Final Destination 2 is likely only to be enjoyed by devotees of grueling amusement-park rides. It revels in the vicious "Can you take this?" thrills found in the most gut-churning roller coasters and centrifugal-force-based whirligigs. But that's not a huge surprise; what is most shocking about director David R. Ellis' clever and extremely gory film is that it's one of few horror sequels to outdo the original.
The premise of the first film involved a group of kids who cheat death after one foresees a horrific plane crash. Though these lucky few elude their fate at first, they subsequently start expiring in grisly and unexpected ways. One of the youths, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), survives the Grim Reaper's scythe and shows up to offer assistance to FD2's protagonist, Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cook).

A year after the events of Final Destination, Kimberly is on the way to Daytona Beach with three friends and "sees" a car pile-up of epic proportions. She turns her SUV to block an on-ramp, thus protecting some of the people who would have been involved. Though an accident of another kind occurs, she unwittingly foils destiny's deadly designs, setting the plot in motion.

Though Kimberly realizes fairly quickly the consequences of her actions, convincing an officer named Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) and the other drivers and passengers involved is far more difficult. However, after the first of them meets a sticky end in a wonderfully conceived kitchen conflagration, the group is more willing to listen. Enter Clear, who has been biding her time, voluntarily, in a nearby mental institution. Kimberly turns to her for help in convincing the remaining survivors of the danger that awaits them all.

But even after being warned, few of the characters in FD2 end up unscathed as the film races efficiently to its credits. The death sequences, involving random items like a fish tank, a car's air bag, and the doors of an elevator, are ingeniously baroque, recalling the best Italian giallo films. The opening car crash is a brilliant, nerve-wracking sequence that will have viewers quivering in their seats. And the performances, mostly by neophytes, are surprisingly good. Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber's script repeats the phrase "death's design" a few too many times, but it cleverly employs the conceit of the original while adding a few novel twists.

Though the movie is graphically violent (let's hope those multiplex employees are checking IDs!), it's not offensive. The bloodshed runs right up to the border of camp, managing to be suspenseful without leaving too many take-home terrors in its wake. As with the fairground attractions it resembles, once the ride is over, the thrills are a dim and untroubling memory. But when it's in full throttle, you'll be hanging on for dear life.