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The stakes are higher and the deaths even more gruesome in Final Destination 5, which opens today in theaters nationwide.   In the latest installment, Death is back from holiday and out to decimate the newest group of young teenagers who dare to defy its foolproof design.  With a heart-pounding suspension bridge collapse and a jaw-dropping twist ending, first time director Steven Quale and screenwriter Eric Heisserer have given  the Final Destination mythos a much needed reboot.

The Urban Daily sat down with the cast to find out out what’s it’s like working on one of Hollywood’s creepiest franchises.

Screenwriter Eric Heisserer on bringing something new to the Final Destination franchise:

“I wanted to bring a moral dilemna  for the characters because if they’re just waiting to die in succession, it flattens the drama.”

Arlen Escarpeta on escaping “the  curse of the black guy”  in horror films:

“It’s such a stigma that the black guy always dies first.  Can I be like the Barack Obama of horror films?”

P.J. Byrne on suffering for “his art”:

“I had to go to an actual acupuncturist before filming, so they could put needles all over my body.  The two that destroyed me were the ones that went into my ears—it was rough, but I did it for the movie.”

Courtney B. Vance on joining the “Final Destination” franchise:

“I’m a very big fan of Avatar and (director) Steve Quale was a part of this.  So I told him whatever I can do, I want to be a part of it.”

Jacqueline Macinnes Woods on shooting the laser eye surgery scene:

“We shot from 9 at night til 6 in the morning.  The eye speculum went in and out of my eye like 70 times. They numbed my eye put the speculum in, they even glued my eyelashes to my eyebrows.  At one point I was so tired but I couldn’t sleep because my eye couldn’t fully close.”

Miles Fisher on his character’s trajectory from good guy to bad guy:

“It was a challenge. When I read the script I thought “Ok, what would you do if in one second, hundreds of people died in front of you including your friends and work colleagues? If what happened in the film happened in real life I think some people would truly go crazy.”

Ellen Wroe (a real life gymnast)  shared the worst gymnastics injury she ever witnessed:

“My sister Winnie was doing a double back dismount and she over-rotated her knee, and her knee hit her cheek.  Her entire cheekbone broke in eight places; she had to get plastic surgery.  Luckily, nothing has happened to me. ”

Tony Todd responding to various theories as to the true identity of his character William Bludworth:

“When I started on the first Final Destination I created this whole backstory.  What is interesting (about Bludworth) is that he primarily delivers exposition.  People bring their own sense of mortality in watching.  If you think he’s the angel of death, which he’s not, or the Grim Reaper, which he’s not, that’s what you get out of it.”

Nicholas D’agosto on going toe to toe with in his scenes with Tony Todd:

“He’s a tall guy, he has a very imposing physical presence.  When he’s Bludworth he plants his feet and looks at you and speaks to you directly and when people do that, you’re intimidated.  When Tony looked at me I blanked out and asked “Um, can I do that again and get my lines right this time?”

Emma Bell on the surprising twist to the end of Final Destination 5:

“I thought it was great.  Up until that point I thought the film was really good.  The minute we got to the set to film the final scene I thought “Wait a minute!” That’s when it dawned on me.  It’s a great twist and I hope the fans will really enjoy it, because you won’t see it coming.”