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Erik Campbell (Final Destination)

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Erik Campbell
Final Destination character
Richard Harmon as Erik Campbell in Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
First appearanceFinal Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Created byGuy Busick
Lori Evans Taylor
Jon Watts
Portrayed byRichard Harmon
In-universe information
OccupationTattoo artist
FamilyIris Campbell (adoptive grandmother)
Paul Campbell (adoptive grandfather)
Jerry Fenbury (biological father)
Howard Campbell (adoptive father)
Brenda Campbell (mother)
Julia Campbell (half-sister)
Bobby Campbell (half-brother)
Stefani Reyes (cousin)
Charlie Reyes (cousin)
Darlene Campbell (aunt)
Marty Reyes (uncle)

Erik Campbell is a supporting character in the supernatural horror film Final Destination Bloodlines (2025), the sixth installment in the Final Destination franchise. He was created by Guy Busick, Lori Evans Taylor, and Jon Watts and portrayed by Richard Harmon. Erik is introduced as a tattoo artist and a descendant of Iris Campbell—his paternal grandmother—through his father Howard; Iris had a vision of the high-rise restaurant tower the Sky View collapsing in 1968 and was able to prevent the disaster, saving herself and numerous other people. As Erik and his family were never supposed to exist, Death targets their family, forcing the Campbells to figure out a way to save themselves. Erik ends up dying by getting sucked into a malfunctioning magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine by a wheelchair that crushes and impales him, while attempting to help his brother Bobby defeat Death.

In developing the characters of Bloodlines, Lipovsky stated that they wished to avoid creating one-dimensional characters, wanting to feature characters with layers to them. Initially, Erik was envisioned as an online streamer who died while livestreaming a virtual reality game. A lifelong fan of the franchise, Harmon was cast as Erik eight months after his first audition, due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Harmon worked with the production team to conceive Erik's piercings and tattoos, and helped influence some of the character's scenes and dialogue. From the beginning, Lipovsky and Stein hoped to feature a death scene involving an MRI machine, but were unsure where to place such a scene in the film, even questioning its ethical implications; in the end, it was included as the concept received a positive response from the production team.

Following the release of Bloodlines, Erik became a fan favorite. Critics often singled out Harmon's performance as among the best in the film, recognizing him as a scene stealer and for adding comic relief. Erik's fake-out death scene at his tattoo parlour and his actual death involving an MRI machine were also praised by critics, with the latter deemed the best death scene in Bloodlines; his death was also analyzed for its scientific accuracy by experts.

Fictional character biography

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Erik is introduced as the eldest son of Howard and Brenda Campbell, and older brother of Julia and Bobby. Stefani and Charlie Reyes are his first-cousins through his aunt Darlene, who is Howard's younger sister. All of them are descendants of Iris Campbell and her husband Paul, who are Erik's paternal grandparents. Prior to the start of the movie, Iris had a vision of an accident taking place at the high-rise restaurant tower called the Skyview, killing hundreds of people, including Paul and herself. Thanks to her premonition, Iris is able to prevent the disaster and save everyone that was supposed to die. However, as these people were meant to die, Death began coming after the survivors and their descendants, who were never supposed to exist, in the order they would have died at the Skyview.

Due to recurring nightmares involving Iris' vision of the Skyview disaster, Stefani decides to return home and ask her family questions about their grandmother. When visiting her, Stefani is informed by Iris about Death coming after their family, before allowing herself to be die in hopes of convincing her granddaughter of the danger their family is in. Following Iris' funeral, the Campbell-Reyes family hosts a barbecue to celebrate Darlene's return, after she had left her family ten years prior. During the event, Howard trips on a shard of glass and has his head shredded by a lawnmower. Stefani tries to convince her family that Death coming for them, arguing that following Howard's death, his children are next, with Erik being first. Rebuffing her, Erik goes to work at his tattoo parlour.

