In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, co-director Zach Lipovsky revealed that the film’s opening sequence features a shocking stunt from a retired 71-year-old actress and stuntwoman named Yvette Ferguson.
“We lit so many different people on fire,” Lipovsky said. “Including Yvette Ferguson, who broke the world record for being the oldest person ever set on fire on camera. She did a full body burn in a silver dress.”
Ferguson takes on the role of a woman who gets caught on fire during one of the infamous premonitions seen in all of the Final Destination installments. This time around, the chaos erupts inside a fictional establishment named Skyview Tower. Her fiery fate is caught by Iris, played by Stargirl star Brec Bassinger.
“I was on set when they lit [Yvette] on fire!” Bassinger told the outlet. “I was within her vicinity. God, it was beautiful. Everyone started clapping. She was so pumped.”
Later that day, Ferguson shared a behind-the-scenes photo of the action on Instagram.
“I had the opportunity to do a fire burn for @burnettsimonstunts @fire4hirestunts… Thank you for a great opportunity check it out in theatres coming soon!” she captioned the post.
Among the comments on her post was an enthusiastic message from co-director Adam Stein: “World record breaker!!!” Ferguson’s daughter, Becky Ferguson, who’s also a professional stunt performer, expressed how admirable her performance was: “So proud of you, Mom!” Becky recently performed stunts for The Last of Us season 2 and appeared in the premiere episode as ‘the first stalker.”
Discussing the film’s harrowing opening scene, Adam Stein said, “Fear of heights seemed like a really fun thing to play with and start as a foundation. We’re always looking for everyday situations we can ruin.”
He added that the vertigo-inducing sequence was made for IMAX: “When you see it on a 60-foot screen, you really feel like you’re 400 feet in the air”.
“The newest chapter in the gruesomely successful franchise takes audiences back to the origins of Death’s twisted sense of justice,” the logline reads. “Haunted by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie returns home to seek out the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the horrific fate that looms over them all”.
The cast stars Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, and Brec Bassinger. The film also marks the final on-screen appearance of the late Tony Todd.
Final Destination: Bloodlines hits theaters on May 6th!
