Review of Final Destination (2000) by Zachary H — 19 Aug 2011

There are strengths and weaknesses to this film. The greatest strength is the original concept as being so different from other horror films at the time. Instead of a killer that decides whether to grant mercy, this film literally has death be the antagonist.

It was nearly revolutionary at the time to have some non-existent force be out to save survivors of something on which they were meant to die. Another strength of the film is the performances of the main cast of meat for death.

The performances of Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, etc. are surprisingly high quality for what was basically a dead teenager movie. Also, you really do get to feel for the characters as they go through the film whether you hate them or not.

For example, when Amanda Detmer's character dies, it is a shock, but it is immediately followed by the viewer feeling like she deserved it. The main issue with this film is death itself. While an entity called death may sound all powerful, I feel that death was too active in our world to be effective in this film.

When the first character dies, death is very active at both causing and hiding the cause of his death. It just seems scarier to have deaths caused by weird freak accidents like the bus that could really happen to anyone as opposed to having the viewer think, "What a dumbass!" Overall, the film is effective at creating an almost chase-like atmosphere.

Two of its sequels were more effective at portraying death, but it isn't horribly over-done here. It will likely entertain you if you like horror movies.