The Final Destination

It’s clear instantly that The Final Destination has been crafted with an eye towards appealing solely to the ongoing series’ most die-hard fans, with the decision to place a consistent emphasis on elaborate kill sequences over plot and character development certainly ensuring that detractors will find exceedingly little worth embracing here. The almost comically thin storyline follows four friends (Bobby Campo’s Nick, Shantel VanSanten’s Lori, Nick Zano’s Hunt, and Haley Webb’s Janet) as they narrowly escape death after Nick foresees a calamitous accident at a stock-car race, with, as anticipated, the remainder of the proceedings detailing the carnage that ensues as the myriad of survivors fall prey to a series of fatal (and gleefully) grisly “accidents.” Though it boasts a far more low-rent atmosphere than its three predecessors, The Final Destination nevertheless manages to sustain the viewer’s interest for the entirety of its appreciatively brisk running time – as the film’s lack of substance ensures that there’s exceedingly little downtime between the unapologetically brutal interludes that have come to define these movies. The pervasively superficial approach results in a dearth of wholeheartedly compelling and sympathetic characters, with Mykelti Williamson’s George Lanter the sole figure within the proceedings that manages to become more than just fodder for death’s sadistic design (which isn’t terribly surprising given that George is the only figure that receives even a hint of backstory). There’s little doubt, however, that The Final Destination ultimately delivers where it counts, as the various cast members meet their gruesome end in a series of creative and impressively mean-spirited set pieces – thus cementing the film’s place as a fitting follow-up to its trio of like-minded forebears.

*** out of ****