5/10
Somewhat decent but still rather problematic effort
28 April 2016
After eating at a Chinese restaurant, a group of friends learn that their recent string of bad luck and bizarre deaths is the cause of the group receiving distressing fortune cookies at the meal and must find a way to stop it from continuing before they all die.

This one here wasn't all that bad but did have some overall problems with it. What really helps out here is when this one is how this one manages to treat the concept of the curse coming true and striking the group, which is smartly based on the Chinese prophecy that's at the center of the film. There's plenty to like how it manages to set-up the different connections with the figures from Chinese lore and integrates them with a connection to their actual deaths as it winds throughout here. Those deaths are also a lot of fun with the great manner of utilizing a manner in which their everyday lives is compromised into doling out the fatal blow. That in turns leaves this one with some rather enjoyable scenes here as this one gives off the great decision at making them accidental deaths that require some nice coincidences to play out. The first scene at the restaurant itself is a rather fine example, as well as the accident at the apartment with the bees emerging from the flowers and backstage at the restaurant where they first manage to fool with the false alarm before going for the real kill later on, while the sequence of events that play out in the hospital is quite fun with the different scenes resulting in rather gruesome incidents. As these do lead to nice bloody kills, it's about all that really appeals here with this one as there's some flaws apparent in here. One of the biggest here is that there's such a low amount of suspense present throughout the film that it's really hard to not only care but get invested in what's going to happen to them. The familiar set-up and constant running around the city here should be given some greater meaning than what's on display, but it's presented as so matter of factly that they come off as bland and really drag the life out of the film by it really holding so little interest in what's going through it's main point of being. This one is all about the group falling prey to the conflicts of the curse, yet there's never a real build-up to what's on with the point of the whole series of accidents as there's never any build-up to them and the other scenes just go by without any sense of urgency since we're just going through one scene after another. While never really boring, that does afflict this one significantly so there's a big drop-off due to that. As well, the other big issue here is the failure to mention why they're being targeted or what the curse actually is, as all we get are the physical implications by the ancient symbols but not really much else is mentioned here, and it really adds to the empty overall feel here combined with the ho- hum pace. Filled with shoddy CGI for the deaths and a really forgettable finale don't help this, but the other issues stands out more.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Language and Brief Nudity.
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