By the time you get to the fifth entry of any franchise, quality can be a gamble. There’s a risk of convoluted mythology this deeply entrenched into the series, or even a real possibility of tired repetition. That doesn’t even touch upon the complications behind the scenes if the torch gets passed between films. Sometimes that means lows, like A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child or Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers. Sometimes a late sequel does enough to reinvigorate the franchise, like Prometheus or Curse of Chucky.
Final Destination 5 does something else entirely; it retains the core essence of what made fans fall in love with the series in the first place, while upping the ante in inventiveness, quality, and flair. Moreover, it paid its respects to the circular nature of these films in a massively surprising way. Because of this, and because it’s the final entry of the franchise in its current iteration, Final Destination 5 is our Franchise Friday pick this week for #BloodyHalloween.
Synopsis: It’s part five. You probably know the drill already, but just in case; one man’s terrifying premonition spares him and his co-workers from death after a catastrophic collapse of a suspension bridge. But this group wasn’t meant to have survived the disaster, and Death comes to claim them all one by one. Unless that is, they can figure out a way to escape Death’s designs.
Key Players: Nicholas D’Agosto is Sam Lawton, the central character plagued by premonitions of disaster. Emma Bell plays his estranged lady love Molly. Ellen Wroe, Miles Fisher, P.J. Byrne, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, Arlen Escarpeta, and David Koechner round out the group of unlucky souls who only thought they escaped death. Courtney B. Vance plays the FBI Agent trying to make sense of it all. Of course, look for series staple Tony Todd to provide ominous warnings.
Why It’s on the List: You can always count on the Final Destination series to offer up the most intricate death sequences of all, and this sequel absolutely delivers. With long stretches of suspense and an added layer of 3D, too. The cast is likable, for the most part anyway, and the clever writing pays its respects to the franchise’s standout moments and horror in general. All of the character’s surnames are wry winks to horror royalty, for example. Part 5 isn’t afraid in the least to utterly destroy even what appears to be the safest of characters, and often in the most graphic ways. Most of all, though, the clever ending makes this one arguably the best sequel of the bunch.
No Pain, No Gain: The most brutal death in the entire franchise…?
Where You Can Watch: Final Destination 5 isn’t currently available to stream for free, but it is available to rent on digital.