At the tattoo shop, Erik finishes applying a tongue piercing to a client and is told to lock up by his boss. While alone and listening to music, Erik starts a chain reaction that leads to a hanging ceiling chain near a ceiling fan dislodging and attaching to his nose piercing. As the chain starts coiling around the fan, forcing Erik to stand on a glass display, some cleaning fluid that had spilled on the floor catches fire. As he tries to unhook his piercing from the chain, the ceiling fan detaches and Erik falls onto the fire, but is saved by his leather jacket.

The following day, Erik runs into Stefani and Charlie, who are still convinced that he is the next one to die. While the three of them are talking, Julia is knocked into a waste container that is picked up by a garbage truck. Despite their attempts to stop the driver, Julia is crushed by the truck's compactor. Questioning why Death would skip over Erik and go for Julia, Brenda reveals that Erik is not Howard's biological son, but a neighbor named Jerry Fenbury; as he was not a descendant of Iris, Erik was not targeted by Death.

As Stefani, Charlie, Darlene, and Bobby plan to go to a hospital in the hopes of getting answers from JB, a friend of Iris', Erik decides to join them in the hopes of saving his brother's life. There, they learn JB is William Bludworth, who informs them Iris saved his life as a young boy at the Sky View. Bludworth explains that the only way to defeat Death is to either take someone else's life or experience clinical death and be resuscitated; however, he warns them that interfering in Death's plan can have dire consequences. Deciding to use the second strategy, Erik takes Bobby into a room with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine with the plan to have Bobby flatline by eating a snack containing nuts, which he is allergic to, so that doctors can revive him. Unbeknownst to them, the MRI machine gets turned on, which proceeds to rip Erik's piercings out. The machine then causes a wheelchair behind Erik to pull him inside, which crushes and impales him.

Development

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Creation and casting

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Final Destination Bloodlines was directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein and written by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor, based on a story by them and Jon Watts.[1] Having the film focus on a family hunted by Death came from Watts, who pitched the idea to New Line Cinema.[2] According to Lipovsky, in contrast to prior Final Destination films that often featuring characters that were "kind of stereotypical or one dimensional" and audiences enjoyed seeing them die, for Bloodlines he and Stein wanted to use a similar starting point but then have audiences "discover that there [were] all these other layers to [the characters] that [they] didn't expect".[3]

Having one of the characters in the film be revealed as not biologically related to the Campbell family is an idea that the production team had from early on during the making of Bloodlines.[4] Producer Craig Perry stated that with the film following a family and establishing the order of death early on, they considered different ways to subvert audience expectations. At one point, it was considered for two members of the Campbell family to be twins, with the characters being unsure about which twin was born first, until one of them died. However, as the concept proved "problematic" and difficult to implement, it was decided to have one of the characters' parentage be revealed as different than what the Campbell family and audience initially assumed.[5] According to Stein, during an early draft of Bloodlines, Erik was to be a live streamer—instead of a tattoo artist—and that he would die while playing a virtual reality game during one of his live streams.[6]

Richard Harmon found out about Final Destination Bloodlines being in production through his agent, who informed him via email that he had an audition for the film.[7] A lifelong fan of the Final Destination franchise—having seen Final Destination 2 (2003) with friends when it first came out—Harmon told in an interview with IndieWire that he "[had to] be a part of [Bloodlines]" and auditioned for the roles of Erik and Paul.[7] Due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, Harmon did not receive an update concerning his audition for eight months. After production resumed, Harmon was asked to audition for the role of Erik again, and the following day had an online meeting with Lipovski and Stein. A week after said meeting, Harmon was informed by his agent that he had landed the role of Erik, which he described as "like the greatest thing that's ever happened" to him.[7] Harmon's involvement was officially announced alongside the rest of the film's cast in March 2024.[8]

Characterization and filming

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Harmon wanted Erik to be likeable and believes that the character is "misunderstood".[7] Harmon acknowledged that Erik "looks like a horror trope" and that audiences would make assumptions about Erik based on his "alt-looking emo, punk-rock" appearance; Harmon noted that such characters have often been featured in horror movies since the 1980s. However, Harmon realized that Erik would be more than just a stereotype when he read the script and saw that Erik had a picture of himself with his father Howard as his lockscreen; according to Harmon, this "informed [him]" and made him realize that Erik's love for his family is his "driving force".[7] Harmon stated that Erik's love for his family is also displayed when he tells Stefani to stop confronting his family about Death's plan—recognizing how it is upsetting his mother Brenda—and later on when he decided to go to the hospital and help Bobby cheat Death, arguing that despite the reveal over Erik's parentage, Bobby is "still his little brother and [Erik] won't let him die".[7] Busick also described Erik as characterized by his "hubris", arguing that despite him not being a descendant of Iris, his pride and arrogance is what led to him being targeted by Death.[2]

