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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