One of the most unsurprising pieces of Hollywood behind-the-scenes trivia I have ever read is that Final Destination, the first in a now-six film-long series, originated as a speculative script for The X-Files. It was written as such by Jeffrey Reddick, looking to score work in television with a sample script. A studio colleague persuaded him to expand his TV script into a feature, and that expanded version wound up in the hands of – of all people – former X-Files writers and producers Glen Morgan and James Wong. The end result, rewritten by Morgan and Wong with Wong directing, feels like the popular TV drama through and through. Its supernatural happenings are even investigated by a pair of dogged FBI agents.

High schooler Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is about to board a flight for a class trip to Paris when he experiences a premonition of their death. Kicked off along with several resentful classmates, he immediately witnesses the aeroplane explode above the runway for real. As he and the other survivors attempt to move on with their lives, death itself begins to track them down one by one in a series of improbable – and fatal – accidents.

One of the best parts of The X-Files was that its greatest episodes were effectively mini-movies in their own right, so it is no surprise to see Final Destination work effectively as a feature film. It has a smart, attention-grabbing premise and a neat line in elaborate death scenes. One of them in particular, featuring an ill-fated school teacher (Kristen Cloke), is essentially a Rube-Goldberg machine of suspense with an elaborate set-up and an unexpectedly funny-awful conclusion.

There is less elaboration on the characters, who essentially operate as ciphers for the next horrifying death in the chain. They are effectively summarised by type: the ‘everyperson’ (Sawa), the ‘sexy loner’ (Ali Larter), the ‘jock’ (Kerr Smith), the ‘clown’ (Seann William Scott), and the ‘girlfriend’ (Amanda Detmer). Some of the cast struggle better than others with their underwritten roles, but they do all struggle.

There is a weird idiosyncratic scene in which Alex and Clear (Larter) break into a funeral home, only to run into a morbid undertaker with a taste for portent. He is played by Tony Todd, formerly of Candyman and The Crow, and is weirdly fascinating to watch. He is the highlight of the film – so much so that he returned to the role for appearances in three more Final Destination films, the last to be released posthumously in a few weeks’ time. Whether or not that appeal is good or bad for the film; he is partly so welcome because the protagonists are so underwhelming.

The key concept of the film perhaps works better than the execution of it, so it is not a surprise that Final Destination generated sequels. This first iteration of the idea is entertaining enough, but it will take a film or two to hone the ideas into something that maximises its entertainment value.