FINAL
DESTINATION 2 ($28) proves the old adage that second helpings aren’t
as satisfying as the first. Personally, I really liked the original FINAL
DESTINATION, and thought it was a really cool, reasonably intelligent
fright flick from X-FILES alumnus James Wong and Glen Morgan. As
for the sequel, it isn’t quite as inventive as the first film and
suffers from Hollywood’s preoccupation with turning any modestly
successful horror movie into a formulaic franchise (perhaps that is why
Wong and Morgan didn’t take part). Of course, I do want to give credit
to the sequel in the areas in which it deserves it- FINAL DESTINATION 2
shines in the areas of special effects, stunts and splatter; coming up
with a number of creative and bloody deaths for the film’s cast of
characters.
The
plot of FINAL DESTINATION 2 trails on the events of the first film,
opening on the anniversary of the day that flight 180 exploded, killing
all but the handful of passengers that exited the plane, when one of them
foresaw the disaster. In the sequel, teenager Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook)
sets out on a road trip with her friends to a spring break destination.
Just before getting on the highway, Kimberly has a highly detailed
premonition about a horrifying traffic accident, in which she, her friends
and some of the people in the vehicles behind them are killed. Freaked out
by her vision, Kimberly decides to block traffic to the on ramp, just as
the fatal traffic accident begins on the highway ahead of them all. In
saving herself and the others, Kimberly has upset "death’s
design" and almost immediately, a series of grisly freak accidents
begin claiming the lives of the those spared by the traffic accident. With
nowhere else to turn, Kimberly seeks out Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), the
only member of the flight 180 survivors, who has managed to stay alive,
despite being continually stalked by death itself. The cast of FINAL
DESTINATION 2 also features Michael Landes, David Paetkau, James Kirk,
Lynda Boyd, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jonathan Cherry, T.C. Carson, Justina
Machado and Tony Todd reprising his creepy little cameo from the first
film.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made FINAL DESTINATION 2 available on
DVD as part of their Infinifilm Series in 1.85:1 wide screen presentation
that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. As I have come
to expect from New Line, the quality of this DVD is to die for. The image
is wonderfully crisp and really finely detailed- offering virtually
demonstration quality video throughout. Colors are highly saturated, with
very natural looking flesh tones and absolutely no signs of chroma noise
or bleeding (except for the characters). Blacks appear as pure as pitch,
whites are clean and stable, plus contrast is uniformly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer is pristine and displays very little by
way of a noticeable grain structure. Digital compression artifacts are
virtually absent from the presentation.
Featuring
discrete 5.1/6.1 channel soundtracks in both the flavors of Dolby Digital
and DTS, FINAL DESTINATION 2 is definitely a killer audio
experience. While the subject matter may not appeal to every taste, this
aggressively mixed track is slam bang amazing during the cataclysmic
highway accident. Sound effects rush at the viewer and right through them
during the high intensity moments, with the entire soundstage coming to
life in a sonic storm. Although they are certain to impress the surround
junkies with their efforts, the sound designers have also created a mix
that maintains a cohesive sonic environment during the showcase sequences,
as well as producing quietly creepy smaller moments. Dialogue reproduction
is crisp and completely understandable, plus the actors’ voices have a
distinctly natural quality. The bass channel is percussive and especially
impressive during the film’s high impact showstopper. In comparing the
two digital soundtracks, one will find that both offer demonstration
quality material, although DTS does have a slight edge in providing
warmth, dimensionality and more intensive bass. An English Dolby Surround
track is also encoded onto the DVD.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials contained on
the DVD. This being an Infinifilm release, the viewer has the option of
watching the movie in an interactive mode, in which supplements pertaining
to a particular moment become available during the course of the film.
Some of the supplements can be viewed standard fashion from outside of the
movie and are accessible via the menu system. FINAL DESTINATION 2
features a running audio commentary with director David Elllis, producer
Craig Perry and screenwriters Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber, which is
very interesting and gives a good deal of technical detail on how the film
was made. A text based Fact Track is also included, which
offers information in pop-up fashion throughout the course of the movie.
Up
next are the featurettes. The Terror Gauge is a
fourteen-minute program in which the reactions of various test subjects
watching FINAL DESTINATION 2 are analyzed via scientific means. Cheating
Death runs eighteen minutes and features a group of interviewees
that relay their own near death experiences. Bits & Pieces
is a half hour program that looks at the horror sub-genre of splatter
movies, with its theatrical origins in Grand Guignol and its cinematic
rise through the efforts of exploitation filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Also included on the DVD are five deleted scenes and scene extensions,
which total about nine minutes of additional material. Two music videos, Middle
of Nowhere by Blank Theory and Seven Days a Week by
The Sounds, plus a theatrical trailer and the interactive Choose
Your Fate game close out the supplements.
I
found FINAL DESTINATION 2 to be a serviceable horror sequel that
lacks the ingenuity of the original, but it does feature some great
special effects and stunt work. However, if you like splatter movies with
a grandiose scope and devoid of any sort of deeper meaning behind them,
then you will probably love FINAL DESTINATION 2. As for the FINAL
DESTINATION 2 DVD, New Line has produced another demonstration quality
DVD; one with a solid compliment of supplemental materials.
