Four out of
Five stars
Running time:
93 mins
Enjoyable threequel which delivers handsomely on the demands of the
franchise: an attractive cast, inventive direction, a dark sense of humour and increasingly nasty death sequences.
What’s it all about?
Mary Elizabeth Wanstead (from Sky High) stars as high school senior Wendy, who’s celebrating her imminent graduation at a local amusement park. However, as they’re about to board a rollercoaster, Wendy has a premonition that it’s a rollercoaster of death and freaks out, causing half of the students to get off the ride with her.
When Wendy’s premonition comes true and the rollercoaster kills everyone still on it, her classmate Kevin (Ryan Merriman) goes on the internet and discovers the events of the first two films.
The Good
Thankfully, franchise creators James Wong and Glen Morgan have returned for the third instalment and it shows – the script and direction are extremely inventive, ensuring that you’re howling with laughter, even as you cringe in horror at the increasingly gruesome deaths.
Wanstead and Merriman make attractive, likeable leads and the supporting cast create recognisable characters without descending too far into cliché. The effects are superb too, particularly the Rollercoaster of death centrepiece.
The Bad
The only real flaw in the film is an ending that feels rushed and lacks the inventiveness of the rest of the movie. It also seems as if a couple of shots are missing during a crucial sequence towards the end.
Worth seeing?
This is an enjoyable threequel that delivers splendidly in terms of laughs, shocks and inventive death scenes. In addition, you’ll never go on a) a rollercoaster or b) a sun-bed ever again. Highly recommended.