Editor's Note: Yesterday we gave you the pros and cons of Final Destination and Halloween 2. Since that worked out so well we figured we'd throw a compare / contrast column at you. Why? Well, we can't review the films until the weekend... because they aren't screening the films for us. Boo! Anyway, here goes nothing, take it away Eric!

Due to a game of chicken gone awry, two horror films with similar target audiences are being released on the same day: The Final Destination and Halloween 2. How can you, the consumer, decide which is worthy of your Friday-night movie dollar? We are here to help with a handy comparison.

The Films.
The Final Destination: Fourth film in a franchise.
Halloween 2: Second film in a franchise, unless you count the eight movies in the earlier franchise.

The Villains.
FD: Death is tired of these punk kids thinking they can outsmart him.
H2: Michael Myers had a terrible childhood, and this somehow turned him into a supernaturally powerful killing machine.

The Heroes.
FD: Nick, a teenager whose premonition of an accident saves his life and the lives of his friends but annoys Death.
H2: Michael's sister Laurie, who does not seem to have gotten the become-a-supernaturally-powerful-killing-machine gene that Michael got.

The Appeal.
H2: Watching people get butchered in creative ways.
FD: Watching people get butchered in creative ways in 3-D.

The Style.
FD: If the previous films are any indication, it's tongue-in-cheek, focused on finding elaborate and inventive ways for Death to gets its revenge on those who mocked it, and meant to be at least a little bit silly.
H2: If the previous film is any indication, it's another one of Rob Zombie's love letters to America, full of affectionate characters and warm, cozy relationships. Just kidding. It's probably full of vile, vulgar, awful human beings being slaughtered by someone only slightly more vile, vulgar, and awful than they are.

The Famous Actors.
H2: Golly, Margot Kidder seems to be in this movie, and Brad Dourif, and Howard Hesseman -- trust me, you'll recognize them, even if the names don't ring a bell. And Malcolm McDowell, apparently, even though his character very clearly got killed in the last movie. Oh, and Rob Zombie's wife, Sheri Moon Zombie. ("LOOK OUT, IT'S A MOON ZOMBIE!! AND ITS NAME IS SHERI!!")
FD: The most famous person in The Final Destination is Mykelti Williamson, who played Bubba in Forrest Gump (which, like Halloween 2, is also about an unstoppable dimwit who always manages to be in the right place at the right time).

The Bottom Line.
Without having seen either film yet -- neither is being screened for critics -- we suspect The Final Destination is meant to be "fun," while Halloween 2 is meant to be "grisly." Which can also be fun, if you like that sort of thing. Choose wisely.

Recommend (0)

|  Comments (0)

|  Email

|  Share

Share  Facebook Digg del.icio.us