Erik's tattoos and piercing were created by makeup artist Todd Masters and his team MastersFX. According to Masters, Harmon often came to the team to try out a variety of tattoos and piercing "until [they] found Erik". As the majority of the tattoos and piercings were fake, they had to be reapplied on a daily basis.[9]

For the scene where Erik discovers that Howard is not his biological father, but rather a man named Jerry Fenbury, the directors asked Harmon to improvise his character's reaction; Stein described Harmon as an "incredible improviser".[3] Harmon improvised various reactions, using a different one for each take. One of his reactions ("Oh, God, is that why he always calls me Buckaroo?") could not be used because it caused his fellow castmates to break character and start laughing. Harmon clarified that the reaction of the characters to Erik's parentage was meant to indicate that Jerry Fenbury is "a fucking loser".[7] For one take, he decided to go against script directions and used the line "Fuck, mom. Fenbury got you too?!" instead.[7]

Tattoo parlor accident

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The scene at the tattoo parlour involving Erik's nose piercing getting hooked to a chain took place during the second week of filming.[7] Perry spent a week with a mannequin head that had a nose ring and various claps in order to figure out how such a piercing could get attached to a chain without it being capable of releasing.[10] According to Masters, the makeup artists "wanted [Harmon's] nose and parts of his face to distort [...] as they would if he was truly hanging".[9] Initially, an external device was to be used by the stunt team; this proved troublesome to Masters, as such a device had to "combine with a half-face prosthetic, which [he] felt would be troublesome in a big IMAX close-up".[9] For this reason, it was decided to create a device capable of going inside Harmon's nose, and after struggling with the design for weeks, animatronics supervisor Joshua Raymond came up with a design that worked the day before filming for the scene began.[9]

MRI machine death

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According to Lipovsky, having a death scene involving an MRI machine is something the crew conceived of early on during production of Bloodlines. However, an issue they faced was uncertainty over where in the film such a scene should be placed.[11] Moreover, Lipovsky and the crew also "debated the ethics" of placing such as scene in Bloodlines, recognizing that previous films had impacted viewers and consumers concerning certain objects or activities; such as Ashley's and Ashlyn's deaths involving tanning beds in Final Destination 3 (2006).[11] In the end, despite not knowing where the MRI death scene should be placed and questioning the ethics of including such as a scene, Lipovsky and Stein decided early on to include it in the film as it was "kind of everyone's favorite scene".[11]

To prepare for the scene, Busick and Evans Taylor did research on accidents involving MRI machines.[2] According to Stein, the crew found that while most accidents did not involve human injuries, there were several instances of objects such as "oxygen tanks or gurneys get[ting] sucked towards MRIs".[11] Commenting on this scene after Bloodlines' release, Doctor Max Wintermark—Chair of the Department of Neuroradiology at the University of Texas' MD Anderson Cancer Center—noted that most MRI machines are measured in Tesla units and the majority of them are 1.5 or 3 Teslas. Although higher-level MRI machines do exist—with one at the University of Florida reaching 11.7 Teslas—they are significantly more expensive.[11] According to Lipovsky, recognizing the need to "push reality beyond the scientific level [to] make a horror scene out of [an MRI machine]", they intentionally chose to set Erik's death in a hospital that also functions as a research center, helping justify the MRI machine reaching 7 Teslas.[11]

The MRI scene was the third one Harmon filmed with Owen Patrick Joyner (Bobby), during the first week of shooting. Harmon explained that while it was intended for the scene to include some comedy in it, it was also "important emotionally" to show that although Erik felt confident about his plan to kill and revive Bobby, he was still scared of it and unsure if it would actually work.[7] Harmon believed that his chemistry with Joyner helped convey the familial love between their characters.[7]

