The Greatest Horror Movie Villain Of The Century Makes A Surprise Cameo In Final Destination: Bloodlines

This article contains spoilers for "Final Destination: Bloodlines."

You never forget the first time you see it: a truck that appears to be humongous, barely fitting within a single lane on a busy highway. Its payload, a large number of thick, hefty, freshly-cut logs, sits precariously on its flatbed, barely held in place by just three chains, which, when compared to the mighty logs, seem precariously flimsy. It's the sort of vehicle you wouldn't be too enthused about driving behind under the best of circumstances, for not only would it cut off your visibility, but it would compel you to conjure up images of your worst fears, should one of those logs fall off the truck. In the film "Final Destination 2," all of those fears come true, as a premonition of death by one of the characters is depicted, the logs begin careening off the truck, and the result is one of the most awesome and terrifying highway disasters ever filmed.

Ever since "Final Destination 2" was released in January of 2003, generations of people have been extra wary of logging trucks, and for good reason. The film, directed by David R. Ellis, was so effective in depicting the type of accident that every motorist has nightmares about that it made the very sight of the vehicles feel like an ill omen. I once experienced it firsthand, forced to drive for miles on a single-lane highway behind a log truck, and my anxiety level was through the roof the whole time. As much of an influence the log truck sequence has had on real life, it's had equal weight on the "Final Destination" film series. With each subsequent installment, the "Final Destination" films found new, ingenious, and often ridiculous ways of allowing Death to visit its doomed characters through a series of Rube Goldbergian circumstances. Yet, despite a number of valiant and effective efforts, nothing has really topped the fear factor of that damn truck.

For the latest sequel in the series, "Final Destination: Bloodlines," the filmmakers seem to finally be acknowledging the sheer lasting power of the deadly log truck. Even though the truck only claimed 15 or so lives in "Final Destination 2," the number of people it scared out of their wits is countless, hence its status as the greatest horror movie villain of the century. As such, "Bloodlines" makes sure to bring back this icon in a series of surprise cameos, one you'll certainly catch upon your first watch, and a couple you may not.

The main cameo of the killer log truck in "Final Destination: Bloodlines" occurs at the end of the film's second act, when Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), her brother Charlie (Teo Briones), and their mother Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt) are leaving a hospital. By this point, the family unit are well aware that Death is after them, as it's attempting to follow a trail of cosmic course-correction that had been instigated by Stefani and Charlie's grandmother, Iris (Gabrielle Rose/Brec Bassinger), who had a fateful premonition that helped her save her own life as well as dozens of others. Having recently witnessed firsthand the awesome power that Death has over creating circumstances that all but ensure the demise of those that it's after, the trio make a plan to travel to the home of the now-deceased Iris, a place that the woman had death-proofed to the best of her ability.

As they begin to drive out of the hospital, the family becomes distracted for a moment and very nearly collide with oncoming traffic just outside the hospital entrance. Fortunately, our protagonists survive this particular brush with death, the close call reminding them that Death will arrive right when they're not prepared for it. The vehicle they almost hit is none other than our buddy the log truck, looking bigger and badder than ever.

It's possible that this is the exact same log truck from "Final Destination 2," even though we don't have concrete proof of that. After all, there would have been more than enough time between that movie and this one for the original truck to be repaired and put back into service. And don't forget: the log truck was only one of two killer trucks in the road crash sequence from "Final Destination 2," with the other killer truck being a car carrier, one which also made a killing after Kimberly (A.J. Cook) had her premonition. So, as seen in "FD 2" itself, while the log truck did the majority of the killer damage in the premonition, it was robbed of at least eight people it had been promised. This perhaps means that Death isn't finished using the vehicle, and our villain still has a bloodlust in it.

This theory, that the log truck is the same log truck from "FD 2" come back for revenge, is born out by the other Easter eggs concerning the truck in "Bloodlines." Its first appearance in the film is actually a sketch in Iris' big book of research on Death. It's full of reference material, which Iris compiled with the help of her lifelong friend, William Bludworth (Tony Todd), who has been seen as the closest thing to an authority on Death for the entirety of the series. Clearly, the appearance of the truck in Iris' notes indicates that it has some special significance for Death. It also implies that maybe Kimberly's premonition averting the originally planned car pile-up has left it a still-active threat for those targeted by Death.

The proof of all of this may lie in the film's delightfully brutal final moments. During their fateful confrontation with Death at Iris' cabin, Stefani appeared to die briefly before being revived by Charlie, thus causing the siblings to believe that Death would now skip over them due to Stefani experiencing a technical demise. However, after a physician neighbor of theirs explains that Stefani couldn't have been revived if she had actually been dead, the two realize that they've been fooled into thinking they'd escaped, and it's too late: a train has derailed on the tracks next to their neighborhood, and is careening toward them. Just as it seems they have outrun the crashing train, the momentum of the crash dislodges some freshly cut logs, sending them flying ahead and squishing Stefani and Charlie to death.

While it's not made explicit that these are the very same logs that the log truck had been transporting, it's entirely possible, and the connection would be entirely fitting for "Final Destination." It not only appeals to Death's wicked sense of humor, showing its victims the method of their demise, which they're unaware of, but it also potentially closes the loop begun by "Final Destination 2" all those years prior. Although it may seem safe to go back on the highways now, I'd caution against it, because there's just no way of being sure that Death doesn't have further plans for that villainous log truck.

"Final Destination Bloodlines" is now playing in theaters everywhere.