continued throughout its iterations until 2018. It won numerous Primetime Emmys and Golden Globes and earned hundreds of award nominations.
Aside from garnering countless accolades, The X-Files left an indelible mark on TV and the horror genre.
