Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Nicholas D'Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, PJ Byrne, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Courtney B Vance, Tony Todd
Written by Eric Heisserer
Certification UK 15 | US R
Runtime 92 minutes
Directed by Steven Quale
Final Destination 5 is somewhat of a surprise. Usually by the fifth film in an ongoing series, the quality has sunk to an abysmal level – witness Saw, Halloween, Friday the 13th and A Nightmare on Elm Street. But FD5 breaks the mould by actually being good. Very, very good. In fact, I'd go as far as saying this could well be the best of the series.
The plot follows the same formula as the previous four films, although this time the standard teens in peril are switched for some twentysomething factory workers on their way to a company retreat. As their bus heads onto a suspension bridge, one of the guys has a premonition that the bridge is going to collapse. he manages to get most of his colleagues off the bus before the bridge does, indeed, collapse in spectacular style. And so, over the coming months, the survivors are despatched in the usual grisly ways.
So yeah, there's nothing particularly new or original there as far as the Final Destination films go. And like all of them bar the first one, there's no real character development here. All the actors are the conventional, oh-so-pretty Americans we see on screen all the time. In fact, a couple of them even resemble big stars – one of the guys is the spitting image of Tom Cruise, and one of the girls could easily be a double for Shannon Elisabeth. And do be honest, the characters are secondary; when the final credits roll, I doubt you'll even remember their names. But the film is just so much fun that none of that matters. The special effects – the opening bridge collapse is simply stunning – are all first rate. The kills are deliciously grisly and gory. And the film is funny. Incredibly, blackly, hilariously funny. Every single kill had the audience doubled up in fits of laughter ... with the exception of one involving someone's eye, which had us all squirming in our seats. We're all a bit touchy when it comes to our eyes, aren't we?
But the real surprise with FD5 is the 3D. From the amazing opening credits right through to the end, the 3D is nothng short of brilliant. It's easily the best horror film to ever use the format, and is further proof that if studios want to use 3D, then the films should be MADE using 3D – not converted in post production. And the 3D totally enhances the film, never once detracting from it. There are a few nods to the previous films – genre fave Tony Todd is back as the coroner who really knows what's going on (is he, perhaps, Death incarnate?) – and a final twist that will knock your socks off. Final Destination 5 is bloody good fun.