In 2011, Final Destination 5 premiered, marking what was seemingly the end to a beloved franchise known for its campy dialogue, boneheaded teenage characters, and gleefully demented kill sequences. Each film starts with a random disaster, narrowly avoided thanks to a young protagonist’s premonition.
The rest usually follows the main character and their friends on the run against a vengeful Grim Reaper, taking revenge on them for cheating death. The series has worked its way into the hearts of horror fans, and in 2000, crafted the first truly innovative and iconic slasher since A Nightmare on Elm Street.
However, after a handful of entries with a fairly mechanical formula with little lore, five seemed like a good place to leave the series, escaping the fate of many other slashers that jumped the shark ten films in.
Why Revisit Final Destination in 2025?
So, after all these years, why turn back to a distinctly 2000s-era horror story, one that had a definitive ending with part 5’s cyclical finale? The answer is Bloodlines.
Easily the funniest, bloodiest, and most surprisingly heartfelt of the series, Final Destination: Bloodlines is a necessary return to the Summer horror blockbuster, revitalizing the genre with new blood while staying true to the series’ roots.
A Fresh Twist on the Franchise’s Premise
This is not your Dad’s Final Destination movie. Okay, well, it kind of is, but simultaneously, it breaks bloody new ground. The movie opens with an elongated, heart-wrenching opening disaster sequence as per tradition, this time set at a collapsing, rotating restaurant in the sixties.
However, instead of just cutting to the character the audience has been following, assuming that what we have seen is a premonition, we cut to present-day college student Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana). As it turns out, Stefani is having visions of something that almost happened to her family’s estranged matriarch, her grandmother. But why?
A New Layer of Mystery and Family Dynamics
This sudden switch from the standard conventions of a Final Destination movie is reason enough to warrant this sequel. It adds a whole new layer of mystery and rule changes that lead to the film’s most interesting set-up: it is not the near-dead survivors of a crash, but instead the family of the disaster’s survivor.
The family itself is such a great cast, and a welcome change from the usual group of doofy high schoolers. Stefani is a compelling final girl, her family-centric arc adding a deeper, more emotional layer to what could have been a cheap, straight-to-streaming requel.
The characters give this story more important meanings and metaphors of generational trauma, Stefani’s grandmother’s supernatural PTSD from her near-death experience corrupting her daughter (Rya Kihlstedt), son (Alex Zahara), and eventually the rest of the family.
Emotional Depth in a Slasher Flick
The emotional thread allows the film to explore some more complicated character dynamics. It makes it genuinely more painful when some characters get offed, something that these kinds of slashers can often forget.
Additionally, the comedy in this movie is top-notch. Some previous entries can take themselves too seriously, both stylistically and narratively. Still, this film finds a logging truck full of laughs, either in its ludicrous kills or goofy family banter.
Richard Harmon is especially a standout in the film as alternative tattoo designer Erik Campbell, a hilarious side character whose costuming aesthetics totally call back to the 2000s emo vibes and Ian of Final Destination 3.
Tony Todd’s Final Bow as Bludworth
The film also features the return of Tony Todd’s familiar character Bludworth, making it his final film. It is a loving goodbye to an iconic role and a legendary actor. Arguments can definitely be made that the backstory given to his character in this movie could have been a little more…unexpected, to say the least, but his performance more than makes up for it.
The Franchise’s Most Original Death Sequences
It is refreshing to see a Final Destination flick with such an emotional thread, more complicated mystery, and some effective comedy, but let’s be real—we’re all in this for the kills, right? After all, who doesn’t love some of the nastiest movie death scenes, pushing the boundaries of how complicated a way can pulverize a character?
Well, it is a pleasure to say Bloodlines does not disappoint in the slightest. Without giving too much away, this has some of the franchise’s nastiest, most original, and most clever kills. The gore and suspense will have seasoned horror fans gagging on popcorn and squinting. While not necessarily more brutal than other entries, the cleverness of the set-ups are original.
Final Destination: Bloodlines Is Full Of Horror That Will Keep You On The Edge Of Your Seat
Small little details and a plethora of fakeouts, with small props coming back in unexpected ways make this movie the most effective of the entire series in how it handles its Rube Goldberg-esque nature. A more in-depth production design and varied settings, such as a sick tattoo parlor and a creepy isolated cabin, help provide the backdrop for some of the most gleeful deaths.
Overall, Final Destination: Bloodlines seems to mark the beginning of Summer. It is a huge, epic blockbuster of an entry, that demands to be seen with the biggest audience possible, on the biggest screen possible.
Everyone loves a bleak, moody folk horror, but this film will take excited audiences back to pure 2000s fun and expand into a genuinely meaningful story.
