Looking forward to the remake, anyway...

Rating: 6/10 (16 April 2000)

Horror? Well, no. Not really. Final Destination manages to be horrifying only in a scene or two throughout its plot, though it is scary in its own way. The obsessive use of symbols and references to death would actually have been clever if it wasn't used somewhat heavy handedly at points. Some of the character relationships just don't make sense, and could have used more background to develop them. And the whole deal about the FBI trying to pin the death of his friends on the protagonist, who is convinced he's found "death's pattern" and is working to beat it just never quite worked for me, which is just as well, since it would have been too predictable anyway.
I did like the overall concept, though. Don't get me wrong on that. So often to we hear and use the term "cheating death" that it is refreshing to see death doesn't always take it lying down. And by eschewing the temptation to make death a personified figure and instead using wild, chaotic forces in the world around us as the agents of death's plan, Final Destination managed to be scarier than a typical slasher style movie would have ever managed. In fact, if only I had felt more for the characters, and understood better their relationships, I might actually have loved this movie.
As it is, I am eagerly looking forward to some future film making genius remaking it someday.