Final Destination Review

With the fifth installment of this franchise out in theaters, I decided I would sit down and watch the original. When this film first came out, it sure did frighten a lot of people, and the rated R stance was good for the time. Even though the rest of the films started to exponentially suck, this one still packs a punch. Join me in looking at Final Destination, in this lackluster review of epic proportions.

Final Destination is a movie that seems quite easy to follow. It stars some talent from television and film including Devon Sawa, Kerr Smith, and even Stifler or rather Seann William Scott. The movie’s plot is simply cheating death, and how by cheating death, the force wants revenge and slowly takes the lives of those that were spared in tragedy, killing them in obscure and relatively elaborate fashion. The movie is well; rudimentary at this point, but still has some sick moments.

The gore is ok; there are a few points of just impactful sickness. Heads getting cut off, impalement, and other things really make for an interesting scenario of things. The opening sequence and visions really set up this film and the execution is classic, with the teens trying to figure out what’s going on and how to deal with the aspect of being chased by death.

The film is interesting at first, but lags in the second and third act. You start to get bored with the premise as the paranoia in each character sets in further and further only to produce horrific endings. The movie does in fact have a nice twist, but after so many years, repeated viewings, and sequels it just seems cumbersome to me.

I wouldn’t recommend Final Destination; it’s not that great. Sure it has an interesting premise for the year, and while there are some high quality gore sequences, the overall lack of villain outside of a “force” really gets me bothered. Sure, I’m willing to stretch a lot, but the idea of “death” having a list, just seems bland. I’d prefer having a real person with a list…heck I’d prefer Jack Frost’s list…ok, that’s a bit much, but eh, this one is still the best of the series, and that’s not saying a whole lot. The latest edition is in theaters, and I won’t see it…I’m broke again. It seems that it’s a recurring theme here at Scary Film, always broke, but eh, that’s ok. Final Destination is worth checking out if you haven’t seen it before, but it is not going to break any new ground for you. So there, I don't recommend it, but I do...I'm an idiot.

Remember to subscribe to the Scary Film RSS feed here. Tell your friends, and what not.