Final Destination 5 (2011)
Genre: Horror
Format: Theatrical Release
Director: Steven Quale
Attention all horror movie lovers: The Final Destination series is back in its true form! The previous entry, The Final Destination, is certainly one of the worst movies ever made and nothing could ever redeem it from that pit of cinematic hell. Final Destination 5 however is able to retain the entertaining savagery and creativity of the second and third films.
The plot in these movies is simple: a bunch of people are able to escape deaths from a horrible disaster because of the premonition experienced by one of them. Then, one by one, they all started to die horribly because Death doesn't like to be cheated. This time around, a bunch of co-workers are able to save themselves from a monumental bridge collapse and man, the premonition scene that shows off the brutal ways they would have died there is quite horrific. More horrific however is what to follow as the survivors each encounter what would be normal everyday scenarios turn really, really bad. Of course you can't see Death in these movies and it presents itself as a series of innocent decisions made by the survivors or others around them that work their ways into becoming the cause of the survivors' unfortunate ends. Sometimes, it is easy to say that these people die because of their own undoing and that is the deliciously sadistic thing about the Final Destination films - note that when I mention good things about the series, they don't involve the rotten trash that is The Final Destination. This movie contains, without a single doubt, one of the best death scenes in the entire series - the one involving the gymnast. Nothing, and I said nothing, can prepare you for the particular nastiness of this scene and the incredibly meticulous, sublime build up leading to the actual death is just pure genius! I watched the Real-D version of the movie and though the 3D effects look nice for the most part, they can be a bit distracting at times but at least they didn't cheapen the experience like they did in the last movie. Apparently, Steven Quale has worked with the technology with James Cameron before so he knows what he is doing and the entire film was indeed shot with a 3D camera but to be honest, I think it's time that we leave the 3D gimmickry behind us. Unlike Saw 3D where the 3D effects are used rather selectively, here Quale is pushing for the 3D look in almost every single scene of the film. Obviously, he was trying too hard. If you have to choose between the two, you won't miss anything just watching the standard 35mm print.
I was really worried about this franchise after The Final Destination debacle. Usually something that putrid is all you need to kill off what was a well-established movie series and it would have been a shame because of the unique concept behind these films. I am glad to see that Final Destination 5 is a success even if it is possible that this could be the franchise's final entry. It's good to stop things on a high note but I sure hope that we will get to see more of these movies in the future because of how good this one really is.
RATING: 4 out of 5
Here's how I rank the Final Destination movies from top to bottom:
Final Destination 2
Final Destination 3
Final Destination 5
Final Destination
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