Final Destination 5 (2011) #461

 

A return to a favorite series, “Final Destination 5” follows in the exact foot steps of the previous films. The main character has a premonition about a massive disaster and how several people experience a gruesome death. The main character then warns everyone before the disaster occurs, temporarily saving those several other people before they end up dying in some other horrible fashion. The disasters include a plane explosion, a massive traffic pile up, a roller coaster falling apart, a racetrack speedway accident, and finally a suspension bridge under construction falling apart.

Like part 3 and 4, the survivors in “Final Destination 5” are simple character tropes that don’t have their moment to become fully developed as actual people. They have there one outstanding trait to lead them narratively to the situation that will cause their death. Since this is a horror movie, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this but I had high hopes since this felt like possible jump start to the series after part 4 was named “The Final Destination”. 

Nicolas D’Agosto stars as Sam, an inspiring chef as well as a sales associate at a manufacturing plant. He is the lucky one to experience the premonition this time around, convincing half of his coworkers to leave the bus that they were on before the bridge falls apart. He saves his girlfriend Molly, played by Emma Bell  “Frozen“, his best friend Peter, coworkers Nathan, Candice, Olivia, Issac, and his boss Dennis. He then spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out why people are still dying and how to save them. A new idea on how to stop the cycle is suggested by Bludworth, once again played by the amazing Tony Todd ("Candyman"and "Night of the Living Dead").

The main appeal to the "Final Destination" series is watching the huge disaster in the beginning and the jaw dropping crazy ways that people die afterwards. In comparison to the other films, this one does not disappoint. What doe set this one apart from the other is the fact that this was released during the most recent era of 3D movies, a time when almost every film that was released in theaters had a more expensive 3D version to watch. You can tell early on that this is the case as the film makers took every chance to use the 3D effect through the movie. This isn't too distracting if you know about this before hand and have had previous experience with such films. 

Favorite moment - Besides the main disaster scene in the beginning of the film, my favorite moment is watching Sam walk through the restaurant that he works in, seeing each and every kitchen that could be used to kill him. So, so many different ways to die in in kitchen!

Second favorite moment - Each film references the previous films, usually the original, and I love how this film does the same thing.

Frozen (2010)

“Frozen” was one of those movie selections that I randomly made on Netflix one night which turned out to be one of the best surprises in a long time. This movie is a wonderful physiological thriller, placing the main characters in a situation that gives them time to think of what to do and to realize how stranded and dire their predicament is. Staring Shawn Ashmore (The Ruins), the movie is about two old friends and a girlfriend who tagged along on a weekend trip to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding. Sneaking in one last run before the resort closes for the weekend, the three end up becoming trapped high above the ground on the ski lift after the operations close down without checking for them. It’s a harrowing situation where they have to deal with the freezing temperatures, a storm that’s coming, hunger, and hungry wolves pacing below their feet.

Joe wants to spend the weekend skiing with his childhood friend Dan, but Dan has brought his girlfriend, Parker, along and she’s not very skilled in either skiing or snowboarding. Dan is also cheap and convinces Joe to bribe the lift operator to let the three of them up. As the day progresses Joe becomes more frustrated that they aren’t going down the hills that he and Dan can handle. So as the resort is closing, the three go up for one last, real run. But since the operator is expecting two people and not three, when the replacement operator sees two people come down the hill, they turn off the lift and go home. Unfortunately the three are still on the lift and no one realizes this.

At first there is plenty of blame among the three. They try to get the attention of a snowcat but the driver doesn’t notice them. Blame turns into worry and despair as they realize that they have been forgotten and a storm is approaching. Frostbite begins to set in as well as hunger. Dan decides to jump down from the lift but lands wrong and breaks both of his legs.  A pack of wolves were waiting nearby and attack and kill Dan.

The next morning Joe attempts to jump down, which he also hurts himself. But he is able to defend himself with a ski pole and manages to slide down the hill, promising to send help. The day turns into night and in the morning, Parker decides to try to climb down; as she is trying to do so, the lift chair breaks and she falls to the ground. She hurts her ankle but is able to make it down the mountain, finding Joe’s body torn up from wolf bites. She is able to find help and return to civilization.