(Credit: www.impawards.com)
Director:
James Wong
Cast:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead……….Wendy Christensen
Ryan Merriman……….Kevin Fischer
Texas Battle……….Lewis
Amanda Crew……….Julie Christensen
Kris Lemche……….Ian
Alexz Johnson……….Erin
Sam Easton……….Frankie Cheeks
Gina Holden……….Carrie
Crystal Lowe……….Ashlynn
Chelan Simmons……….Ashley
New Line Cinema presents Final Destination 3. Written by Wong and Glen Morgan. Based on characters created by Jeffrey Reddick. Running time: 92 minutes. Rated R (for strong horror violence/gore, language and some nudity).
Another weekend, another dead teenager movie. There was a time when you could be frightened by the latest in horror. Today, Hollywood gives us either watered-down horror or horror that caters to those who want blood and brutality. Final Destination 3 falls in the latter category as it continues that tradition where the object of the movie is not to be scared, but wonder how the usual bratty teenagers will bite the big one. Sounds easy enough just make sure you don’t complicate things or you’ll lose your target audience. Oh, and try to have a survivor. That way if the movie’s a hit, you are automatically guaranteed a sequel.
The first two FD movies went with the concept of what would happen if you cheated death? The answer is simple. You would live, but Death would come knocking. Only you wouldn’t know when or where. In FD3, the soon-to-be-graduated teenagers of McKinley High are living it up at a school carnival. Plenty of cotton candy and amusement park games are abound, as is a behemoth of a roller coaster. Now I know some can attest to a fear of roller coasters, because there was once a time when they scared the bejesus out of me. I vaguely remember a trip to AstroWorld and my heart started beating way out of control as I took a ride on the “Texas Tornado.” Luckily for me, I got to step off after the ride.
For Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and her friends, it’s a different story. After witnessing them yell at the top of their lungs on the Freefall Towers, she begins to have a bad feeling on the way to the roller coaster. When it comes time to board she refuses to get on because she believes it will crash. Don’t freak out when you see that she’s only having a dream scene. If you have seen the first two installments, then this technique should be old hat. The ride does indeed crash and from Wendy’s premonition you pretty much know what happens to most of the teenagers who refused to listen to her hysterical ranting.
Now if Randy (Jamie Kennedy) from Scream was one of her friends he would have known immediately that she had a vision just like that kid in Final Destination. Instead, it is Wendy’s friend Kevin (Ryan Merriman) who learns about the kids who did not board Flight 180 to Paris. Interestingly enough, they die mysterious deaths after the plane crash. The deaths did not occur right away, though; they were spaced out over weeks and each person died in the order they should have on the plane.
Unlike FD1, this movie is somewhat logical in how the surviving teenagers will die. At the time of the carnival accident Wendy was taking pictures for the school yearbook. Unbeknownst to her time, the digital photos provided clues about the order of who would die next and how it was to occur.
The problem with this method is that it seems like the filmmakers are spoon feeding the information to us. Gone is the mystery of wondering who the Grim Reaper will take next. So we just sit wondering how the teenagers will die. All I know is that Fate is one crazy, bored guy. Why else would Fate devise such ingenious means of execution. If Jaws made it scary for people to go into the water, well, this movie will make you afraid to dine out on fast food, get a sunny disposition in a tanning salon, or shop at Home Depot.
I am not really shocked at the sight of gore onscreen because I know it’s just an illusion. But, I must say some of deaths are pretty exquisite, and a little shocking. Almost to the point where you want to go “yeesh.” Maybe that’s why horror movies like this are tailor made for teenagers – kids who are attracted to watching teenagers die in despicable ways. Heaven forbid the youth of the world grow old without learning the meaning of “Hitchcockian” or that the recent When a Stranger Calls is actually a remake of a 70’s movie.
This isn’t any fault to director James Wong or his screenwriting partner Glen Morgan. Both worked as writers on “The X-Files”, and the first Final Destination, so they know a thing or two about frightening perversions. I look at these movies with a tongue in my cheek. Back in 1987, Corey Haim said three little words after one vampire bit the dust in The Lost Boys. “Death by stereo.” Wong and Morgan just turn up the volume and amplify their executions.
