Death Comes for Seconds: Final Destination 2 (2003)

Final Destination 2 (2003)
Rating: ****
Starring: A.J. Cook, Ali Larter and Tony Todd

For a cult classic, Final Destination (2000) has a lot going on for just one flick; Death hellbent on killing off those who were "lucky" enough to skip their due date is a film idea any horror lovers would like to see again and again, so a sequel was inevitable to happen, rounding up a new set of targets who may or may not be the lucky few who will get to their destination unscathed.

On route for a getaway at Daytona Beach, a gang of friends become the many casualties of a horrifying vehicular pile-up, save for one. One who saw it all happened in an unexplained vision. 

Though failing to save her friends, Kimberly did manage to save seven others from their doom, pissing off Death once again as another series of bizarre accidents soon start picking the survivors off one by one, making sure they meet their maker as intended. Their only hope lies on Clear Rivers, the last survivor from the 180 plane incident a year ago, who is willing to help end the viscous cycle once and for all.

After the awesome and nicely orchestrated car crash, Final Destination 2 (2003) is quick to pick up the pace to deliver us more gruesome deaths with varying build and tools. These fresh set of demises have us going from small apartments to a dental check-up, with an escalating suspense as one situation leads for the worse and the kills come unsuspectingly from everyday objects that you never would have expected can kill anyone. The story does rear up whenever the direction needs a breather from a death or two, showing us how all of this is connected from the first movie as Clear Rivers (who's bitter about the fact that her boyfriend, Alex Browning, is killed by a flying brick) piece things together and notes the peculiarity of Death going by its intended targets backwards. I do find the connection between the two films kinda neat in a gimmicky way, and it does say a bit as to why the accidents in this film are far more brutal than the first's, mainly it's the Reaper grimly making sure its grand cosmic design has no further loose threads.

You can pretty much tell this entry, while attempting to stay focused on the serious and grim tone of the first, hammed up a bit, adding a few humor and camp for a more enjoyable popcorn muncher. Following the pattern of the first, it's still a howdunnit with Goldsberg-esque set-pieces playing as the murder weapons against the unfortunate survivors, promisingly higher death toll. The gore is delicious eye candy with practical effects and CG effects used efficiently for visually craftier kills. Basically, Final Destination 2 (2003) took the rule of the sequel and sacrificed some of its atmosphere and tone, in favor of more splashy-red shocks and chuckles, but whenever the film needs to mellow down to give its characters a moment to take what's happening all in, it does so with a fair level of plight and depth. Something I can definitely appreciate.

As a sequel, Final Destination 2 (2003) didn't really reinvent the franchise's steady wheel that much, so much so that it's predictable in its plotting and clichés. Still, the orchestrated accidents and witty comebacks manage to save it, having one leg on the gloom and doom feeling of the original, and one leg into the tirades of camp and torture that the next line of sequels would soon religiously follow with their own variations. It's nowhere a better entre' per se, but a thrilling gore ride that's simply entertaining!

Bodycount:
15 motorists got mangled in vehicular pile-up
2 males and 1 female ran over by a truck
1 male impaled on the eye by a falling ladder
1 male seen dead from freak brick accident (photo)
1 male crushed by a falling glass pane
1 female decapitated by a malfunctioning elevator
1 female had her head pushed and impaled through a sharpened pipe
1 male dismembered by a projected barb-wire fence
1 male and 1 female decimated in an explosion
1 male blown apart in gas leak explosion
Total: 27