I’m kind of conflicted about putting Final Destination 2I’ve spoken before about how an R rating is treated like the kiss of death (no pun). I say good for Final Destination 2 for not pulling any punches.

I guess I’m curious to see the film partly because of the Rube-Goldbergian methods of destruction the writers foist upon unsuspecting teenyboppers, But mostly, I wouldn’t mind poking my head inside the theater because I am a fan of the original. Anything written by two former X-Files scribes usually gets a pass in my book.

The first Final Destination was a good movie because it avoided all of the cliches of “new horror” while they were in the thick of the trend. Ever since Scream, it’s been hip to be self-referential or flippant about the truly horrible events surrounding the characters.

The first Final Destination spun that on its head by making the killer not a campsite recluse or dream-stalking bogeyman, but Death itself. There was no physical form to defeat or run away from, but you could still detect the machinations set into play by and unseen force with wholly unforeseen results. They could have made the film with adult actors and gotten away with it. The script was that good.

And that’s why I shudder at the idea of a sequel. They should have left it alone. I feel strongly that the first Final Destination could have gone on to be one of the great cult classics of horror/suspense. You could stand it up the the genre-redefining Scream or Halloween and I wouldn’t take issue with it. To peddle out a sequel makes me concerned that some of the power behind the original will diminish. The fact that they’re releasing a horror film in the beginning of February doesn’t bode well, either.

But then, what I am talking about? Both Scream and Halloween released several inferior follow-ups and it hasn’t taken the tarnish off of the originals. An amazing feat when you consider the 20 plus years Halloween has been with us. I guess I forget about the loyalty fans of this genre exhibit.

We’ll have to wait for the weekend box office tallies before we have the final say.