WHAT’S IT ABOUT
During a bus ride with his colleagues to a corporate retreat, Sam (Nicholas D’Agosto) experiences a horrifying vision: the suspension bridge that they — and many others — are crossing starts to crumble around them. When his vision ends and, almost immediately, starts to come true, Sam takes quick action that saves a number of people, including his girlfriend, Molly (Emma Bell), and his best friend, Peter (Miles Fisher). However, the survivors soon find that Death will not be denied.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
After the pathetic fourth installment, I wasn’t expecting much with “Final Destination 5.” I expected it to be another cash grab with the same tired formula and forgettable characters. Boy, was I wrong! This fifth installment isn’t great – it’s potentially one of the greatest in the entire franchise, bringing new ideas to the franchise while giving some of the most beautiful death scenes ever put on screen. And that ending? Let us just say that I DID NOT anticipate that. The movie opens with a group of friends driving to a company retreat when Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto) has a terrifying vision of the suspension bridge they are on collapsing, killing everybody in a graphically awful manner. Sam manages to get his girlfriend Molly (Emma Bell) and a couple of others off the bridge before the disaster actually happens exactly as he had envisioned. This opening disaster sequence is COMPLETELY INSANE. Bridge collapse is hands-down one of the most visceral disaster scenes in any Final Destination film. The manner in which it mixes up colossal structural failure with claustrophobic personal terror as characters plummet, become impaled, smashed, and even sliced in half by cables is a nightmare on a plate. The special effects are top-notch here—a significant advance over the sometimes tacky CGI of the previous movie—with a perfect blend of practical effects and computer imagery that renders everything appallingly real. What distinguishes “Final Destination 5” from its predecessors is a clever new spin on the tried-and-true formula. Once the first few deaths have transpired, the creepy coroner Bludworth (Tony Todd, making a welcome return to the show) appears and explains that there may be a flaw in Death’s scheme: when you murder somebody else, you get to spend the remaining years that person would’ve had. This moral dilemma adds a fascinating twist to the tried-and-true “don’t die” concept. Now, our heroes aren’t only fleeing Death—they’re struggling with whether they might actually kill someone else to save their own skins. It adds real tension between the survivors and makes you question which of them will finally lose it and become a murderer.Let’s face facts—we watch these films for the wild death scenes, and “Final Destination 5” doesn’t disappoint with some sheer masterpieces. The gymnastics accident is nightmare fuel of the absolute worst kind, using our assumptions against us before falling with a huge jaw-dropping twist. The laser eye surgery montage? I actually had to watch part of it through my own fingers, it plays on such a primal terror that I was literally uncomfortable the entire time. The actual champion is the bridge collapse and a kitchen sequence with a chef and some surprising implements. The movie is patient in creating tension in every death scene, showing all the potential dangers to us and making us wince as we try to guess how every character is going to pass away. Director Steven Quale (who worked on “Avatar” and “Titanic”) brings a visual gloss to these scenes that was missing from the previous film. The movie does what’s best. It balances tension and shock perfectly. While the tension was always in a hurry to bring itself to its punchline in comparison to the fourth installment, which tended to zip along to the punchline too quickly, “Final Destination 5” recognizes that the tension build-up is equally as valuable. It’s not so much about knowing someone will die—it’s about the sheer torture of knowing something atrocious is going to occur. Another major improvement from “The Final Destination” is that the fifth installment does give us characters with personalities. Sam is actually a likable hero who just wants to follow his dreams of being a Parisian chef. His romance with Molly is convincing and not just a plot device. Peter (Miles Fisher, who eerily resembles Tom Cruise) has a fascinating background as he gradually spirals into desperation and madness following his girlfriend’s murder. Even the extras stand out. Isaac, the office creep, and Candice, the gymnast, are more than cannon fodder—they possess personality, so their eventual demises are all the more effective. The movie lingers in introducing these characters and getting rid of them, and thus, the tension and the emotional impact become more heightened. Without revealing too much for those who have not seen the movie, “Final Destination 5” has one of the most perfect twist endings that I’ve seen in a horror movie. It’s the kind of surprise that’ll have you wishing to rewatch the whole movie all over again just to pick up all those pieces you missed. The brilliance is that it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to pull a fast one or like it was added in retrospect—the directors seeded us with little hints along the way that only makes sense in hindsight. The climax ties the whole franchise together in ways that are surprising yet satisfying. It’s rare that the fifth installment in a series is such a good ending, but in some way, “Final Destination 5” pulls it off. Apart from characters and storyline, “Final Destination 5” is just such a highly produced film. The cinematography is sleek and stylish, using depth of field and framing to make even mundane places like an office or kitchen eerie. The 3D (if you did catch it so in the theater) was used to create suspense, not for cheap “stuff at the camera” moments. The score by Brian Tyler is good at creating tension, and the sound design of the death scenes is particularly unnerving. From the sound of crunching bones to the squelch of. you know, you get the point. all of it sounds just agonizing enough. The movie isn’t flawless, of course. Some of the lines are still pretty cheesy, and some of the acting from the supporting players is a little wooden. There’s also this weird subplot about Sam’s future in cooking that doesn’t go anywhere. And if you stop and think about it, actually, some of the “signs” and portents that Sam gets are a bit too handy to the plot. But these are tiny quibbles in an otherwise pleasantly excellent horror sequel. “Final Destination 5” is that rare sequel that actually improves upon its forebears in good ways. It does what naturally comes with the formula provided and throws in new twists that create actual moral dilemmas for its characters. The death scenes are perhaps the most creative and shocking of the entire franchise, and the tech is fantastic all the way around. But what truly impresses me, though, is that twist ending that puts the whole prior film into a new perspective. That’s the kind of smart storytelling you don’t quite anticipate in the fifth entry of a horror series. If you are a fan of the series who was let down by the fourth installment, this one will have faith in the franchise back in business again. And if you’ve never watched a Final Destination film before, this is really a great point to begin with. Just be ready to watch through your fingers during a few scenes and possibly avoid suspension bridges for a few weeks.
OUR RATING – A BEST DEATH 8
MEDIA
- Genre – Horror
- Street date
- Digital/Blu-Ray/DVD – December 27, 2011
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size 2.39:1
- Sound – English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles – English SDH, Spanish
Extras
- Final Destination 5:’ Circle of Death (HD, 6 min.) – Be sure to watch the movie before this noise-filled special feature because it spoils the twist ending. To avoid spoiling it myself, I’ll refrain from describing this short featurette by only saying that it describes why ‘The Final Destination‘ wasn’t really the final destination.
- Alternate Death Scenes (HD, 16 min.) – There is no reason why this feature should be 16 minutes long. It doesn’t just show two different death scenes, it show everything leading up to them. Instead of showing the last two seconds of the massage parlor death that differs from the theatrical cut, it also shows the identical ten minutes prior to it. Instead of showing just the 30-second change from the laser eye surgery machine, it shows everything that happens into the four minutes leading up to it. Those are the only two alternate deaths and neither differs significantly from the film.
- Visual Effect of Death: Collapsing Bridge (HD, 9 min.) – Instead of breaking down how the strong visual effects were created, this feature merely splits the screen into two and fills one half with the original shot and the other shot with the final plate. They play out harmoniously, showing the before and after. No description or explanation is given.
- Visual Effects of Death: Airplane Crash (HD, 3 min.) – This featurette is exactly like the last – detail-less.