The Final Destination (2009) New Line/Horror-Thriller RT: 82 minutes Rated R (strong violent images, gruesome accidents, language, a scene of sexuality) Director: David R. Ellis Screenplay: Eric Bress Music: Brian Tyler Cinematography: Glen MacPherson Release date: August 28, 2009 (US) Cast: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella, Justin Welborn, Stephanie Honore, Lara Grice, Jackson Walker, Phil Austin, William Aguillard, Brendan Aguillard, Tina Parker, Cecile Monteyne, Stacey Dizon. Box Office: $66.4M (US)/$186.5M (World)
Rating: ** ½
Why did they name this one The Final Destination as opposed to Final Destination 4? Is it because they wanted audiences to believe it was the final Final Destination? HA! Anybody who knows the horror genre knows that the final anything is NEVER the last one. If it makes enough money, they’ll find a way to make another one (or several). Misleading title aside, The Final Destination has the distinction of being the first FD movie made and presented in 3D. “Made” is the key word here. It’s NOT one of those post-conversion jobs where nothing comes at you. Quite a number of things come at you in The Final Destination including blood and body parts. Can you think of a better topping for your popcorn?
Before I get into the storyline (such as it is), I’d like to point out a scene that if it’s what I think it is, it’s in questionable taste. One of the characters/future victims is a big time racist. I’m talking about a redneck that whistles “Dixie” when he sees a black security guard and later calls him the n-word to his face. He goes to the black guy’s house to burn a cross on his front lawn and ends up being dragged down the street by his own tow truck with a chain wrapped around his ankles. Is this scene in any way referencing the horrific murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, TX in 1998? It sure seems like it to me. I hate to assign blame to a movie that exists solely to show elaborate gruesome deaths but is it the right move to remind viewers of a terrible hate crime in this way? In this context? I honestly don’t know if that was the intention of the filmmaker; I just found it curious.
ANYWAY, the central catastrophe in The Final Destination takes place at a speedway. People, including Nick (Campo, the TV series Scream), his girlfriend Lori (VanSanten, One Tree Hill) and their friends Hunt (Zano, What I Like About You) and Janet (Webb, MTV’s Teen Wolf), have come to watch a race. It’s Nick who has the vision of impending disaster. A car crashes, debris flies into the crowd, the stadium collapses and many attendees are killed in gruesome ways- e.g. a lady gets crushed by an engine block. Nick snaps back to reality and gets his friends to leave. A few others follow including a mechanic and his wife, the aforementioned racist, security guard George (Williamson, Forrest Gump) and a family- husband, MILF wife (Allen, Feast) and two sons. The disaster happens as predicted and the survivors are left shaken. A few days later, they start dying off. Nick becomes convinced that Death is coming for them all and tries to find a way to avoid their fates.
I’ll start by saying that I think The Final Destination is the weakest entry in the series. Director David R. Ellis (FD2) doesn’t even attempt to do anything new or original. It’s just more of the same, this time in 3D. By the way, the 3D is actually really good. However, the deaths are nice and gory. Since this is the main selling point of the FD movies, it’s a good thing. So what do we great treated to this time? I already told you about the racist a**hole. A woman gets shot through the eye by a stone propelled by a lawn mower. A man is hit in the chest with a flying CO2 tank and dismembered through a chain link fence. A man is crushed by an overflowing bathtub. Another is hit by an ambulance. And then there’s my personal favorite. A particularly douche-y character has his intestines sucked out through his ass after getting stuck on a pool drain. Most of this flies off the screen right into your face. Now that’s what I call an added feature; it’s totally worth the extra three bucks. The only drawback is that the gore is obviously CGI. Oh well, you can’t have it all I guess.
What’s the point in even commenting on the acting? It’s mostly bad with the possible exception of Williamson as a recovering alcoholic riddled with guilt over a past tragedy. He’s okay; his character is the only one that the writers even try to develop. Everybody else is basically a caricature and a sheep lined up for the slaughter. Once again, Tony Todd’s creepy mortician doesn’t show up. Nick figures out the rules all by himself more or less.
I’m not going to waste time talking about plot, script or anything like that. I will say that The Final Destination is especially thin in the plot area. It’s basically a bunch of death scenes strung together by a semblance of a plot. For what it is, it’s fine. You get what you pay for; how can I knock a movie that delivers what it promises (except for the whole final Final thing)? My final verdict, it works well enough but it will never be mistaken for great cinema.
