Final Destination 5 Movie Review

As per usual, there is nothing "final" in the horror genre, no matter how many times closure of the casket is promised. That's certainly the case with the evergreen Final Destination film franchise (with number 5 coming out in theaters on August 12), but that's quite alright: Bludworth (Tony Todd) hasn't worn out his welcome yet.

The elaborate set up is the same — a premonition of death spills into real life, forcing a collection of students / friends / coworkers to try and figure how to cheat Death as they watch in abject futility as their numbers dwindle — in this case, it's Sam (Nicolas D'Agosto). Sam is a 20-something paper-pusher who's in a private bus on his way to an office retreat. Sam isn't much looking forward to the weekend, especially since his girlfriend and coworker Molly (Emma Bell) has picked this moment to break up with him. Just when he thought things could not get any worse, Bludworth gives suffering Sam a sneak peek at his fatal future.

In an elaborately-choreographed scene which uses 3D to its very best advantage, the suspension bridge collapses, jolting the coach and sending everyone out into the open, one way or another. We see each person's grisly demise, back-to-broken-back, then in traditional FD fashion, the premonition rewinds and we are back to Sam's waking reality… which is about to spiral out into an even worse waking nightmare.

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Check out our previous Final Destination coverage here, including set visit reports from FD5 and FD3, plus reviews of all the Final Destination movies and DVDs.

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While it's not as solid as the first Final Destination and nor is it as funky-fun as the third one (still love that tanning bed scene), I am happy to report that Final Destination 5 does manage to rise nicely from the ashes of FD 4 (review).

First time director (but film veteran) Steven Quale does a bang-up job with Eric Heisserer's script (Heisserer also got credit for the Nightmare on Elm Street reboot, and has The Thing remake coming up) in presenting the characters a bit beyond the cookie cutter pale. While Quale isn't a master of suspense by any means, when the inevitable ends come, we actually know who is dying. I would attribute that to the casting. Each actor is believable (as possible, given the subject matter, of course).

While there are some squirm-inducing accidental deaths involving lasix eye surgery gone blindingly bad and a gymnasts' disastrous dismount, my (and the audience's) favorite set-piece was definitely the one in an Asian day-spa, starring (and skewering) comedic actor P.J. Bryne as Isaac, the loathsome lothario everyone loves to hate.

Another standout is Miles Fisher, who is notorious for his Tom Cruise sofa-spoof in Superhero Movie and is known for small roles on TV series such as Mad Men and The Cleaner. Fisher plays a pivotal role as Peter, Sam's supervisor at the paper factory. He has one of the more, er, fleshed out scenarios in FD5, as it is he who figured out how to cheat death… for a time. Emma Bell, whom genre fans know from the film Frozen and the AMC series The Walking Dead, is sympathetic and sweet as Sam's sweetheart, but my favorite lady in the movie was bad girl Olivia, played by Jacqueline MacInnes Wood. I've never seen any of Woods' previous performances, and while I will say she looks like a lot of other flavor of the month starlets (Megan Fox, Olivia Wilde), I have to say she's got a little extra sugar and spice in her slice and dice scenario.

I'm not a 3D cheerleader by any means, but I don't mind it when it serves the story. In the case of FD5, it definitely helps keep the story alive. Quale's acumen, in having cut his dimensional eye-teeth as protégé and A.D. to none other than James Cameron, shows nicely here. Much of the film is actually in 2D and is only augmented slightly by the hyper-reality of comin'-at-ya visual volleys. When it really needs some punch, that's when Quale pulls none — it's good stuff. Not to mention a few, er, head-spinning twists you won't see coming and an ending that would make Steven Slater smile.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

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