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Recent releases:
- That They May Face the Rising Sun
- Jericho Ridge
- Civil War
- Mothers' Instinct
- Sweet East, The
- Ghost Busters: Frozen Empire
- Immaculate
- Roaring Twenties, The (reissue)
- Soul
- Dune: part two
- American Star
- Dune: Part 1 (reissue)
- Jerry & Marge Go Large
- Argylle
- Forever Young
- Jackdaw
- All of Us Strangers
- Holdovers, The
- Mean Girls
- Poor Things
Final Destination, The (3D)
Stars: Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Haley Webb, Nick Zano, Mykelti Williamson, Krista Allen, Andrew Fiscella
Director: David R Ellis
Nobody ever accused Hollywood of consistent invention. Money drives moviemaking and so it is, when moviemakers turn to remakes and sequels. And when sequels start to fade then 3-D appears to be the new solution.
It certainly works every well here in a superior shocker that doesnt even attempt to use logic or credibility as fuel for its nerve-scraping thrill ride. In 1896 French cinemagoers screamed when they saw the Lumiere Brothers locomotive in Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, believing the engine would come out of the screen and crush them. Now 3-D can make cinematic threat real too, the perfect solution for horror buffs who enjoy being terrified in the safety of the auditorium.
And fans of fear are very well catered for by writer Eric Bress and director David R Ellis who revisit the death on the prowl plot of the three hit Destination movies and spice it splendidly with state-of-the-art 3-D film which takes your mind off the lack of logic and sheer commonsense and instead sets out to scare you shirtless by shoving everything from skewers, knives and explosions, to racing cars, assorted mayhem and grisly human remains - right into your face.
It works, too, mostly on a violent, visceral (complete with fragments of viscera) level as we watch out heroes and heroines having a hellish time trying to avoid Death which is out to claim them while leading man Campo tries to use his premonitions to avoid the Grim Reaper. The acting is adequate, the editing crisp and the direction strictly to the point. But above all, superb 3-D filming and special effects make this a superior shocker for genre fans. (If youre considering it as a date movie, though, a member of the Addams family might be your best bet for a date).
Alan Frank
USA 2009. UK Distributor: Entertainment. Colour.
82 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 3, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.
Review date: 26 Aug 2009