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One of the most formulaic genres in cinema must surely be the
'teen slasher' movie. This genre has such strict rules that
it seems like each film follows the same plot but with different
actors (well, sometimes even the same actors). We all know this,
but every year people flock to the latest version of the story
where fresh faced teens are picked off one by one by a malevolent
enemy. Final Destination is the most recent incarnation of this
old story and also one of the more enjoyable and innovative.
Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) and his classmates are off on a
school trip to Paris. As he boards the plane, he gets a mysterious
premonition that the flight is doomed to crash (cue one of the
most graphic air disaster sequences in recent memory). He flees
the aircraft, dragging six others with him, and then from the
safety of airport terminal witnesses the fiery crash that follows.
The lucky survivors do not have long to ponder their good fortune,
for soon after their escape, they start dying in bizarre circumstances.
It turns out that 'death' does not like being cheated and is
making amends by finding ways to kill them all anyway.
This film has all the corny elements of its teen slasher predecessors.
The protagonists are dumb enough to wander around in the dark
by themselves and put themselves into dangerous situations,
but yet their minds are brilliant enough to figure out the motives
and patterns of 'death' itself. And nobody ever fully explains
how Alex got his mysterious power to see the future.
What makes Final Destination cool is its ironic sense of humour.
Some of the 'accidental' deaths are so contrived, that you cannot
help laughing despite the gore. One poor victim has to negotiate
her way around a dodgy gas stove, a suspect kettle, a leaking
glass, a short circuiting computer, and a precariously placed
knife block. Then there's the role of the late John Denver (!)
in each of the deaths, which is hilarious, but in dubious taste.
Obviously you don't go to this sort of movie to see brilliant
acting, but this cast of mostly unknowns do a convincing enough
job and no doubt we will see some of them popping up in future
movies (Ali Larter is already the veteran of Varsity Blues and
House on Haunted Hill.)
Overall, one of the better teen horrors to come long in recent
times. It runs the fine line between horror and humour and does
not rely too heavily on special effects (in fact, you never
actually see the 'killer' in this one). Not recommended, however,
as an in flight movie.
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