FINAL
DESTINATION 2 ($28) proves the old adage that second helpings aren’t
as satisfying as the first. Personally, I really liked the original FINAL
DESTINATION, and thought it was a really cool, reasonably intelligent
fright flick from X-FILES alumnus James Wong and Glen Morgan. As
for the sequel, it isn’t quite as inventive as the first film and
suffers from Hollywood’s preoccupation with turning any modestly
successful horror movie into a formulaic franchise (perhaps that is why
Wong and Morgan didn’t take part). Of course, I do want to give credit
to the sequel in the areas in which it deserves it- FINAL DESTINATION 2
shines in the areas of special effects, stunts and splatter; coming up
with a number of creative and bloody deaths for the film’s cast of
characters.
The
plot of FINAL DESTINATION 2 trails on the events of the first film,
opening on the anniversary of the day that flight 180 exploded, killing
all but the handful of passengers that exited the plane, when one of them
foresaw the disaster. In the sequel, teenager Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook)
sets out on a road trip with her friends to a spring break destination.
Just before getting on the highway, Kimberly has a highly detailed
premonition about a horrifying traffic accident, in which she, her friends
and some of the people in the vehicles behind them are killed. Freaked out
by her vision, Kimberly decides to block traffic to the on ramp, just as
the fatal traffic accident begins on the highway ahead of them all. In
saving herself and the others, Kimberly has upset "death’s
design" and almost immediately, a series of grisly freak accidents
begin claiming the lives of the those spared by the traffic accident. With
nowhere else to turn, Kimberly seeks out Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), the
only member of the flight 180 survivors, who has managed to stay alive,
despite being continually stalked by death itself. The cast of FINAL
DESTINATION 2 also features Michael Landes, David Paetkau, James Kirk,
Lynda Boyd, Keegan Connor Tracy, Jonathan Cherry, T.C. Carson, Justina
Machado and Tony Todd reprising his creepy little cameo from the first
film.
New
Line Home Entertainment has made FINAL DESTINATION 2 available on
DVD as part of their Infinifilm Series in 1.85:1 wide screen presentation
that features the anamorphic enhancement for 16:9 displays. As I have come
to expect from New Line, the quality of this DVD is to die for. The image
is wonderfully crisp and really finely detailed- offering virtually
demonstration quality video throughout. Colors are highly saturated, with
very natural looking flesh tones and absolutely no signs of chroma noise
or bleeding (except for the characters). Blacks appear as pure as pitch,
whites are clean and stable, plus contrast is uniformly excellent. The
film element used for the transfer is pristine and displays very little by
way of a noticeable grain structure. Digital compression artifacts are
virtually absent from the presentation.
Featuring
discrete 5.1/6.1 channel soundtracks in both the flavors of Dolby Digital
and DTS, FINAL DESTINATION 2 is definitely a killer audio
experience. While the subject matter may not appeal to every taste, this
aggressively mixed track is slam bang amazing during the cataclysmic
highway accident. Sound effects rush at the viewer and right through them
during the high intensity moments, with the entire soundstage coming to
life in a sonic storm. Although they are certain to impress the surround
junkies with their efforts, the sound designers have also created a mix
that maintains a cohesive sonic environment during the showcase sequences,
as well as producing quietly creepy smaller moments. Dialogue reproduction
is crisp and completely understandable, plus the actors’ voices have a
distinctly natural quality. The bass channel is percussive and especially
impressive during the film’s high impact showstopper. In comparing the
two digital soundtracks, one will find that both offer demonstration
quality material, although DTS does have a slight edge in providing
warmth, dimensionality and more intensive bass. An English Dolby Surround
track is also encoded onto the DVD.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD’s interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as the supplemental materials contained on
the DVD. This being an Infinifilm release, the viewer has the option of
watching the movie in an interactive mode, in which supplements pertaining
to a particular moment become available during the course of the film.
Some of the supplements can be viewed standard fashion from outside of the
movie and are accessible via the menu system. FINAL DESTINATION 2
features a running audio commentary with director David Elllis, producer
Craig Perry and screenwriters Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber, which is
very interesting and gives a good deal of technical detail on how the film
was made. A text based Fact Track is also included, which
offers information in pop-up fashion throughout the course of the movie.
Up
next are the featurettes. The Terror Gauge is a
fourteen-minute program in which the reactions of various test subjects
watching FINAL DESTINATION 2 are analyzed via scientific means. Cheating
Death runs eighteen minutes and features a group of interviewees
that relay their own near death experiences. Bits & Pieces
is a half hour program that looks at the horror sub-genre of splatter
movies, with its theatrical origins in Grand Guignol and its cinematic
rise through the efforts of exploitation filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Also included on the DVD are five deleted scenes and scene extensions,
which total about nine minutes of additional material. Two music videos, Middle
of Nowhere by Blank Theory and Seven Days a Week by
The Sounds, plus a theatrical trailer and the interactive Choose
Your Fate game close out the supplements.
I
found FINAL DESTINATION 2 to be a serviceable horror sequel that
lacks the ingenuity of the original, but it does feature some great
special effects and stunt work. However, if you like splatter movies with
a grandiose scope and devoid of any sort of deeper meaning behind them,
then you will probably love FINAL DESTINATION 2. As for the FINAL
DESTINATION 2 DVD, New Line has produced another demonstration quality
DVD; one with a solid compliment of supplemental materials.
