Final Destination 2

2000's Final Destination is the film that brought back my faith in modern horror movies. For the longest time I thought everything was going to be just another too-smart-for-it's-own-good Scream clone, and for the longest time that was the trend. Final Destination was a breath of fresh air, providing a new premise and some of the most wonderfully over the top death scenes this side of, well, most any kind of movie. When it came time for a sequel, I'll admit I was rather wary, as the law of diminishing returns tends to come into major effect when it comes to the horror genre. Final Destination 2, while not the best horror film ever made, is still an extremely fun flick and a worthy follow up to a great original.

It's the anniversary of the crash of Flight 180 (from the first film to those unacquainted), and already the supposed death curse of its survivors has found its way into urban legend lore. Nevertheless, most people just write this off as just a myth, and make their way merrily through life without any concern of their impending death. Enter Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) of upstate New York, going with some close friends on a road trip to Daytona Beach for spring break.

On the ride down, she cannot help but feel a bit unsettled, particularly in the wake of all the 180 memorials that seem to be going around. Traveling along the rain-slicked highway, she cannot help but be unsettled by sights that should be normal by everyday standards. "Highway to Hell" plays on the radio. A kid crashes two toy cars the next vehicle over. A busload of football players shouts "Pile up!" incessantly. A guy in a beer truck is driving drunk. Most anyone and everyone on the road happens to be driving like a maniac, none moreso than a massive logging truck that weaves all over the road. In a flash, the straps on the truck break, spilling logs all over the road and letting loose in a long, gory, multiple vehicle pileup. Logs decapitate, crush and send vehicles flying. Cars flip, explode and slam into each other like children's toys. With her SUV thrown end over end and friends tossed about like rag dolls, Kimberly thanks her lucky stars that she is still alive. Unfortunately, this revelry is short-lived, as an out of control car-carrying truck piles through a flaming wreck like a demon from hell, and with death looming Kimberly screams like she's never screamed before and promptly snaps out of her dream back at the turnpike. Looking to alleviate an upcoming disaster, Kimberly blocks the onramp and keeps all those behind her from getting in on the accident that happens just moments later. Feeling vindicated, Kimberly bursts into tears with the shock of it all. She is brought back to reality when the out of control car-carrying truck destroys her SUV and kills her friends, her life spared only by the intervention of a nearby Highway Patrol officer.

Unwittingly Kimberly has enraged Death himself much like Alex did in the wake of Flight 180, and as survivors begin to die off one at a time, it's a race against time to beat Death's plan once and for all.

While the script is lacking the character depth and development of the original film, it more than makes up for it with a very quick pace and the fact that it never forgets what kind of movie it really is and doesn't pretend to be anything else.

Well, like most any horror sequel, or horror movie period for that matter, the acting of Final Destination 2 is easily one of its weakest spots. It's not a particularly badly acted movie, but it has few within it that truly does anything more than recite their lines. Still, when everyone's just around to get killed off in the most creative manners possible, this isn't entirely a bad thing. Returning stars Ali Larter and Tony Todd are as reliable as ever, particularly Todd who's got the creepy guy act down like it's nobody's business. Michael Landes is decent as a hero and Jonathan Cherry is all right for comic relief, but A.J. Cook's lead heroine act is flat at best and unsympathetic at worst.

Director David R. Ellis has had decades of experience as a stuntman and stunt coordinator, and his efforts really show as the action scenes and money shots of this movie are meticulously placed and very well paced. When it comes to staging a major action sequence (particularly the film's opening car accident), I could not think of anyone better to do the job. When it comes to the character-driven moments, well, the film's direction is a bit weak. It's impossible to make a connection with any of these people, but given the fact that we know they're all going to die, maybe we were never supposed to. For someone who doesn't direct full time, it's still a pretty damn good effort.

Once again, I gotta say you must love a film that goes for the practical effects whenever possible and saves those generated within a computer for when they are absolutely necessary. Yes, CGI is used consistently throughout the movie, but only to do the impossible (i.e. the infamous bouncing logs, the barbed wire scene and augmenting existing effects), while the lions share is stuff done in camera. From using dummies to simulate people being crushed by a massive pane of glass to good old fashioned pyrotechnics, this film uses the classic techniques to their greatest advantage. Flat out the best effects scene this movie has is the opening car wreck, and let me tell you it is one of the most brutal things you'll see. One car piles into another into another, each more cringe-inducing than the last, each person dying a more painful death than anyone deserves. Dummies, stunt people, models, makeup effects, CGI, everything you can imagine went into this scene and it truly shows. An amazing job all around.

The original Final Destination was a modestly bloody movie overall, but when it comes down to it it's pretty tame by most people's standards. That being said, Final Destination 2 more than makes up for what the original lacked by heaping on the gore and by the gallon, which is a good thing and bad thing at the same time. The gorehound within all of us can most certainly enjoy the truly visceral scenes, and when you see a dude split in half it most certainly has it's place. On the other hand though, given the class act that the original Final Destination was, the blood and gore within this entry to the series seems to be rather distracting, it's graphic violence out of place when equal amounts of restraint could have been taken. It's not that I mind really, but do we really need to see a fifteen year old kid splattered all over the street like an exploding hefty bag of blood in graphic detail?

Why Death doesn't just give all these people a massive, collective heart attack is beyond me, as his Rube Goldbergian machinations seem to be designed for the sole purpose of helping people elude his every effort. Not that I'm complaining, since really the Final Destination franchise has prided itself in some of the most creative deaths around, and Part 2 more than delivers. Everyone's fear of elevators is realized when a vital piece of anatomy is caught within one. A flock of pigeons sends a young boy to his doom. An airbag creates one of the most flat out surprising deaths in recent memory. More elaborate, over the top and just flat out bloody than the original, the deaths in Final Destination 2 are some of the most memorable and bloody you're liable to find. I gotta give credit to whoever thought up the barbed wire of doom, that was just frickin inspired.

It's not as cerebral as the original Final Destination, but at the same time does not fall into the usual sequel trap and flat out suck. It's far from a classic, but you'll have a good time watching it. All in all, I'd definitely recommend it as one of the most fun entries in modern horror that you will find.