‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Movie Review: A Death-Defying Franchise Gets a Familial Refresh
Photo from Eric Milner/Warner Bros. Entertainment
From Jeff Nelson
“When you fuck with death, things get messy.” Comically messy. That is the entire premise of the Final Destination franchise that started in 2000. Twenty-five years later and four sequels later, it’s still finding creative ways to twist irrational fears into amusingly horrific deaths. Final Destination: Bloodlines doesn’t stray from the established formula, while integrating a new layer of survival that revitalizes the series without abandoning its freak accident-prone core.
The same nightmare haunts Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) for months, causing her college grades to slip. She returns home to track down her estranged grandmother, Iris (Gabrielle Rose), who lives at the center of these night terrors. It’s up to Stefani to save her family line from the reaper’s touch.
Final Destination is known for the opening premonition that then causes Death to track down the unintended survivors. Stefani is the first leading protagonist without one. Instead, it’s a recurring nightmare centered around her grandmother’s premonition, and the invisible entity desperately wants to correct its mistake by eradicating their entire bloodline. We’ve seen premonitions involving planes, highway pileups, roller coasters, but this one is set in a high-rise restaurant. Nearly every frame milks the fear of heights, and the deaths are notably brutal.
Bloodlines tightens the web of survivors into family members, introducing a more dramatic dynamic between them. Iris’ determination to survive alienated her from the family that never believed her rantings. This trauma rippled through several relationships, including the one between Stefani and her mother (Rya Kihlstedt). After moving to college, Stefani also distanced herself from her brother, Charlie (Teo Briones), and her cousins (Richard Harmon, Anna Lore, and Owen Patrick Joyner). The seedlings of distrust make it even more difficult for her to stop Death from claiming their lives one at a time in their order of birth, rather than a premonition-established death. It tries to give more dramatic depth to these characters, although it’s more successful as a plot device that shifts the formula than as engaging storytelling.
The grotesque set pieces are made for thunderous audience reactions. New fears involving body piercings and hospital equipment are unlocked, delivering on the creative splatter that puts people in theater seats. The franchise always embraced dark comedy, although this installment leans harder into it with the deaths and beyond. From song choices to overly-cautious characters, this is the funniest one yet. However, it’s surprising that after five movies, we’re still getting the same recycled exposition of how Death works.
Additionally, the sequels ignored Final Destination 2 and protagonist Kimberly (A.J. Cook) for far too long, but Bloodlines has more than an appreciation for the sequel. Perhaps overly so. The callbacks are occasionally too on-the-nose, stealing identical set-piece elements. Fortunately, the direct narrative connections fit.
What doesn’t fit as well? Some of the logic surrounding its own rules, including Iris’ safehouse. Horror movie characters are notoriously stupid, but Bloodlines occasionally takes it to another level. This is especially true in the flawed third act that dampens much of the first and second acts’ creativity. It takes the easy way out with an afterthought of an ending.
Splatter horror always benefits from the grit of practical effects, and it’s clear when Bloodlines embraces in-camera grossness. However, it’s similarly obvious when it relies entirely on CGI. Humans occasionally become digital water balloons filled with blood. However, directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein effectively build tension in this “domino effect” of carnage.
Death can tear a family apart. In Bloodlines, it brings them closer together. Now, whether they can cheat the primal entity to continue their legacy is another question entirely. Final Destination fans love this franchise for the innovative way these victims meet their demise. This installment is no less predictable than its predecessors, but it does find a fun way to apply its nostalgic formula to a new scenario with tons of bloodshed. It also gives the late Tony Todd an affecting farewell.
Rating: 3/5
Final Destination: Bloodlines hits theaters on May 16th, 2025.
