Final Destination Bloodlines Review

As the year is passing quickly, the cinema has been a place of highs and lows, with films such as A Minecraft Movie dumbing down the audience. However, then Sinners was a welcome surprise and proved that original stories can still draw in huge box office numbers. 

A genre that is always guaranteed to bring people to the big screen is horror, and in particular, the return of a beloved franchise, which has not been seen in cinemas since 2011. The Final Destination series has been a cult classic of the genre, and has created fears for many people, with its gory and creative deaths, and Final Destination Bloodlines not only showcases this for the 2020s audience, but also delivers with a plot full of nods for fans of the other movies. 

For people who have watched the previous films, they always start with a big set piece of destruction and bloody deaths ending with a person about to impale themselves, and then the camera comes out of their eye and declares to the audience that this was all a vision and no one has indeed been hurt. However, it leads the person on a quest to discover their psychic power and how they can cheat death. In Bloodlines, the film starts with Iris (Brec Bassigner) blindfolded by her boyfriend as he surprises her with a trip to a fancy new restaurant atop an observation deck. With the location, you know what is in store and the sequence is engineered to create tension with the constant shots of a glass dance floor, which is minutes away from breaking. 

However, this story is not only Iris's, but it is setting up for the origin plot, as death has now targeted a new family, and Iris's granddaughter is now plagued with the same nightmare she has and Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is determined to not let any more deaths happen around - but does she succeed, of course she doesn't. 

The film not only embraces death in a big way, but gets creative with it too, as some of the deaths feature a lawnmower, an MRI machine and a bin lorry. They are also very gory, with no budget being spared on special effects and for the particularly scream-ish - there are no cutaways, so be prepared to see some of the most gruesome deaths of the franchise yet on the big screen. 

Also, in a very small supporting role, Tony Todd returns as William Bludworth, who, as a regular in the franchise, is there to provide some advice to the main characters about how to escape the cycle of death. Unfortunately, since he shot his part, he sadly passed away in autumn last year, which makes his final words in his monologue very timely - 'Enjoy what little time you have left.. as you never know when it will be your last'. This tribute and the origin plot story are a welcome surprise to fans of the series, as Bloodlines explains how escaping death started with one person and then followed through the family tree. This, along with some very gruesome deaths, makes it a good addition to the franchise and fun time at the cinema!