FINAL DESTINATION 3

By: Rachel Reitsleff
Review Date: Friday, February 10, 2006

FINAL DESTINATION 3 takes the premise and two of the key creative staff though none of the same characters introduced in 2000's FINAL DESTINATION. The notion, introduced by Jeffrey Reddick's story in the original, is that when a psychic teen has a vision of a terrible accident and manages to save some peers by warning them, the people will eventually die anyway in extreme freak circumstances. In the first film, directed by James Wong and written by Glen Morgan & Wong (who perform the same duties here) with Reddick, it was a plane crash. In 2003's FINAL DESTINATION 2, it was a freeway accident.

The jumping-off or, to be more accurate, crashing-off point in 3 is a roller coaster ride that goes lethally out of whack. Self-proclaimed control freak and graduating high school senior Wendy (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) uneasily boards the ride with her boyfriend, her best friend and Kevin (Ryan Merriman), who winds up sitting with Wendy when she is too tense to sit at the front. Before the roller coaster gets under way, Wendy has a horrifically realistic vision of the whole thing falling apart, and killing one by one everyone aboard, including herself. Wendy's ensuing hysterics get her, Kevin and five others removed from the ride. Before too many people can tell Wendy she's just stressed out, the crash happens as foreseen. Already grieving her losses, Wendy is astonished then horrified when those who left the ride with her begin dying in truly bizarre incidents. It occurs to Wendy that there are clues in photos she took on the fateful night as to what will befall the other survivors, including Wendy and Kevin. But can these clues be used to prevent more deaths?

FINAL DESTINATION 3 gets points for inventive (and sometimes extreme) gore, dark humor and good acting from the young cast. As a director, Wong also stages some great stunts. However, writers Wong & Morgan still haven't licked the problem that was evident in the first film their premise is extremely plot-resistant, even compared to most other horror films. Having the two main characters strenuously pore over clues seems a bit of a cheat, since evading the accidents seems more a matter of luck and/or on-site observation than pragmatic warning. The structure is essentially watching Wendy and Kevin fret, have serious discussions on mortality and the hereafter and try (mostly ineffectually) to prevent more deaths, punctuated by creative catastrophes.

In a way, the movie works better as black comedy than horror, partly due to the fact that, as presented, the protagonists' quest is more absurdist than tragic and also because, while FINAL DESTINATION 3 is often bloody, it is just about never actually scary. It works for gorehounds and those who appreciate a supernatural riff that accommodates endless variations, but those seeking something that induces actual fear might do better looking elsewhere.