DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Final Destination 2 (1 Viewer)

[T r o y]

Wow! I was the last one to respond to the post and that was last night! Hmmmmmmmmmm ..... makes me wonder if anyone is even buying this flick. I'm surprised there aren't many that are wanting to comment on this movie's soundtrack.
I heard this one is top notch reference stuff.

C'mon folks.... reply away!!!!


Audio comments please!!

Thanks

 

[Doug Fogle]

Great review.I really get a feel for your personal tastes which is the most important factor in using your reviews as a guide I think.And since so many dumped on you I want to say I get your point and have to agree.Gore can kill suspense,so the film maker has to decide which way hes gonna go.Quick question-do you like Argento?

 

[Eric Emma]

I know I'm going be in the minority here but I think the death scenes gave death a personality. Something very sinister as said in the beginning of the film. I mean that what so great about the film, thse deaths are all accidents yet they have the feeling someone was behind it. So in a way the mean spirited part about them work for the film imo.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Quick question-do you like Argento?

Oh yeah, a huge Argento fan, although I still think SUSPIRIA is overrated. TENEBRE is my personal favorite but I overlook the extreme violence and gore in these films. Why? Because Argento is simply a great director who knows how to mix style with the gore. Most importantly he knows how to mix the violence into the story.

Lucio Fulci is another to mix the violence/gore with style, however, I think Fulci always went too over the top to make the films scary. I'm always shocked to hear how many people are scared of THE BEYOND. Those special effects are just so corny that ANY suspense is killed for me. I mean, remember that spider scene? For the best mix of Fulci's violence and style, check out DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, which has a VERY brutal scene but it fits the story perfectly.

I still think the perfect example where gore and a story works is Mario Bava's TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. The film has a few twisty turns (the ending) but Bava simply has fun killing everyone off. This of course was ripped in F13 but the difference is that Bava actually paid respect to death. I'm not sure how this sounds but to me, the film seemed to show death/murder as a good, poetic thing. Each of the death scenes, while over the top and full of gore, are shot like a love scene or someone's first kiss. The opening murder is the perfect example because is shows a graphic murder looking the same as dying in your sleep.

I overlook the gore in F13 because it's mindless. I overlook the violence in I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE because the film really doesn't try to make us feel anything. The same with something like DEATH WISH. The film is about the good getting revenge on the bad. The gore in something like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST is a totally different story but the films fans (not me) swear it's needed to get the message across. These films use gore/violence to help the story. HALLOWEEN went for scares so there's no need for the gore. Like Roger Corman would say, whatever we imagine in our mind is a lot more frightening than anything special effects could buy.

One of the most unsettling films I've ever seen is Tod Browning's THE UNKNOWN (coming from Warner), which of course has no gore but it certainly gets its point across. I know many people who also fear something like FREAKS. Even the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD holds up very well today.

 

[Doug Fogle]

Thanks for the response-I had a feeling your reviews were going to be ones I could trust and now I'm sure.Can't wait to read more.

 

[Darren Mortensen]

I watched this DVD yesterday...and was pretty shocked at the extensive and calculated "gore and suspense". Although this was the intent of the movie. I enjoyed it. A fun , but scary romp with some good ol' hair raising events...some of which are so unexpected it will have you jumping in your seat!

After all was said and done, I rewatched the movie skipping through many of the chapters to utilize the INFINI features of the disc. These contained many of the actor's screen tests...as well as.."How that was done" features...somewhat interesting was the ability to view actual teenage test subjects that were connected to Bio-Rythm/EKG monitors while watching the film. Highlights of the test subjects were viewed while they reacted to the on screen carnage...it's a wonder many of us do not suffer cardiac arrest while watching this film according to some of the "off the scale readings" these teens were experiencing!

 

[Jason Harbaugh]

It looks like FD3 will be in the works if the FD2 dvd sells well according to this interview with producer Craig Perry:

Will there be a Final Destination 3?
Talk to me in a week once the DVD sales come in for Final Destination 2.

