[Editorial] “I control my life, not you!”: Living with Generalised Anxiety Disorder and the catharsis of the Final Destination franchise

I can sometimes go months without having a panic attack. Unfortunately, this means that when they do happen, they often feel like they come out of nowhere. They can come on so fast and hard it’s like being hit by a bus, my breath escapes my body, and I can’t get it back. My mind goes fuzzy, I lose grip on reality, and I cry uncontrollably from sheer terror. Living with Generalised Anxiety Disorder is a very personal experience that can exhibit itself in many ways, but from conversations with other people who have it, the following symptoms are quite common. You can’t stop a buzzing in your brain, a worry that can be completely unrealistic haunts you until it is resolved, only to be replaced by another, sometimes equally ridiculous, concern. You can be irritable, you feel muscular pains, you don’t sleep enough (or sometimes too much), your concentration with basic tasks slips away easier than it should. The most infuriating thing about the condition is that many people assume they have it because they have an anxious thought every so often. On the other hand, because I seem ‘relaxed’, ‘confident’ and ‘quite social’ to other people, it’s often assumed by others that I’m exaggerating my own GAD. The vicious cycle of misunderstanding is very frustrating, which is why I tend to keep it to myself when I’ve had a particularly rough episode, putting on a happy face and pretending that I’m just a little burnt out, a bit tired, or even that nothing is wrong at all. Sometimes this just feels easier than explaining.

With all of this in mind, it may come as a surprise that I adore horror films that are specifically made to create feelings of anxiety and tension. Home Invasion, Slashers, films set in the real world with a level of reality (sometimes not a high level but a level nonetheless). As eccentric and outrageous as it may seem on the first watch, the Final Destination franchise is my favourite example of this. They are, in fact, my favourite films of all time. Each instalment is the same narrative, a main character has a vision of a horrific accident where multiple people die, they panic and try to escape, leading the chain of events to change and many people who were due to die end up surviving. From here, a series of insane fatalities occur as Death collects their debts. The description of this storyline doesn’t exactly scream realistic, and yet there’s always a chance that you’ll fall backwards and have nails fired through your head from a nail gun laying around at the hardware store you work in. The opening scene of the second film even created a generational fear of driving behind log trucks, proving the effectiveness of these films, regardless of their campy overacting and unrealistic amounts of blood coming out of one human body.

The Final Destination films are my greatest fear portrayed on-screen, death. Most are excruciating, bloody ends filled with pain and suffering. As someone who doesn’t believe in Heaven or Hell, in souls nor ghosts, death is final to me. Death represents the end of everything. That finite point where there is nothing else, and there is nothing more terrifying than that. So why is there an enjoyment and thrill in watching these films? Shouldn’t I be cowering away from the idea of facing this before my eyes? Honestly, I’m not sure of the reason why, but what I do know is that this franchise rationalises my fear, then dissipates it from my anxious brain. If I’ve had a particularly tough day, I will curl up on the couch in my comfiest pyjamas, hot drink in hand, and stick on one of these films to relax. The adrenaline rush from the gore feels different to the fight or flight mode that my body finds itself in more often than it should, and this difference gives my brain a break from the everyday anxiety via a stimulating distraction.

Other films have a similar effect, from the mind quivering nerves of Funny Games to the tense gorefest that is Wolf Creek, but Final Destination is a particularly enjoyable release from the real world. Demises for delight, deaths for indulgence. Conversations with fellow Ghouls have revealed that I’m not alone in this experience, seeking a release in what scares us is a universal pleasure within the horror community, something that I think others should be more open to. Face those anxieties head-on from the comfort and reassurance of your own safe space, a detached engagement that, if it gets too much, can be switched off and stepped away from. Bludworth (Tony Todd) explains that, “In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes”, but within these scenes of death and drama, I’ve found an escape that simply can’t be replaced. 

For more information on Generalised Anxiety Disorder, please use the following links:

• NHS: Overview of GAD

• NHS: GAD Treatments 

• Mind: Anxiety Disorders

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