New U.S. Release

Final Destination 2

A.J. Cook, left, Michael Landes and Ali Larter star in New Line's 'Final Destination 2,' directed by David R. Ellis.

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Premise -- that Death is a physical but unseen force ensuring the destruction of those who initially cheated it -- remains the same as in the original and, because there's the slightest whiff of self-parody wafting around the edges, feels even harder to take seriously this time around. Echoing the visionary gift possessed by Devon Sawa's character in the earlier pic, Kim (A.J. Cook) begins to "see" disasters before they happen. During a road trip with some pals, she envisions a horrific multi-car pileup on the highway they're about to enter. Build-up in this sequence is impressive, as helmer and stunt maestro David R. Ellis and editor Eric Sears stretch the action to an unnerving degree.

When Kim's vision is confirmed, she is rescued from her own death by Officer Thomas Burke (Michael Landes), who gradually realizes Kim is not only sensing the advance of death, but the pattern linking a small group of folks who, like her, should have died on the highway. Now, it seems, death will stalk them one by one. First to go is Evan (David Paetkau), whose demise too closely duplicates the staging from one in the previous tale.

Another unwelcome reminder of "FD1" is the character of Clear Waters (Ali Larter), who somehow survived the onslaught the last time around and has checked herself into a padded cell for protection. As a supposed "guide" to Kim in understanding this web of doom, the dull Larter casts little light.

What does become clear is that "Final Destination 2" is a film of leaden dialogue punctuated by fairly surreal and unexpectedly funny action sequences. None is better than a visit to the dentist by mother-and-son survivors Nora and Tim Carpenter (Lynda Boyd and James Kirk), which develops into a hilarious spoof of Hitchcockian birds coupled with being drilled by the tooth doctor.

Though the pleasure of the new film is its brazen thrill in the process of Death's Grand Plan, it also fails to fully exploit all its genre resources. Most wasted is Tony Todd ("Candyman"), who appears in a single, distinctly flat scene and then vanishes. Many other scenes stop cold before reaching their maximum horror potential. Coda, capped with a final gory-funny mess after a Rockwellian picture of peace, is just the right send-off.

The giddy sequences also help in getting past the generally awful thesping, led by Cook, whose blurry grasp of emotions betrays Ellis' apparent disinterest in his actors. As the requisite stoner dude among the survivors, Jonathan Cherry offers some dry comic balance, while T.C. Carson as skeptical Eugene energizes what had been a rote conception on the page.

Tech package is excellent for a lower-end studio vehicle, spiced by the franchise's now-identifiable fascination with turning everyday props and items into lethal instruments. Shirley Walker's score displays a thorough understanding of horror jolts.

Camera (Alpha Cine color, Deluxe prints), Gary Capo; editor, Eric Sears; music, Shirley Walker; production designer, Michael Bolton; art director, James Steuart; set designers, Donna Williams, Nicola Irwin; set decorator, Louise Roper; costume designer, Jori Woodman; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), Ralph Parker; sound designer, Scott Martin Gershin; supervising sound editor, Gershin; visual effects, Pixel Magic, Digital Dimension; visual effects supervisor, Joseph B. Bauer; special effects coordinator, Alex Burdett; special makeup effects, Bill Terezakis; associate producer, Sheila Hanahan; assistant director, Pete Whyte; second unit camera, David Barrett; casting, John Papsidera. Reviewed at Beverly Connection, L.A., Jan. 23, 2003. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 90 MIN.