Final Destination 5

Ratings: 6.8/10

Film Class: C+

Genre: Horror Thriller

Ok, so what does Final Destination 5 have which its prequels doesn't have? It wouldn't be fair for me to say much since I've only ever remembered bits and pieces of 1-3 and which I never bothered to catch the 4th. I mean afterall, they're all the same... Final Destination's 5-episode long franchise is all about death, and about seeing how every one dies one after another. So, what's new?

For you fans out there, good news. Nothing. It's still the same Final Destination from day 1, and I would think after all these years, the CG would have at least kept itself up to modern standards. Boohoo, ain't the case for this one as well. The opening sequence was excruciatingly long, scenes of broken glass, shattered glass, glass fragments over and over again. The director must have had some glass fetish. There were some stuff here and there, but really... nothing much to see.

The cast was pretty amateurish. Not many familiar faces, and it really did feel like a C grade movie. Low budget, if not for the rather decent "fake" scene of the bridge falling apart at the start.

The buildup wasn't as strong as I remembered its prequels to be, this time round, it was kinda cut to the chase, wipe them out, in the goriest way possible. There's a slight twist this time round though, and I shan't spoil it for you since that's about the most interesting it could get (*hint* about avoiding death).

Surviving the collapse of a massive suspense bridge, 8 survivors must once again figure out how to beat Death, before Death finds its way to them again. I thought the scene seconds before the closing credit was just too ironically lame, but it's forgivable considering the nature of the theme. However, I have to bring up an important point just before the ending scene (pre-ending scene). For those who are unfamiliar with the Final Destination (me included), this trivia might win some brownie points.

*major spoilers ahead* The final scene in which both leads took the plane to Paris was actually the very first scene in Final Destination 1. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember much of it, but according to my friend who's an avid fan of the Final Destination franchise, the guy in the white shirt shouting that he needs to get off the plane was the same person/cast in the very first installment. So, do lookout for him. With that scene, it kinda made it for me. Even though I was never fond of the plot, and the development, I thought the way the director "tied" everything up was pretty clever.

Final Destination is almost certainly the last of its franchise (from the looks of the ending). So, even though you know it's not gonna be a blockbuster of any sorts, and would like a movie to get you at the edge of your seat, this movie might just make your day. The death scenes were rather interesting and one particular scene, about "lasik", got me squirming a little since I've gone through that myself. I think the thing about movies like these, in cases where you've been "through" them one way or another, there's certainly gonna be an elevated surge of cortisol (fear hormones). If not, it's still worth a scare or two, or maybe even 5.