In 2000, a little horror film “Final Destination” was one of the surprise hits of that year. Now almost three years later, a sequel comes calling.

The premise of the first film was a group of students are saved from a airplane explosion when one of their fellow students has a premonition before the events. Then “death” hunts each student down to settle the score. Each student dies by a freakish accident put into motion by the smallest thing but amplified by the “reaper” himself. We learn in the sequel that there was only one survivor of the first film, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), who is now housed in a padded room at her own request.

When the film opens co-ed Kimberley Corman (A.J. Cook) is getting ready for a spring break vacation with some friends. Kimberley is about to pull onto the expressway when a mind-numbing premonition ricochets through her head where she sees a horrific traffic accident and many lives are lost. Kimberley slams on the breaks and causes all the victims of the forthcoming accident to stop on the on-ramp. She freaks and that incident diverts death’s plan. Kimberley and her on-ramp cohorts become a marked by the reaper. Who will live and who will die? Is there anyway to stop the reaper?

“Final Destination 2” is one of those horror movies where you aren’t sure if you are supposed to be hysterically laughing or cringing at the gore. The fun of these films has always been how the victim is going to die. In slasher films, you know that the slasher is going to kill them but in these films it could literally be anything.

The first film was dark and took everything way to serious for the “slasher-style” plot. The sequel is more fun because the creators have really used their imaginations and gall to deliver these clever accidents.

The film’s star Ali Larter reminded me a lot of Sigourney Weaver in “Aliens” and Jamie Lee Curtis in the “Halloween” movies. Her presence in the film was basically the only link to the previous film. I like the actress but I do wonder if it was necessary to have that link?

“Final Destination 2” is a popcorn movie in its purest form. It is a lot better than a lot of the horror-thriller fare out there now.

(3.25 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.