Since Scream began the rage in the mid 1990's, the slasher/horror film has received somewhat of a new start. Final Destination was a low budget horror thriller with a supernatural twist that surprised everyone with success. So 2003 brought about the sequel and once again death has his eyes on you!
With a brand new cast, save Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), once again an unknowing soul has been unexplicably given the powers to see an oncoming catastrophe killings dozens. As with the original, Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook), uses this flash of fore knowledge to alter the original path of death, thereby killing off other people and saving those who should have died.
While the first was a tragic airplane crash, Destination 2 uses the guise of a terrible car wreck involving dozens of cars. The opening 10 minutes of the movie is likely the most gruesome I have seen in a while with very convincing visual effects. During the savior process she happens to just save a state trooper, Thomas Burke (Michael Landes). He thinks she is somewhat insane, since she blocked off an exit which thereby saved those people's lives whom were behind her.
After the wreck that kills others that were not meant to die, the gang of survivors ends up at the police station where the mysterious deaths of the first movie and his claim of premonition seem eerily familiar to these saved souls. The movie then picks up with each of the saved people dying odd gruesome deaths one by one with Clear from the original, Kimberly and Thomas trying to stop the deaths from happening. The movie is full of gruesome death sequences and is not for the faint of heart. Definitely as good as slasher/horror movies get, especially with the supernatural twist.
The Disc:
If you're willing to watch such gruesome bloody special effects then you might as well demand the best looking transfer. That is what we get here with an impeccable 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. Everything about this presentation is dead-on with stunning visuals everywhere.
As far as sound goes this soundtrack may be even better than the transfer. Available in Dolby Digital Surround EX and DTS 6.1 Discrete options, this is a very aggressive experience. You know how much we love DTS and to hear the truly sonic sounds of the opening's car crash in true surround is nothing short of breathtaking. We are talking the feeling of really being in a wreck!
The disc is presented with Infinifilm so you should know what to expect as far as the goodies go. The screen-specific audio commentary features director David Elllis, producer Craig Perry and screenwriters Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber. Although a little too chatty at times it is quite worth a listen. To help things out there is also a text fact track.
Several featurettes make up the bulk of the extras including The Terror Gauge (14 minutes), Cheating Death (18 minutes) and Bits & Pieces, a 31-minute documentary on the rise of the splatter film and how the gruesome effects of Final Destination 2 were created. Great stuff here indeed!
bottom line:
Even better than the original in almost every way, Final Destination 2 is a horror fans perfect night. Although the movie may have little replay value, it is packed with extras and well designed enough to earn this rating.
4 out of 5
By - Brian Gray
