Final Destination 5 DVD REVIEW

Knocking on Death’s door

"Don't worry, if we all hide behind this length of tape we'll be okay."

Release Date: 26 December 2011
2011 | 15 | 88 minutes | £19.99 (DVD)/£24.99 (triple-play Blu-ray)/£29.99 (Blu-ray 3D)
Distributor: Warner Home Video
Director: Steven Quale
Cast: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, David Koechner, Tony Todd

You know the craic – a bunch of mildly attractive twentysomethings cheat death in an overblown near-disaster, only to fall foul of the Grim Reaper’s icy touch in a series of convoluted Mouse Trap deaths.

The format hasn’t evolved in over a decade. In fact, it’s stagnated. Personality-vacuum victims exist exclusively to be bumped off in humiliating/sadistic fashion, while an identikit plot plays on “repeat” in the background. Part five brings nothing new to the suspiciously wobbly table, but it does earn the franchise a stay of execution by returning a certain level of wit and invention to the series-defining deaths that was absent from its immediate predecessor.

The scale and spectacle of the opening suspension bridge collapse impresses, but annoys in equal measure for those not watching on a fancy-pants 3D TV, as all manner of pointy things try to poke you in the eye. A handful of deaths fall short, but the standouts rank among the series’ best – in particular a toe-curling gymnastics display and a wince-inducing visit to a laser eye surgery clinic.

It fails to breathe new life into a tired franchise, but Final Destination 5 should help the series cheat death for at least another year.

Extras:

On the DVD (rated), just five-minute featurette “Circle Of Death”. The Blu-ray adds dull visual effects comparisons and a pair of nastier alternate endings.

Jordan Farley

For an alternate take, read our theatrical review of Final Destination 5.

Read more of our DVD reviews.