In an age of extreme media violence, where children are exposed to killing and brutality at increasingly young ages, Final Destination 2 manages to shock even the most hardened minds and strongest of stomachs. Rather than rely on clever plot and well thought-out suspense to horrify its audience, this film uses incredibly disgusting, brutal means of death for its hapless victims in order to achieve its requisite screams.

And its no wonder Final Destination 2 relies on them; the fundamental premise is an unbelievably ridiculous idea. Plot holes? Better to say plot craters.

Basically, the concept is the same as in Final Destination 1 (why, oh why, was this absurdity revisited a second time), in which a group of people did not board a plane due to a boy’s premonition of disaster. But when the plane crashed, these people somehow thwarted death’s design and all died brutally within the next few days— except one lucky girl, Clear Rivers (Ali Larter), who subsequently submitted herself to be locked in a padded room in a mental institute.

In the second version of inane “death itself is stalking you" drivel, college student Kimberly Corman (A.J. Cooke) anticipates a huge pileup and blocks off on-ramp traffic, thereby saving the lives of six or seven people, herself included (the exact number is unclear… part of the general theme of ambiguity).

But the people were destined to die, and die they will, according to Kimberly. Riiight. A young, handsome—do I smell love interest—cop named Thomas Burke (Michael Landes) is the only one who believes her story, and he should be locked up for listening to such garbage.

Kimberly decides to visit Clear in her institute, where we hear annoyingly trite premonitions of doom for all, there is no escape, etceteras. I’ll spare you the hysterics. But eventually Clear, realizing her obvious responsibility to come help stop death—okay, sounds pretty believable so far—joins up with the ambiguously in love duo.

Now a trio, they traipse around town, visiting an old eccentric who again forecasts death and doom, unless they somehow make a new life (again with the ambiguity). Most everyone, main trio included, interprets this as meaning a baby. One of the possible pile-up victims was a pregnant woman who just happens to be on the verge of going into labor.

A frantic search ensues for Isabella, for the rest of the soon to be victims, and for anything remotely credible. The first two on the list are a success, with the rest of the pile-up survivors frightened enough by the quick deaths of two of their number to believe in what Kimberly is saying.

Admittedly, the plot line is a bit interesting and the film does have some entertaining qualities. Foremost among these is the fact that it doesn’t take itself very seriously, as evidenced by the ending scene. Final Destination 2 certainly has some comedic value. If not for the grotesqueness of the deaths, perhaps some credit could be granted to a somewhat frightening film with interspersed bits of genuine humor.

But when one survivor is killed by a barbed wire fence that slices him into three distinct pieces, that’s the last straw. Acting so terrible it verges on humorous completes the "don’t go see this movie" puzzle.

Final Destination 2, rated R for strong violent/ gruesome accidents, language, drug content and some nudity, 90 min., is playing in theaters everywhere. Official site: deathiscoming.com