Final Destination

I will freely admit that I am one of those annoying people who are not all that crazy about the modern Horror film. Though, for a few different reasons than some others I think. I really don't have that big of a problem with the "hip young cast". Let's remember that Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Bacon were once "hip young stars" in the films they first made. I do however despise Jennifer Love Hewitt. I don't care how nice her chest is, that is a reason to watch a porno, not a horror film.

No, the reason I don't like them is that they don't really attempt anything new. The films in the 80's had a cutting edge to them. Films like "The Prowler" may not have been original, but the in-your-face make-up made it work. The late 70's started the slasher craze, but the 80's took them to the harsh level they were remembered for. The 90's slasher films are nothing more than just pale carbon-copies.

So when I saw the commercials for "Final Destination" when it was first coming to theaters, I was a bit on the hesitant side. It looked like a promising idea for a film, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't drop the ball though. I really wanted to see it though. I even liked some of the add campaigns. Such as the commercials showing the actual audience reaction shots. A very clever idea.

I missed the film in the theaters, but was very anxious to see it when it hit DVD. The word of mouth was very impressive. Over at Feo Amante's site they even called it a "modern classic"! I have a pretty decent amount of faith in the review team over at Feo's site. So I was quite stoked.

The story is simple, kind-of. Simple, yet quite original. A group of teenagers are getting to go on a trip to France. One of them is stricken with visions of the plane crashing. With this vision comes a moment of freaking out and eventually he gets thrown off of the plane, along with a few other students. Once off the plane the students (and one teacher) watch in horror as the plane does indeed explode and kill all on board.

From then on out the each survivor is faced with death. Who survives and who doesn't is up to you to find out. Alex, the main character figures out that death is chasing them all and he even figures out the order that it is going to happen in.

"Final Destination" is a good mix of "Roller Coaster" ride style, "Haunted House" style and just good ol' suspense. It makes you think a little about life. It also makes you think a little about death. But the best part is that it is a hell of allot of fun.

The film was made by ex-X Files guys. It feels like an X-Files episode in the ways that "Planet Of The Apes" feels like a "Twilight Zone" episode (it was co-written by Serling). While watching it, you don't keep saying "man, is this The X-Files?", but once you find out it is by the same guys, you see the similarities. But it is not a feature length X-Files episode.

Acting wise, the film is strong. The lead, Alex, is very well played out and the actor plays it as how we would all hope we would be in his situation. All of the characters are very likable.

The picture on the disc is you standard new film transfer. By that I mean jaw-dropping. I think that we all know that when a new film comes out from now on, they will all look great. If not, the studio needs to fold up shop at once. So here is the typical bunch of words: Deep blacks, sharp and vibrant colors. Great stuff, big surprise.

So now the bits you really care about. The supplementals. Now as I have stated, never buy a movie for the supplements alone. Buy movies you like, and if it has extras, GREAT! Be happy! But never get pissed for a lack of extras. But hey, lucky you! This one has extras! Now, I didn't get a chance to watch them all. I rented this thing and I didn't feel like sitting up all night. But I can tell you that from the bits I did see, this is a strong winner.

For once I can take my hat off to a studio and say that the right choices were made with the cuts. The deleted scenes all deserved to be cut. The whole love story was chopped out, YAY!!!!!!! Plus the ending they got rid of was a actually more upbeat than the one that got put on! Plus the original ending just seemed to drag and drag and drag! This movie was smiled on all along and a great film was the result.

This is a movie that I can tell Horror fans to just go ahead and buy it if you are looking for a new DVD but nothing is out for you right now. You can feel safe that this is one you will enjoy. I do agree with all of the positive things said about it. And yes, even that it is a modern classic!