Final Destination 2

Review by Clint Morris

It came, it ruled, it ultimately went away...

I’m talking, of course, about the teen horror trend that Hollywood experienced a couple of years back, starting with the novel Scream and leading to such bubblegum classics as I Know what You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, The Faculty and Halloween H20.

It seemed every second film fit nicely into the genre there for a while, and then out of the blue, they disappeared, seemingly replaced by the bloods, guts and sausages variety of horror.

But with such dire clunkers as Valentine, Ripper: Letter from Hell, Soul Survivors and Cut, it’s no wonder they buried teenybopper gore.

Final Destination (2000) was one of the better efforts. A genuinely scary, and ultimately fun little flick about a clairvoyant boy having visions of a plane crash only minutes before it actually occurs, and enticing a few fellow students to cancel their flight just in time, it successfully combined horror, thrills and some jump-out-of-your-seat scares.

Its novel approach - now that they’ve escaped death because of the premonition doesn’t mean they’ve escaped their demise and one by one are dispatched of – is probably what made the movie so fresh.

Final Destination 2 doesn’t play as fresh – it’s a sequel, what do you expect? – but as an encore, it delivers rather well.

This time, it’s a young girl (A.J Cook) having premonitions, and in the nick of time saves several vehicles – and their passengers – from an imminent highway pile-up.

Needless to say, death’s not going to give up there, and sets out to knock off all the folks who were supposed to die in the crash.

The most notable thing about the sequel is the cast. While the stars of the first film we’re at last recognizable from television or smaller film parts, most of the folks in this one are as anonymous as the boy next door.

Except perhaps Ali Larter, reprising her role from the first film as soul survivor Clear Rivers. But A.J Cook, Michael Landes (you may remember him as Jimmy Olsen in the first season of TV’s “Lois and Clark”), Keegan Connor Tracy, and T.C Carson carry proceedings quite well despite their sound anonymity. Cook, especially, with her cute outer and anxious recital, should find herself with a nice little career.

But the star of the movie is the horror, and for the most part, it carries its weight.

The mass highway pile-up at the start of the film is indisputably frightening and inspiringly choreographed, but most of the scenes following don’t seem to have the same strength. Not to say they won’t have you jumping here and there – but they don’t have the same punch.

For the most part though, everything comes together quite well and, while it's not exactly proof that the teen horror genre is alive and well (again), Final Destination 2 still succeeds as a solid and generally enjoyable follow-up.

3 out of 5

Final Destination 2
Australian release: Thursday March 6
Cast: Ali Larter, A.J. Cook, Michael Landes, T.C. Carson, Jonathan Cherry, Keegan Conner Tracy, Sarah Carter, Lynda Boyd.
Director: David Ellis.
Website: Click here

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