REVIEW: ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Is A Franchise Highlight

In the age of the legacy sequel, the too-long dormant Final Destination horror franchise has been conspicuously absent. Enter Final Destination Bloodlines. Nearly 14 years after 2011’s Final Destination 5, Bloodlines is here to bring the same wacky blend of Rube Goldberg-style death sequences underlined by dark comedy that has kept the series enduring all these years later. Yes, Final Destination Bloodlines plays the hits, yet it plays them as big and loud as eager fans could possibly want, making for a hell of a return to form that stands out as one of the franchise’s best.

At the start of the film, the year is 1968. Happy couple Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) expect to have a romantic evening at the opening of the elevated Skyview Restaurant. At the top, Iris receives a premonition of the structure falling apart, evacuating before anyone can die.

Cut to the present day. Iris (Gabrielle Rose) has successfully spared her family from Death, but has pushed them away in the process. As it turns out, Death is not done with her family. Her estranged granddaughter, Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), starts seeing visions of the prevented Skyview incident, slowly realizing that Death has only been delayed and that he’s coming for Iris’ whole bloodline.

Character work isn’t the Final Destination series’ strong suit. Nonetheless, Final Destination Bloodlines has a game enough cast to keep audiences invested. Kaitlyn Santa Juana is more than capable as the de facto protagonist, Stefani, while Teo Briones slides into the scared little brother role adequately.

Bonkers deaths, an all-in plot, and more make for great horror viewing.

A couple true scene stealers do exist in the form of Gabrielle Rose’s haunting turn as the elderly doomsday prepper Iris and wonderfully smarmy work from Richard Harmon as Stefani’s cousin Eric. A personal favorite is genre icon Tony Todd (Candyman) coming back to explain the rules of Death one last time. It’s a fitting send-off, sure to make horror-heads a little misty-eyed.

Another area in which Final Destination hasn’t been known to excel is the screenwriting department. Well, here Final Destination Bloodlines and its screenwriters, Guy Busick (Scream VI) and Lori Evans Taylor, do more than is required. The idea of Death as the entity it’s been portrayed as in previous films is a unique twist to the series, apparently brought by producer Jon Watts.

The film makes the most of this concept and uses it to lightly explore generational trauma via our main character’s relationship with Iris and her estranged mother (Rya Kihlstedt). It’s hardly a searing look, yet it undoubtedly adds another layer to the narrative. Of course, Final Destination Bloodlines knows how to keep things light with an irreverent tone throughout.

The real star of the show will always be the sequences where our characters die improbable deaths. Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein know this, and they deliver like there’s no tomorrow. Final Destination Bloodlines threatens to peak early with the Skyview sequence. In said sequence, a penny, faulty glass, an untested elevator, and a shoddy construction job come together to create an unholy miasma of over-the-top gore.

Final Destination Bloodlines offers a fitting send-off to the late Tony Todd.

This sequence punishes its victims to extreme levels. It’s one of the most ambitious opening sequences the franchise has ever attempted, and Lipovsky and Stein pass the test with flying colors. The spectacle of it all feels like being on a rollercoaster ride, especially in premium formats such as IMAX or the literal rollercoaster format 4DX.  In other words, it opens the film on the highest of highs.

Final Destination Bloodlines keeps the blood pumping. Rarely has a Final Destination movie ever looked this good, courtesy of a franchise-high budget of $50 million and cinematographer Christian Sebaldt relishing the opportunity to give each twist of fate its cinematic due.

There are too many great set pieces to count, including a barbecue gone wrong, an unfortunate trip to the hospital, and the worst trash day ever. What makes each sequence work is that, visually, we’re given all the pieces up front that will result in a character’s demise, waiting to see how they’ll come together to make for a ridiculous death. The answer is almost always as wild and unexpected as possible.

Final Destination Bloodlines has no pretension of being anything other than a great Final Destination movie. It clears that bar and then some, bringing back the same meticulously absurd kills the franchise is known for while also adding new twists to the formula and depth. This isn’t a film that wants to investigate what makes Final Destination good; it’s a film that knows exactly what draws people in and plays almost exclusively to that appeal. The results are one of the most purely satisfying horror franchise entries to come out in a good while.

Final Destination Bloodlines is now in theaters.