Film Reviews

Final Destination 5

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• Details: USA/91mins 16

Stars: Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher

It's hard to know what to think of these films now. The tone has drastically changed from fun-but-creepy, to fun-but-campy, to sombre-and-creepy, to utter shite - back to just plain campy. The last film (which was mercifully called The Final Destination) was unwatchable. This instalment, while certainly a step-up from the fourth, runs out of ideas early on, but still manages a couple of amusing moments.
As is the norm with these flicks, the film starts with a bang. A group of corporate types are heading away for a weekend retreat, when one of the group, Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto doing some of the best confused/scared faces I've ever seen), has a vision of a bridge collapsing. Pulling some of his friends off the bus before the tragedy takes place, they soon start dying in ways that would make Jigsaw soil himself with excitement.
The trick this time seems to be leading the audience down one road, then killing off its stars in a different, more sudden manner. That's fine; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. There are just these long segments in between that while sporadically irony-filled, are painful to watch. They feel like filmed rehearsals, rushed so the filmmakers can get to the good stuff - folk being decapitated and whatnot.
There is a twist, that - while easy enough to see coming if you're paying attention (in fairness, I get paid to) - is still quite smart. When it does happen, the film becomes something else, something smarter than any other sequel, but still ultimately garbage. That might seem harsh given the content that we're dealing with here and the fact that an attempt was made at the plot end is encouraging, if never really fulfilled. The problem is the execution - not with the set pieces - but everything else.
Horribly unwatchable in parts, some of the kills are fun enough to keep gore hounds amused. You've seen this before, though. Four times to be exact.

Review by Mike Sheridan