Final Destination 2

College student Kimberly Corman (A. J. Cook) sets off on the road for Daytona Beach with her friends when she has a premonition of a multicar pileup on the freeway before exiting the on-ramp. Kimberly blocks the on-ramp with her car and tries to tell police officer Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) of the pileup but it happens anyway but not before Burke pulls her out of the way of a speeding car carrier that kills her friends. While other survivors of the pileup are dubious of Kimberly's premonition, Burke is more inclined to believe her as he was involved in the cleanup of Flight 180 one-year prior which experienced similar circumstances. As survivors of the pileup begin dying off, Kimberly seeks help of the voluntarily institutionalized Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) who has isolated herself from anything and everything since the death of Alex Browning. But Kimberly has visions that could lead to them escaping death's plan.

Following the success of the first Final Destination, then New Line Cinema President Toby Emmerich approached Jeffrey Reddick to commission a sequel which Reddick agreed to do. Reddick stated his intent with this entry was to "expand the mythology" in order to avoid telling the same story over again. Previous film's director and writers James Wong and Glen Morgan were unavailable as they were busy with their respective projects of Jet Li's The One and the Willard remake respectively. The film instead was helmed by David R. Ellis whose prior directing credit was Homeward Bound II in 1996 and had more frequently worked as a second unit director and stunt coordinator with writers Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber coming on board as co-writers. Upon release, the movie had a respectable opening weekend of $16 million at number 2 opening behind The Recruit and eventually made back $90 million worldwide against its $26 million budget, a slight step down from the original's $110 million haul but still profitable. Critical reception while still mixed was somewhat improved from the first one with some like Roger Ebert who gave the original three stars only gave one and a half to the sequel. While Final Destination is fairly similar to the first movie in terms of setup with a formula pretty settled at this point, it is well made and delivers and what you expect and it does continue on from the first film.

Unlike the first film whose cast of teen archetypes were very much molded by the late 90s framework of post-Screamsploitation that defined a number of horror films in terms of marketing and writing, the characters in Final Destination 2 are slightly more likable and less grating than they were in the first film, even ones who are supposed to be kind of abrasive have some redeeming moments. A. J. Cook is no surprise here a solid lead especially for anyone who's seen her work on Criminal Minds, and I also enjoyed Michael Landes as Burke and Ali Larter's reprise of the character Clear Rivers. Tony Todd also returns as the Mortician (credited as Mr. Bludworth) and much like the first film his creepy commanding presence is welcome and is probably the closest thing we have to the personification of an antagonist. The story is still pretty thin as it is mostly a lose chain of accidental deaths that follow some kind of path, but it does try to add new elements to avoid falling into a repeat such as the characters seeking a way to beat Death's plan by way of "new life" and while it's not 100% successful at avoiding sequel pitfalls it works well enough and the fact that the film has a relatively closed ending (albeit one with a very mean spirited joke) makes Final Destination 2 feel more like the closing half of a two parter rather than something overtly cynical as you've seen with some sequels.

If you liked Final Destination, odds are you'll probably like Final Destination 2. It doesn't stretch too far from what was established and there is some sense of "deja view" as is the case with most sequels, but there are attempts at doing things differently from how they were done the last time and the ending that eschews sequel baiting was rather refreshing so take that for what it's worth.

I was apprehensive when I didn't Devon Sawa in the credits or this movie, but then again, this film didn't really need him. This wasn't a sequel in the purest sense, but the film makers created methods to link all of the new characters to the old ones, creating a flow which wasn't too jarring. Unfortunately, the dialogue was the only real stinker in this film. The pretentiousness, the obviousness and the downright hokiness that came out of the mouths of the characters really detracted from the tension, turning their performances into a bunch of acting class rejects. But I digress. The only thing people are looking for is how Death will get the new set of escape artists. The sheer surprise and execution of the executions made me jump and crawl. In such a desensitized world we live in, being able to jump out of my seat means this film is a winner.

If you loved the original Final Destination, then you will almost certainly enjoy the sequel, a virtual carbon-copy of the first film, except that everything is bigger and much, much bloodier.

This time around, a group of travellers narrowly avoid being involved in a spectacular freeway pile-up thanks to an eerie premonition experienced by driver Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) as she waits on the on-ramp. Feeling cheated once again, Death alters his grand design to try and claim the lives of those who escaped his clutches. As the survivors of the accident begin to die in the order witnessed in her vision, Kimberley realises what is happening, and tracks down the sole survivor of flight 180, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), for help.

Despite working with material that rarely explores new territory, director David R. Ellis directs with gusto: his freeway pile-up is an absolutely jaw-dropping piece of cinema—a brutal, bloody and disturbing set-piece—and the subsequent death scenes are masterfully orchestrated pieces of mayhem that tease the audience with several possible bloody conclusions, before delivering their always impressive pay-off (gory fatalities are caused by a falling ladder, a sheet of glass, a faulty elevator, an air-bag, a flying wire fence, and a barbecue!!!).

In amongst the graphic bloodletting, Ellis also finds time to throw in some very nice visual touches (such as the tree shadows which resemble clutching skeletal hands) and lots of delightfully dark humour (gotta love that final shot!). A thoroughly entertaining piece of OTT popcorn horror, Final Destination 2 gets a very respectable 7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Love these movies. But I'm pretty sure they gave me anxiety for the rest of my life lol positive actually.

EVERYTHING'S A SIGN THAT DEATH IS NEAR

I had no idea reviews had to be so many characters. I'll keep typing trying to think of stuff.

I definitely freak out every time I see an 18-wheeler on the interstate carrying tree logs.

Also, every time I'm driving and "highway to hell" by AC/DC comes on the radio, I immediately think of this movie and also consider pulling over. The signs really are everywhere if you look for them. Thank you writers for the trauma and extra anxiety in my adult life. I love you.

This was almost like a flashback to a few weeks ago when the exact same thing happened for real on Interstate 4. It wasn't a log truck, but fog and a controlled burn that caused an 80-car pileup and much burning of trucks and bodies. I could not help but think of that when I saw the incredible accident scene in this film. It could have been used as news footage.

This is probably only the second film in which I have seen A.J. Cook (JJ from "Criminal Minds") and Ali Larter ("Heroes"), but they did a credible job in a film where the story was far more important than the individual characters, none of whom rose to any significance. In fact. most were probably former WB stars. The only one I remember with any interest was Odessa Munroe.

But the story and the special effects and the gore and, certainly, the suspense, made this film worth watching and peaked my interest in the prequel and the sequel, although not having seen the first one does not take anything away from this one.

Check it out.