According to Harmon, Erik having a penile piercing was his own idea, arguing that it made sense for a character like Erik to have one given "the way that he's tattooed and [...] pierced".[12] Stein and Lipovski had originally considered the idea as well and decided to include it at Harmon's suggestion.[12] For Erik's death, a torso of Harmon was created that was folded in reverse and had "breakaway tattooed skins and an elaborate rig to tear it apart".[9]

Reception

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Critical response

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Richard Harmon (pictured 2018) received positive reviews for his performance as Erik.

Erik received a positive response from fans and critics. John Squires of Bloody Disgusting and IndieWire's Alison Foreman have both acknowledged him as being a fan favorite,[13][7] while ComicBook.com's Spencer Perry stated that Erik is the most interesting character in the film.[14] Rafael Motamayor of /Film praised Bloodlines's focus on a family as it gave the film "emotional undertone"; he argued that Erik's attempt to save Bobby despite the reveal he is not on Death's list and they are half-brothers as making it "hard not to get emotional and feel bad for the characters".[15] Foreman also described Erik as a tragic figure, given that he tries to help his family, "only to get screwed for it".[7]

Harmon's performance was lauded by various critics, often being singled out as the best performer in Bloodlines. Perry and Jonathan Sim of ComingSoon.net both highlight Harmon as one of the best actors in the film.[14][16] while The Guardian's Radheyan Simonpillai, who described the entire cast as "charming", singles out Harmon for his performance.[17] Harmon was also described as a scene stealer by /Film's BJ Colangelo and Jacob Oller of The A.V. Club,[18][19] with Foreman describing him as "magnetic".[20] Todd Gilchrist, writing for Variety, praised Harmon's performance as "surprisingly thoughtful" and argued it "enhances an overall atmosphere of subverted expectations".[21] Beatrice Loayza of The New York Times recognized Harmon as a "comic standout",[22] with The Hollywood Reporter writer Frank Scheck similarly noting that Harmon has "some very funny moments".[23]

Several critics highlighted Erik's near-death scene in the tattoo parlour. Katie Walsh of The Seattle Times praised it as "masterfully executed",[24] while NME's Jordan Bassett described it as a "fabulously nasty set-piece".[25] Jesse Hassenger of Paste acknowledged the scene as a "very funny fake-out".[26] Vulture writer Bilge Ebiri describes Erik's fake-out death scene as "hugely elaborate", also viewing his survival as surprising.[27] Relating to this, Jamie Graham of Empire described the reveal that Erik is not a descendant of Iris Campbell, and was thus not hunted by Death, as "clever and funny", and praised it for managing to toy with audiences expectations.[28]

Erik's death scene involving an MRI machine was praised. Scheck viewed Erik's death as the best one in Bloodlines.[23] Foreman deemed it the best in the franchise, describing the scene as making her emotional and recognizing it for "intertwining humor, horror, and heart".[20][7] Joe George of Den of Geek similarly described Erik's death—alongside Bobby's—as the sixth best death scene in the franchise.[29] George also recognized Erik and Bobby care for each other makes their deaths "poignant".[29] Relating to this, Oller praised Harmon's chemistry with Joyner.[19]

