You ever get that feeling that something bad is going to happen? I do, and I’m usually right, but enough about my bowel issues. You get a bad feeling about a plane trip, you’re about to board but then think, “I’ll skip that flight”. But maybe it’ll be the next plane which crashes instead. You can’t escape death when it comes for you.
It’s a happy time for descendants of Iris Campbell (Gabrielle Rose), despite the fact they just attended her funeral. The elderly matriarch’s unhinged helicopter parenting and fear of death left a cloud over the lives of her daughter Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt) and son Howard (Alex Zahara). Now with their own families however, the death of their mother has brought the whole clan together like never before. A celebratory family BBQ is marred only in retrospect that nearly everyone in attendance is themselves living on borrowed time.
Decades earlier, Iris saved herself and the lives of dozens of others when her inexplicable accurate premonition averted disaster. But you can’t fuck with death’s plan! One by one, all of those souls met a violent inevitable fate. It didn’t stop with them either, as death came for their children and their children’s children in equal fashion. Iris had spent much of her life attempting to keep her family safe, but she is gone now. Can her granddaughter Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) keep her family alive, or is there no running out on the bill when death comes to collect?
It’s been a long time since cinema goers were treated to an instalment in the Final Destination franchise. Final Destination 5 was released back in 2011 and fans have been waiting an agonising 14 years for another! Final Destination: Bloodlines works as a soft reboot of the series yet is one which pays homage to its legacy. Newcomers to the franchise, directing partners Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein helm what many are calling the best Final Destination yet!
I have a spotty history with the Final Destination franchise myself. I adored the original film released in 2000 for its well-handled high concept, with thrills and even darker themes of survivor’s guilt. Yet, the sequels appeared to have somewhat of an identity crisis, lost between the all-out farce and seriousness. Despite this, the movies all remained enjoyable, particularly as the gory freak accidents piled up one after another.
This is why Final Destination: Bloodlines is so successful in its execution, it’s just so damn fun! The longest in the series at nearly 2 hours, the gimmick never gets old, and the characters and surprises remain engaging. The screenplay by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor finds the right balance of comedic horror that previous films in the franchise were severely lacking.
Yes, there’s very little to the story, but this doesn’t hurt the film over its runtime. Perhaps this is because it’s been so long since we’ve seen a Final Destination movie, but exploring a world where people are simply fated to perish due to the deadly ‘Rube Goldberg machine’ chain reaction, it’s all fascinating to watch.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is helped as well by the likeable performances from its cast. Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefani Reyes plays her lead role well. Although with such a large cast, it’s the fine supporting actors that elevate the film. Particularly, Richard Harmon as Erik, Iris‘ tatted up grandson who looks like he fell into a tackle box. His scenes are eccentric and are played for laughs. While usually this type of comedy would usually have me rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help myself but laugh out loud several times.
Although, I wish the film spent more time on the concept of collateral damage when messing with death’s design. While the performances are solid, it has to be said that the characters move on from the deaths of their loved ones disturbingly too quickly.
Also, the film features the swan song of the late charismatic performer Tony Todd. From horror franchises to action films, drama and numerous voiceover work, the actor always had a recognisable and commanding presence. He was also the only regularly appearing figure across the entire Final Destination series, missing out only on the 4th film due to scheduling conflicts (also the weakest instalment, coincidence?). His final screen appearance is a highlight of Final Destination: Bloodlines, and is one that respectfully acknowledges on what was his own limited time left on Earth.
Oon a less solemn note, Final Destination: Bloodlines is just a well written and enjoyable film that’s full of elaborate death traps. It does have the same issue of the similarly accident-based horror The Monkey (2025), where some individuals have a habit of exploding like they’re balloon people filled with blood and guts. But the much more interesting death scenarios are the ones involving the types of creatively gruesome deaths that we’ve never seen before.
I also really appreciate the film’s use of foreshadowing in setting up each of its intricately gruesome annihilations. They’re not subtle, nor are they blatantly predictable. The ‘Chekhov’s guns’ are all there clear as day but then we move on from them.
I must confess, I will always love the first film the most, but it’ll be hard to ever top that. Newcomer to the series, Final Destination: Bloodlines is just a really fun and enjoyable movie to watch with friends. I can absolutely see why horror fans are excited once again to see what the future holds for this film franchise. Final Destination: Bloodlines is just the right mix of preposterous concept, comedy and extreme horror.