Final Destination 3 (2006)

Final Destination the series moves into its third instalment without really changing the formula that was working for it. Here the opening disaster involves a Roller Coaster crash that is brought via a premonition to Wendy Christensen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). As in the previous two films, the visionary and some friends get spooked and get off the coaster to find it actually does crash and a bunch of horrific deaths befall all those on board. Sure enough the survivors start being killed off in equally gruesome ways, it becomes apparent that the old grim reaper is out to claim the deaths that were denied him.

The opening section of FD3 is superb, the credits roll to a back drop of various carnival/fairground attractions that offer up foreboding terror, all backed by an eerie rumbling musical score. Then the crash itself is excellently stage, so much so that anyone frightened of Roller Coasters can point to this as a reason why! Then we revert to type, the youthful cast get bumped off in more ingenious ways, with more gore and lashings of dark humour pumped up this time (the use of Love Roller Coaster by The Ohio Players is genius). The narrative drive this time involves photographs, which is a nice touch and overcomes the triteness of some dialogue exchanges.

It's a safe entry in the series, and it boasts in Winstead the best young lead actress of the whole franchise. As with all horror films - franchises, some will love it and some will hate it, but ultimately it really does exactly what the previous two films did. So if a fan of those then this does a good job as well. The 2 disc DVD comes with a delightful choose their fate option, which with a bit of playing around gives you a slightly different version of the film. While it is recommended you turn up your home cinema systems for the Roller Coaster segments. 7/10