Analysis

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Erik's death by getting sucked inside an MRI machine was analyzed for its scientific accuracy. According to an expert that spoke with Today, most MRI machines are incapable of increasing in magnetic power; whenever there is a change in the strength of an MRI machine's magnetic field, its magnetic pull will become weaker, rather than stronger.[11] Despite this, Doctor Ben Inglis—physicist and manager at the University of California Berkeley Brain Imaging Center—acknowledged that the magnets within MRI machines are strong enough to pull various types of metallic objects in them. Today writer Sarah Jacoby noted instances of objects like oxygen tanks and wheelchairs getting sucked into such machines, with some incidents even leading to patients being injured.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Earl, William (May 16, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Directors on Adding Gore After Test Screenings, Tony Todd's Goodbye to Fans and How They Got the Job by Turning an Exec Zoom Call Into a Bloodbath". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 18, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Cairns, Bryan (May 28, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Writer Opens Up About Reviving the Beloved Franchise". ComicBook.com. Savage Ventures. Archived from the original on May 28, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Couch, Aaron (May 20, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Directors Share Secrets for Revitalizing a Franchise". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  4. ^ Busick et al. 2025, 1:03:46.
  5. ^ Busick et al. 2025, 1:05:17.
  6. ^ DeVore, Britta; Nemiroff, Perri (May 17, 2025). ""Every Death Was Different": Final Destination Bloodlines Co-Directors Reveal the Kills That Never Were". Collider. Valnet. Archived from the original on May 20, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Foreman, Alison (May 24, 2025). "The Magnetic Richard Harmon on Final Destination Bloodlines — "I'm Not Bad, Just Drawn That Way"". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (March 28, 2024). "Final Destination: Bloodlines Finds Cast With Brec Bassinger, Teo Briones, Kaitlyn Santa Juana". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025.
  9. ^ a b c d e Gingold, Michael (May 20, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines: Todd Masters' Deathly Makeup FX". Fangoria. Fangoria Publishing. Archived from the original on May 25, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  10. ^ Navarro, Meagan (May 15, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Directors Aimed to Deliver the Gnarliest Deaths in Franchise History". Bloody Disgusting. Cineverse. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Jacoby, Sarah (May 17, 2025). "Just how plausible was that Final Destination Bloodlines MRI scene? Experts weigh in". The Today Show. NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on May 18, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Jacobs, Eammon (May 19, 2025). "The Final Destination: Bloodlines scene that will make you wince the most was the actor's idea, he said". Business Insider. Axel Springer SE. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  13. ^ Squires, John (May 21, 2025). "The Best Final Destination Bloodlines Kill Was a Clever Homage to Final Destination 5". Bloody Disgusting. Cineverse. Archived from the original on May 24, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: Death Takes Center Stage in Mediocre Franchise Revival". ComicBook.com. Savage Ventures. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  15. ^ Motamayor, Rafael (May 16, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Does One Thing No Other Film In The Series Has Done Before". /Film. Static Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  16. ^ Sim, Jonathan (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: Series' Best Movie Yet". ComingSoon.net. Mandatory. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  17. ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination: Bloodlines review – death is back and more fun than ever". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  18. ^ Colangelo, BJ (May 14, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: A Bloody Good Return And A Fun Franchise Best". /Film. Static Media. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Oller, Jacob (May 13, 2025). "In Final Destination Bloodlines, giddy death traps run in the family". The A.V. Club. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  20. ^ a b Foreman, Alison (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: The Freak Accident Franchise Beats the Odds with Its Best Film Yet". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  21. ^ Gilchrist, Todd (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: A Silly But Satisfyingly Homicidal Series Of Unfortunate Events". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on May 15, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  22. ^ Loayza, Beatrice (May 15, 2025). "Final Destination: Bloodlines Review: Born to Die". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  23. ^ a b Scheck, Frank (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review: Sixth Installment Is a Blast of Sadistic Fun". The Hollywood Reporter. Eldridge Industries. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  24. ^ Walsh, Katie (May 15, 2025). "Review: Final Destination: Bloodlines reinvigorates horror franchise". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  25. ^ Bassett, Jordan (May 14, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines review: Death makes a glorious comeback". NME. NME Networks. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  26. ^ Hassenger, Jesse (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Doesn't Innovate, But It Delivers". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on May 13, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  27. ^ Ebiri, Bilge (May 16, 2025). "Final Destination: Bloodlines Confidently Revives the Best Horror-Movie Franchise". Vulture. Vox Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  28. ^ Graham, Jamie (May 13, 2025). "Final Destination Bloodlines Review". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on May 14, 2025. Retrieved May 24, 2025.
  29. ^ a b George, Joe (May 17, 2025). "Final Destination Kills Ranked from the Short and Sweet to Spectacularly Brutal". Den of Geek. DoG Tech LLC. Archived from the original on May 19, 2025. Retrieved May 25, 2025.

Bibliography

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