As the release of Final Destination 5 looms on the horizon, it seems worth noting that Warner Bros. must be feeling fairly bullish about what they have, and not merely because of the franchise-rejuvenating $186 million gross of its 2009 predecessor (almost two-thirds of which came from overseas). No, in addition to carpet-bombing specialty programming (they’re pretty much temporarily renting MTV and Comedy Central these days), the studio is peppering writers with an assortment of small but catchy swag — spread out over the last couple weeks, and including an eye chart, a luggage tag, a branded mini-wrench, some incense with an accompanying holder, and a faux-winner’s medallion emblazoned with the admonishing dictum, “Death doesn’t like to be cheated.”

Actually, that phrase — the movie’s tagline — also appears on little, different-sized cards with a medical examiner’s logo on the back in each package, which are great to leave as threatening notes to movie-ignorant enemies outside of the film’s target demographic reach. Errr… I mean, theoretically. Yeah, that’s the ticket. I caught a junket screening of the movie this past weekend, and will look to post a proper review closer to release, but it’s safe to say that Final Destination 5 is the antidote to Glee 3-D: The Concert Movie, and should be received warmly enough to ensure the continuation of the franchise.