Not Waving, but Drowning

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2000)

This is an interesting piece of work.
It was conceived and shot by crew members from "The X-Files," and such, the directorial style is not as cinematic as it could be. Shots and effects are simple and underwhelming, like you'd find on TV; they do what the script calls for and little more. But the script itself is a remarkable piece of work.
As such, the film is smarter than you'd think it to be. What most people would pass off as "just a Horror film," is actually an incredibly taught Suspense film, that just happens to have some rather disturbing gory death scenes.
Sawa is a remarkable actor, he shows a lot more depth and talent here than he showed in the Intelligence-Isn't-Necessary (but still entertaining) "Idle Hands." My only complaint is his under-reacting to watching friends get killed right in front of him, but I'd peg that on under-directing. See above.
What is the Final Destination for all of us? Who decides our fate? What can we see in the world around us to answer these questions?
This film made me think, but it can be enjoyed on the level of Popcorn Flick, as well. The concept, and its execution, were remarkably clever. I hope James Wong is allowed to direct more films, so he can learn as he goes. This was a GREAT script, but only a GOOD director. The finished product is still a lot of fun to watch (if you can stomach the death scenes, which are all more gory than they really need to be).
If I were grading this film I'd give it an 85 out of 100, but since we're dealing on a different scale, I'll round up. 9 out of 10.