Far better than I had expected

Rating: 7/10 (23 September 2003)

I didn't have great hopes for this film but I was mildly, and pleasantly surprised. I had expected the first movie, repeated. Admittedly, on the face of it, that is what you get. But FD2 takes things a step further by showing that the events of the second film take place because of the events of the first film. They are connected far more deeply than simply being "another batch of people that escape death".
The effects are well done and striking, as in the first movie, this time focusing on a road accident rather than an air crash. And, of course, death's efforts to "put things right" by offing those that escaped the road accident are the usual level of weird and seemingly impossible twists of chance that we grew used to in the first movie.
Although I welcomed the plot development, linking this movie to the first one, the whole movie was never scary, as such. It's plenty gruesome enough (see the barbed wire scene, for example), but not very frightening. After some thought, I think this is in part due to the fact that I have recently been watching the series "Dead Like Me". Every time in the movie that things seemed to take on a life of their own, I was imagining Gravelings prodding and tinkering. It kind of ruined any suspense that might have been in the moment.
However, the movie is a worthy sequel to the first. Not necessarily better, just worthy of the name. Again this is mostly due to the fact that it progressed the story a little, rather than simply cashing in on the first's success.
If you liked the first movie, this one won't disappoint.