Final Destination 2 (DVD, 2003, Infinifilm; Widescreen & Full Frame)

In FINAL DESTINATION 2, the basic notion of cheating mortality is further refined with an even more gripping plot provided by Eric Bress & J. Mackye Gruber, the duo behind the film BLUNT. Director David R. Ellis revels in film as an entertainment vehicle and the result is a no-holds-barred raucous good time. Ellis' background as a stuntman and stunt coordinator helps him build electric suspense through a chain of seemingly simple actions that in fact loaded and lethal.In the original, FINAL DESTINATION, a group of students avoided the tragic crash of Flight 180 when Alexander Browning had a premonition. Death, however, didn't like being outwitted, and one by one the survivors died in freak accidents. The sole survivor was Clear Rivers (Ali Larter) who voluntarily checked into a padded room at Stonybrook Institute. FINAL DESTINATION II takes place on Flight 180's one-year anniversary. Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook) is joyriding with some friends on Route 23 when she "sees" herself, her friends, and other drivers involved in a massive multi-car pileup. The scene is so artfully executed, it physically hurts to watch. She and police officer Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) save a group of people who would have otherwise died in the crash. But, as ever, death approacheth, taking the likes of Evan (David Paetkau), the Trans Am-loving lottery winner who puts up a good fight but is ultimately impaled on a fire escape ladder; and Tim (James Kirk), who almost chokes to death at the dentist and is later flattened by a piece of industrial glass. Clear Rivers busts out of the psych ward to help the remaining survivors pool their efforts and read the signs of impending death before it claims their lives.