Until Death Does Them All Apart, Again

Film: Final Destination 3
Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman
Director: James Wong

All of us have cheated at some point or other of our lives. It is just the severity that varies. But how about the ultimate cheat? No, I’m not talking about putting one over Bill Gates. How about cheating death? This rather unique (or hilarious, depending on your point of view) scenario was the saddle on which Final Destination and its sequel piggybacked to cult success. And since horror is the in thing nowadays, FD 3 has landed.

One of the reasons for the success of the FD movies was that they refused to take them too seriously. Blood is there, as is gore, and a few jumps, but overriding all this is a sly sense of humour, black humour if you will. Bodies keep pilling up but it is the ways in which the victims die that catch our eyes. It is almost as if the writers are thinking in terms of ‘How much more outrageous can I make the killings’ rather than ‘How much scarier can I make them’. And they get away with it.

Our heroine Wendy (Winstead) and her friend Kevin (Merriman) follow a set of clues in the shape of photographs at an amusement park to find out where Mr Death was going to strike next. Of course, just when they reach there the victim is gruesomely taken away. So, do they finally cheat death?

Since the actors are all relatively unknown, we are not distracted from the main narrative. Both Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ryan Merriman are easy on the eye and not terrible actors. What more do you need? James Wong, the director of FD 1 returns and with Glen Morgan has written the screenplay. They have not let the fans down. The special effects are pretty good, considering this is not a big budget spectacular. Snappy editing will keep you on your toes.

If you are the kind who enjoyed FD 1 and FD 2 then FD 3 is unlikely to disappoint. Others, take it with a large pinch of salt and a few jumps. FD 3 does not take your intellect too seriously. Then there is no reason why you should take the film so. Now that mutual lack of respect is understood, who knows, you might even find it funny.