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There's not much to fear in 'Final Destination 2'
A.J. Cook (left) and Michael Landes in 'Final Destination 2'
Shane Harvey, New Line Cinema
Michael Machosky can be reached via e-mail or at 412-320-7901.
"Final Destination 2" is an old-school slasher movie of the "Friday the 13th"/"Nightmare on Elm Street" variety. Except, without the slasher.
Why bring back the slasher movie now? Why do slasher movies even exist?
Because we're such nasty little ghouls that we keep going to see them. For the sheer prurient thrill of seeing somebody - but not us - get it, in the worst possible ways. At least, somebody in Hollywood seems to think so.
It wasn't so long ago that brain-dead blood 'n' guts slasher movies were just about the only horror movies we'd get. "The Sixth Sense," however, proved that the public would go see moody, atmospheric horror movies with fractured, unpredictable narratives - and suddenly the big-budget slasher movie was six feet deep. Until now.
In "Final Destination 2," death itself is the slasher.
Kimberly (A.J. Cook), a suburban Everygirl headed on spring break in Daytona, Fla., with her friends in Dad's SUV, has a premonition of a horrific road wreck. She pulls her vehicle over, blocking traffic. A young cop pulls in behind her to find out what the problem is.
Then, the dozen-car-pileup happens just ahead, like she predicted. The cop pulls Kimberly out of the way of an onrushing truck. The truck hits the SUV, spattering her friends' shredded bodies all over the freeway.
We know, of course, from the heavy-handed prologue, that a boy who had a similar premonition years ago about a plane crash and convinced his friends to stay home survived the crash. Shortly thereafter, though, he and his friends succumbed to a gruesome series of fatal accidents.
Kimberly surmises that she, and all the people behind her that she saved, are in for the same fate. She's right.
Death apparently doesn't like it when you screw up his list.
This actually is a pretty good idea for a horror movie, although the recent hit "The Ring" takes on a similar premise, with less ludicrous results. It's never explained why Kimberly gets these premonitions, or why Death has faulty wiring in the first place. Slasher movies never explain these things.
The young cast gamely utters lines such as "It's a sign! Nora and Tim are going to be attacked by pigeons!" without laughing or rolling their eyes - which is good. It's nice to see fresh, young faces in these kinds of films, instead of the same tired old Hollywood hacks slumming it for a paycheck. I honestly expected Christopher Walken to jump out at some
point as black-robed Death incarnate.
Oh, yeah, and there's plenty of gore. Some of it is set up pretty suspensefully - you never know what mundane situations harbor the potential for grisly mishaps, or what string of 'coincidences' will prove deadly. If you're a gorehound, you'll definitely dig some of the entrail-spewing fates Death has wished upon our young heroes. For everyone else, this movie will be about as fun as a gastrointestinal disorder.
You've been warned.
| 'Final Destination 2' |
Director: Ali Larter, A.J. Cook
Stars: David R. Ellis
MPAA Rating: R, for violence, brief nudity
