Final Destination (spoiler)
-----------------
Not a good advertisement for air travel!

This film was out for about 2 days in Ann Arbor. I blinked,
and it was gone, so had to go to AMC Southfield to check it out.
Some people got blown away in this theatre a few years ago so now
you have to go through a metal detector and have your bag searched
on the way in.

Made the extra effort since I wanted to check out this film, it
being directed by James Wong who has done work on The X-Files (TV).
A couple of X-Files veterans worm into this film- a creepy FBI dude
on X-Files reprises his role as a creepy FBI dude in this film.
The kid playing Tod played a mutant who ate 40 lbs of raw hamburger
on X-Files.

The first 15 minutes of the film is a true horror gem. A kid (Alex)
who is planning on flying to France on his senior trip (we went
to Ft. Lauderdale, shee!) has a vision that the plane rips apart
in mid-air. The interior plane shots of the people panicking and
getting sucked out are realistic and scary. Alex, four friends and
a teacher do not take the flight as a result (of course the plane
does in fact go down).  Shortly thereafter, his friends start
biting the dust anyway. Did they really think they could cheat
death? Muhahaha!

This film explores some interesting questions. Does death
have a design? Is it a machine that reprograms and tries again
relentlessly until the plan is executed (heh) or can it be tricked
and circumvented? What determines that it is 'your time' and can
you weasel out of it?

The scenes where Alex is getting clues about what is happening to
his friends are creepy, as if he is touching upon another zone (which
of course he is). When people are about to die, the director makes it
apparent that they are completely in the death zone and weird shit
starts happening.  Coincidences and synchronicity, time and motion
slows down, clues and music. Small and subtle things combine
and spiral, building up into a trap, adding to the tension and
suspense. When it's over it looks like an unfortunate accident
or suicide.  The first death scene is particularly good, gruesome
and intense.


Interesting cameo from Tony Todd (Candyman) as a creepy undertaker
who does not seem at all perturbed by kids breaking into his mortuary
to visit their dead friend, and drones on like a husky bee about
his philosophy re: death. Good pacing and decent KPM ratio (Kill
Per Minute)- one kill per 20 minutes average, not counting the
people who get toasted on the plane. The interview scene is good
and shows the guilt of the people who survived, the stress and
self-blame. Also the weirdness of the people scapegoating and
ostracizing Alex because he was in touch with the dead zone,
instead of thanking him for having saved lives.

Though the film was not as creepy as Sixth Sense or Stir of Echoes,
it did make people jump, cringe, and cover their eyes. The true
creepiness comes after you see the film and find yourself wondering,
even more uneasy about the nature of death.