The Final Destination

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Year:	2009
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	David R. Ellis
Genre:	Formulaic splatter-lite
Starring:	Bobby Campo, Shantel VanSanten, Nick Zano, Haley Webb, Mykelti Williamson
Rating:	asasa
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1144884/
Tagline:	For 10 years, one franchise reinvented Death. On August 28th, Death saved the best for 3D.
Favourite line:	"I've been trying to kill myself all day."

Final Destination 4 to you and me.

The plot:
Bobby’s handsome.
Bobby has a beautiful girlfriend.
Bobby likes to go to the NASCAR.
One day, whilst watching the racing with three of his bestest pals, Bobby has a premonition of a coming calamity: any moment, an accident on the track will kick-start a chain reaction, resulting in myriad fatalities.
Managing to get his rather dubious colleagues out of the stadium, along with a security guard and a redneck scumbag with an apparent fondness for the word nigger, the survivors think they have got away with their lives.
But Death has other ideas.
One by one, they are picked off, in the same order as Bobby’s vision.
Can he avert the same fate befalling himself and those closest to him?
Well?
Can he?

Fourth in a horror franchise that was in no way frightening to begin with, it is important to approach these films with the correct attitude. A bit like watching Casualty, don’t expect anything especially highbrow, be aware that the dialogue is not meant to be character-building, but merely used as a device through which to drive the story forward.
Then sit back and enjoy the madness.
As with Casualty, the fun lies in watching the build-up to the death-strike, as numerous red herrings are placed before you – is it the faulty wiring? Is it the trip hazard? Is it the car with the dodgy handbrake? – before the splatter arrives.
It’s a formula. They know it. We know it. And it works.
Here’s how it goes:
Chit chat. Looming portents of death. Death sequence. Opening credits roll.
Chit chat. Looming portents of death. Death sequence.
Chit chat. Looming portents of death. Death sequence.
And so on, until the end of the film.
The characters are about as captivating as staring at the shiny side of a DVD for half a day, the plot points irrelevant.
The gore is acceptable, here, but no more, and there is an over-reliance on CGI, something that should not be within spitting distance of any horror movie. Highlights of the bloodshed include a man being diced through the mesh of a metal fence, and another poor chap having his guts sucked through his own anus.
Originally released in 3D in cinemas, this made for interesting viewing, and reveals a big flaw in the format. Watching it in 2D makes all those pointy-pointy bits, that probably work when wearing the goggles, just seem a little bit silly and demonstrates absolutely that it is nothing but a fad that will certainly soon just GO AWAY.
So, formulaic popcorn horror that entertains, as long as you accept the limitations of the concept.
Decent.
Just about.