'Final Destination 5' gets somewhere

Death, the ads for Final Destination 5 say, doesn't like to be cheated.

Nor, apparently, does it like to clean up after itself, if this grisly installment of the horror franchise is any indication.

The latest entry in the never-say-live Grim Reaper series is arguably the best (modest praise, granted). It adds a touch of humor and even offers a few knowing winks to previous installments. The Godfather II it isn't, but for teens with money to burn, there are worse options to curdle blood.

Once again Destination begins with young people who narrowly escape death, this time a suspension bridge collapse that makes mincemeat of other motorists. The effect is terrific and reminiscent of the bridge destruction from Mission: Impossible III. The kids escape a carcass-full of body piercings when Sam (Nicholas D'Agosto) has a premonition of a bumpy ride and leads his friends to safety — for now.

But as the previous Destinations have taught us, Death does not suffer survivors lightly, and it begins a macabre hunt for kids on borrowed time.

Even by today's horror standards, Destination has some ghastly scenes. After seeing them, parents may want to reconsider letting their daughters try gymnastics or laser eye surgery.
Final Destination 5

* * 1/2 out of four

Stars: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, P.J. Byrne
Director: Steven Quale
Distributor:Warner Bros.
Rating: R for violent/gruesome accidents and some language
Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide

Speaking of which, first-time feature-film director Steven Quale infuses Destination with characters who offer moments of sharp humor, particularly a dolt who can't rip his ear from his cellphone until, well, his head is ripped from his ear.

All of this could have added up to pedestrian schlock: kids venturing into the woods to check out mysterious noises. But Destination's victims are savvy in the way kids were in Scream.

And finally, 3-D is employed the way it should be: with jump-out-of-your-seat scares. Impaled victims, licking flames, shattering glass — horror may have found a home in the third dimension.

Sure, it's still modern-day horror. Five minutes into the movie, you'll know which characters deserve to be chopped liver and which ones caught the Reaper on a bad day. And the message of the franchise has always been something of a puzzler: Don't fight for your life?

But for mindless horror, this isn't a terminal destination.