The Movie Guys: ‘Final Destination’ is a celebration of gore

Friday, March 17, 2000 | 10:47 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun. They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/ movies and themovieguys.com.

Grade: Jeff B, Dave C.

Starring: Devon Sawa, Ali Larter, Kerr Smith, Seann William Scott, Kristen Cloke.

Screenplay: Glenn Morgan, James Wong, Jeffrey Reddick.

Director: James Wong.

Rated: R for extreme violence, profanity and adult situations.

Running time: 95 minutes.

Playing at: Rancho Santa Fe 16, Century Orleans, Century Desert 16, Century Cinedome 12 Henderson, UA Rainbow Promenade 10, UA Showcase 8, Regal Cinemas Sunset Station, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18, Las Vegas Drive-in.

Synopsis: Death is coming and Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is blessed with the curse of knowing when, how and where the grim reaper will strike. So once he and a group of teens avoid the fatal crash of Flight 180, Alex ultimately comes to believe that somehow they cheated death. One by one, as each of these fugitives of fate meets an untimely end, the survivors must band together to change the course of destiny and outwit the un-tamable forces of death.

Jeff: Imagine if you could control your own fate. Imagine, if you will, you were able to prevent your own death and the death of others with a simple vision. You could control the fatal events unfolding before your very eyes and had the ability to stop them. That is the power bestowed upon Browning (Sawa, recently seen in the horror comedy "Idle Hands"), who has a vision that an airliner full of his schoolmates is going to go down in flames shortly after takeoff.

Alex and six of his friends depart the plane and survive, but this is more than a psychic phenomenon. We are dealing with supernatural powers of the dark side. The Grim Reaper is ticked off that it lost seven souls and is out for revenge. James Wong and Glen Morgan (writers/producers of "X-Files" fame) have delivered a fun and fast thriller that has you covering your face in fear.

Dave: I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a good time with the latest entry of the '80s-revived teen horror films. It's got the clever premise, promising young talent and enough gruesome deaths that -- as Jeff so eloquently phrased it in hopes of being quoted by the studio -- have "you covering your face in fear." Well, I don't know if I'd say fear ... maybe hysterical shock every time another character meets his maker would make a better description for all intents and purposes.

But as "Final Destination" begins, eerily enough, as Alex's vivid premonition saves a handful of predestined victims, the films treads on familiar territory and follows the formulaic path that has become the model for such bombastic films as "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer," "Disturbing Behavior" and "Urban Legend."

The only saving grace for each one of these fright-fests, which are produced like Hollywood clockwork, is how graphically creative each death scene can be. It's as if every other blood-curdling death is trying to outdo the other. And as you've said before in past reviews Jeff, a movie is only as good as its story.

Jeff: But with horror films, Dave, the premise is as important as the the details of the story. The Grim Reaper stalking its victims is very creative in the respect that it isn't human (as with Jason of "Friday the 13th" or "Nightmare On Elm Street's" Freddy Krueger doing the killing) but something from the other side of reality.

The Reaper doesn't appear in a cloaked hood, carrying a sickle, as it did in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," but is just a blackened image, quickly passing out of the corner of your eye. Alex must protect his friends from the Entity without getting arrested by the FBI for the numerous bodies that are beginning to pile up. The deaths are horrific and very morbid, but the settings are extremely imaginative. For example, we've all seen a head decapitated, but how about a head cut in half at the jaw? Very cool.

Director Wong takes great care in staging the deaths, effectively building suspense with humorous and bloody results. Very Alfred Hitchcock at times. "Final Destination" is a "terroriffic" film for Wong's directional debut, and should please the average horror film fan and those who just want a good scare -- '80s style.

Speaking of death takes a holiday, Dave has one more thought for you all. Pay attention.

Dave: Thank you Jeff ... I think? As I mentioned before, the talented cast unfortunately plays carbon-copy characters that are your basic stereotypes in any scary film. Our hero Alex (Sawa) is an average Joe Kid, while others include the macho jock with built-up aggression (Kerr Smith, best known from the hit television series "Dawson's Creek"), the baffled kid who supplies the comic relief (Seann William Scott of "American Pie") and the tormented soul sympathetic to our hero's intuitions (Ali Larter of "Varsity Blues").

Even Tony Todd, familiar to horror fans as "The Candyman," has a cameo as a mysterious mortician who supplies the film's thin motive that explains the nature behind everyone's ghastly and outlandish deaths. I mean, if The Reaper really wanted them dead because they cheated it of its rightful duty, why doesn't it just strike them down by lightning instead of staging these elaborate scenarios or allowing weeks to pass?

I'm sorry, folks, I guess I like my supernatural thrillers to be, well ... more supernatural rather than the conventional teen schlock.