Nothing is certain but death and sequels.

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2009)

Final Destination sees a group of students narrowly avoid being blown to smithereens in an airplane disaster after one of their number, Alex (Devon Sawa), witnesses the catastrophe in a vision minutes before it actually happens. Miffed at being cheated, Death decides to have another pop at each of the survivors, claiming them in the order they would have died in the midair explosion.
This simple yet ingenious concept allows director James Wong to deliver a series of intricately designed and wonderfully imaginative death set-pieces that make this film one of the most genuinely entertaining and original horrors of the decade; not since The Omen films has violent death been so imaginatively planned and so much fun to watch unfold.
As each victim reaches the top of Death's hit list, seemingly insignificant incidents cause a snowball effect that ultimately results in a horrific demise: a leaky toilet pipe winds up causing a guy to choke to death in his bathtub; a tiny crack in a mug kick-starts a chain of events that climaxes in a huge explosion; and a train hurtling past a piece of debris makes another poor schmuck lose his head (although not completely—just from the lower jaw upwards!).
In an exciting finalé, Alex attempts to end the terror by trying to cheat death once again, only to realise that he has got the order all wrong, and it is pretty social outcast Clear (the lovely Ali Larter from Heroes) who is next up for the chop...
With spectacularly gory deaths, a very likable and talented young cast, a dark sense of humour, a cool cameo from Tony 'Candyman' Todd, and a totally unique killer, Final Destination goes to prove that not all big budget, major-studio, teen-orientated horror is totally worthless garbage.