The Final Destination (2009)

The Final Destination, written by Eric Bress and directed by David R. Ellis is a simple, undemanding installment to a series that has unarguably run out of ideas it seems. Ellis returns to the series after directing the second installment that actually still had some life in it, even if the same ideas were implemented. The film follows Nick O’ Bannon (Bobby Campo) and his friends who survive a race track disaster after the premonitions that Nick receives whilst watching the race. The unhopeful group spend the remainder of the film discovering that death cannot be cheated because it will eventually catch up with its victims. This is the same concept that has linked the entire series thus far, making this film tasteless from the start.

Whilst the 3-D elements are implemented to good use, especially during the race-track scenes, the visual iconography of the film is hampered by a shallow and predictable plot that is worthless. Ellis’ choice of shots are also predictable, especially when George Lanter (Mykelti Williamson) is struck by the ambulance. The wide shot used before he was stuck, immediately gave way to his death which was unimaginative and tedious. Certain shots used by Ellis expressed nothing but predictability which does not add any authenticity points to the films credibility. Additionally, the acting from all parties was rather bland and unexciting, even if the film was broken up by fragments of comedy which did help to release some of the long-windedness from the films plot.

The Final Destination is a suitable addition to the series, but it seems as though this sequel was unnecessary and unconvincing. It did not wrap up any lose ends of the series, only expanded on the deaths and gore that the audience has seen in three films before the birth of this. It felt as though writer Eric Bress was struggling for imagination in creating the death scenes, which on the whole were fairly feeble. The exaggerated amount of gore from all the deaths did not add any excitement to them, it just made them more ridiculous and nonsensical than we have seen previously. Overall, the film is predictable and unimaginative, but it fits in well with the series premise, and for that reason shall not be dismissed.

Taken (2009)

Taken follows Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) a divorced and retired CIA operative whose 17-year-old daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) wants to go to Paris but actually intends to follow band U2 around Europe. Arriving in Paris, Kim and her friend Amanda are victim to Albanian sex traffickers who stalk the friends, wanting nothing but to violate their innocence. Taken undoubtedly impacts on the viewer, the narrative has a good structure, and the audience are often left on the edge of their seat, victim to the gritty realism that strikes the teens on screen. The visual style to the film is gripping, often complementing the tone of the sex traffickers as something real and not to be messed with. The film, however, is often very linear, Neeson constantly strives to guess the Albanian's moves leaving the audience with no choice but to wait for the outcome of the film as opposed to an active engagement with the narrative itself.

From the actual kidnapping staged with Kim actually on the phone with dad to Bryan arriving in Paris and immediately causing a pileup outside the airport the film does not take a breath to allow a moment of reflect or psychological explanations for the antagonists motives, as the work in the film is all done for us. One is left wondering if the film was not located in France with rather unique cinematography, would Taken come across as a futuristic James Bond with Neeson as the masculine counterpart. Noticeably the film does contain a contradiction. The cinematography suggests a sense of gritty realism something that creates the tension in the film; whereas the action on screen, however, steps away from this realism, especially in the Yacht scene when Neeson fights off near enough every man on board, contradicting the somewhat practical atmosphere the film was trying to create. Overall, Taken is a satisfying contemporary thriller, adding a new angle to a well established genre, even if it has its flaws throughout.

The Unborn (2009)

The Unborn, written and directed by David S. Goyer follows the life of Casey Beldon (Odette Yustman) who is beset by merciless dreams, and a grotesque child who she suspects is her dead twin who died in her mothers womb and now wants to be born. What is unique and so engaging about The Unborn is it steps away from horrors conventional notions of murder and afterlife and focuses on life before it even exits. In this way, the film tries to separate itself from the traditional horror narrative, but with very little success. There are repetitive shots of windows and mirrors in the film which doesn’t show the horror to be in the mirror reflection that we so often expect, but in the bathroom cabinet itself which suggests the films rejection of traditional horror conventions when it really didn’t have the authority or ingenuity to do so. Beldon discovers at the end of the film that she, herself, is also having twins, which is fairly predictable and rather ironic considering how different the film always strived to be.