Every single horror movie has to overcome one particular obstacle, and most of them fail at doing so: making the audience care about the hapless victims before they die. Why is this important? Because deaths mean nothing when they’re ascribed to nameless, faceless, throwaway characters with no discernibly unique personalities. To bypass that obstacle, horror movies have long since adopted the practice of using stereotypes like “The Cheerleader”, “The Nerd”, “The Jock”, and “The Token Black Guy” to fill out the roster; never so much giving them personalities as basic character descriptions audiences will recognize. In a way, The Final Destination franchise turned that practice on its head by making the method of slaughter the true “characters” and turning the victims into mere tools for delivering bloody or just brutal carnage. Now, with Final Destination 5, the fourth sequel despite the seemingly “final” title of its predecessor (The Final Destination), the franchise doesn’t find any new ways to make the installment stand out, but it does create a surprising tie-in making it something of an unexpected prequel.
A corporate retreat goes horribly wrong when the bus carrying a collection of higher executives drives on to a suspension bridge, only to have it fall to pieces, killing them and everyone around them in a series of expected and unexpected deaths. Only it doesn’t. It seems all of that happened in Sam’s (Nicholas D’Agosto) mind, and so when he panics and ushers his co-workers off the bus, he helps them escape the fates that should have befallen them. Survivors: 1. Death: 0. And, like always, Death is a sore loser, leading it to claim the lives of those who defied it, but with one caveat: if they kill someone else, death is appeased and they’re granted the time that should have belonged to their victim. A few interesting moral questions are then explored at a wholly shallow level, but if that’s why you’re watching the franchise you’ve taken a few wrong turns anyways.
The deaths aren’t particularly original this time around, and perhaps only the last few will catch you off guard, just not in the way that you’d expect. It’s not a great horror film, or really even a good one, but it’s just entertaining enough to hold your attention. If that’s all you look for in a horror flick, then go for it, for everyone else, better fare exists.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
The combo pack includes the film on Blu-ray, DVD, and as an Ultraviolet Digital Copy (which should be avoided until studios resume the iTunes version). The best featurette is easily the alternate death scenes for the characters, followed closely by a review of the film’s deaths. Lastly, a breakdown of the film’s two most CGI-intensive scenes compares the finished product to its creative steps.
"Final Destination 5" is on sale December 27, 2011 and is rated R. Horror. Directed by Steven Quale. Written by Eric Heisserer. Starring David Koechner, Emma Bell, Nicholas DAgosto, Pj Byrne, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta.
