Final Destination

There are a number of super talented actor/directors in Hollywood. One of the most prolific is James Wong. In this film which he not only wrote, but directed as well he displays what many would consider his best work to date. This is the story of Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) who accompanies his high school friends on a field trip to France. However, moments before the plane departs, Alex has a premonition the plane will explode in mid-air. Sensing he is about to die, he breaks for the exit in a violent plea to leave the aircraft. When he demands to be put off, several of his friends add to his fear by panicking. When they are asked to leave, they are held by the security police in the waiting area, where they all see the plane depart and then moments later explode in mid-air. There after things which should go better for him, having saved peoples lives, go terribly wrong. One by one all the people whom he saved begin to die mysteriously with Alex realizing he knows why. Death stalks everyone, but in this story, they are warned in advance. The movie has some horrific moments, which the audience senses become more pronounced as death arrives. Great acting by the cast makes this film a must see. ****

A minor SPOILER here.

A very good premise that gradually - and inevitably - drifts into teen horror film territory. I say inevitably because there is a group of teens involved so obviously there can be no long-term seriousness. Still, I was a little surprised just how unseriously the movie ends. When one compares the excellent beginning with the ridiculous horror/comedy ending, it is like looking at two different movies. It's a pity that the premise wasn't taken and "assigned" to a cast of adults, i.e. that a "serious" horror film wasn't made. Nevertheless, FD is never dull; even the obviously weaker second half. The flight disaster scenes are terrific, the murder scenes are very good, and there is real interest as to what is going to happen next, in spite of a premonition that the conclusion can't and won't be satisfactory. The conclusion is almost like a mockery of all the previous happenings (the movie turns from horror into the horror comedy genre). Easily the dumbest scene, however, isn't the ending but the way the aggressive teen turns around his car to beat up the movie's main hero, and nearly kills the bicycle-driving teen - while completely ignoring the fact that he nearly killed him and caused an accident! That was really, really dumb.

The first Final Destination is recognized as somewhat of a classic in some circles, but for whatever reason doesn't seem to have been given its proper place in the pantheon. The idea for the story and the way it is executed, pun intended, is really clever, filled with diabolical humor and imagination. It's most ingenious device is making literally the entire world, from the most mundane object to the most innocuous event, into the "monster."

Final Destination is an awesome movie full of fun jump scares and humourous 'accidents' which is exactly what you want in this type of movie.

As there are half a dozen of these movies it does become a challenge to separate what deaths happen in each movie as they all blend together somewhat.

Its targeted at a teen audience, in spite of that the film works for all age groups. Check it out :)

Inventive, effectively eerie spine-chiller is a step up in the teen horror genre. High schooler Sawa has a horrific vision of his plane crashing just moments before its departure on a class field trip. He and several others exit the plane only to discover that it does in fact crash, but things take a shocking turn when the remaining survivors begin to die in the most mysterious ways. Story is intriguing, suspense ebbs and flows throughout, and there are enough violent deaths to satisfy the target audience. Although the ending is a bit of a disappointment and should have been planned out better, overall this is one of the better films of the genre. ***