It’s contingent on DVD?
It’s going to help push it to that level , yes.

Was theatrical not enough?
Theatrical was slightly less than it was on the first movie. Still more than enough to turn an ample profit, but I think they’ll get a real landscape with how much they want to spend on a third one based on [DVD]. Because three years ago when the DVD was released for Final Destination 1, there weren’t as much hardware. Now there’s tons more hardware. We want to see how it does.

Are there any ideas yet?
We’ve been banging around a few ideas, but those are really hard to come by so I’m going to keep quiet.

What other accident could there be? You did a plane, a car…
Somebody said why not have a roller coaster disaster? How much fun would that be? It would be badass. So, think about it.
[Source]

A rollercoaster accident at the beginning sure sounds horrific and could be very interesting. Here's hoping this dvd sells well. Interestingly enough on the "Fact Track" at the very end it does say "Final Destination 3 is in the works".

 

[Doug Fogle]

So if I haven't seen either one,which should I rent?The first one came out of the family of X-File creaters,as did Reign of Fire and The Faculty,so I'm leaning towards it,but the 2nd has the superior sound and 6.1?

 

[Daryl L]

Doug,

In FD2 their in a car and start discussing why this is happening to them and realize how these occurences tie(link) them to what went on in FD1. So even though some have commented that FD2 isn't a sequal, I think that scene alone proves FD2 to actually be a sequel to FD1 (kind of a 6th degree of seperation thing) because in FD2 death is trying to cleanup and finish what he/she/it started in FD1. I say watch FD1 first then FD2. It's not really as much a horror type film as it is a suspence/shock/gore film with almost ongoing tension and action of not knowing around which corner or behind which doors death awaits. I love both of them, their fun. So don't take them as a serious dramatic morality filled movies. Their just for the fun schock factor. A quote from Webster.

Main Entry: se·quel
Pronunciation: 'sE-kw&l also -"kwel
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French sequelle, from Latin sequela, from sequi to follow -- more at SUE
Date: 15th century
1 : CONSEQUENCE, RESULT
2 a : subsequent development b : the next installment (as of a speech or story); especially : a literary or cinematic work continuing the course of a story begun in a preceding one

 

[JeremyFr]

My wife and I watched this the other night and quite enjoyed it, we found ourselves constantly trying to figure out what was going to happen and enjoyed the death scenes I'm a gore freak at anyrate the sound was awesome especially in the car wreck scene as stated by several others, we found it also fun to watch the death scenes frame by frame you can pick out flaws in the blue screen/cgi work they did but overall found this to be an entertaining movie.

 

[Matt Stone]

I thought that the death scenes were fantastic (as was the whole pile-up sequence), but on the whole I didn't think the film was nearly as good as FD1. I can't really put my finger on why, but I definitely cared about what happened to the characters (some of them at least) more in the first film. In the second, I just found myself waiting for the next gory kill.

 

[AndrewW]

Do you have to see the 1st before this one?

 

[Daryl L]

You don't have to watch FD1 first, but it's a good idea.

Maybe one reason some prefered FD1 to FD2 is the mood set. FD1 happens mostly at night were as FD2 is mostly during the daytime. Atmosphere affects emotions. Just a guess.

 

[John Geelan]

Final Destination 2 is a must rent for its great soundfield alone.

What a workout for my SVS sub!

The highway wreck scene (Chapter 2) is one for the ages.
When that log falls off the truck onto the highway, the thud it creates just decimates.

See this one if you haven't already on DVD!

Movie :star: :star: 1/2
Sound :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Aaron Telsey]

Great review! Thanks Michael. I'm a new member to this place, but really enjoy being able to read in depth coverage of movies.

 

[Mike~Sileck]

A rollercoaster accident at the beginning sure sounds horrific and could be very interesting.

~ Anyone see House On Haunted Hill?.....If you haven't and the above idea sounds intriguing check out the second scene in that movie. Sure, it doesnt happen as to what FD3 could do to it, but it provides some ideas as to what could happen....

Mike