Harefooted Halloween: Final Destination 3

What I Liked: Even though the side characters are obnoxious the leads are likeable.  Similar to the previous films they don’t have strong identities but they’re totally fine to hang out with for a short while.

What I Didn’t Like: Part 2 went with a somewhat lighter tone where all the deaths had almost a humorousness to them which led to a fun time.  Here we swing back to more weighty territory, which admittedly is a little disappointing, but the problem is actually worse than that.  Some scenes are portrayed very silly while others are deadly serious inducing nasty whiplash at times.  Case in point, two self-centered teen airheads are at a tanning salon grooving to the 70’s R&B classic “Love Rollercoaster” (a nod to the opening involving a malfunctioning roller coaster) when they get trapped in the beds and are cooked alive.  The scene is bouncy and the characters are designed to not make you feel too bad about their demise.  Cut to the next scene of their funeral where the protagonists discuss how clues of tragic events are left in photographs before they occur.  Some examples are shown: a line across Abraham Lincoln’s forehead and a shadow of a plane against the World Trade Center.  9/11 was only five years prior.  Hell, it doesn’t play well now.  Having bimbos get tanned to death one moment and then be reminded of 9/11 the next is kinda jarring.  So this shit just doesn’t blend well together in areas.

Overall Impressions: Part 3 comes off like a worse version of part 1.  Aside from some passing mention of the events of the first two we’re essentially starting over with brand new characters, a new setting and a new way for our lead to predict the future.  Beside the initial premonition during the opening she uses photos she took to try to determine the fates of the survivors.  None of it is handled as well.

The biggest issue is the sharp tone shifts.  Director of the original, James Wong, is back from taking Part 2 off and my guess is he wanted to sober the franchise up a bit, bring it back to where he had it, but then outside forces pushed for some witty angles.  The end result is sorta messy and not great.

If you’re looking for some absurd deathtraps then sure, you’ll find them.  But it’s the weakest so far.