Final Destination: Bloodlines

This series has always had a good handle on the type of schlocky entertainment its premise provides, and after seeing this latest sequel, it’s safe to say the franchise hasn’t lost a step since its last outing.

The sixth film in a franchise that began way back in 2000, Final Destination: Bloodlines follows a brand new cast of characters who, as per usual, cheat Death only to immediately realize the terrifying consequences of their “lucky” break. Turning back the clock to 1968, Bloodlines kicks things off with a bang, depicting a particularly harrowing tragedy that directly affects our main protagonists decades later, specifically Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), a descendant of the only survivor of Bloodline’s opening scene. Plagued by nightmarish visions of this past event, Stefani, as well as her close friends and family, must find a way to stop Death from coming for them. And as they try their damndest to figure out exactly how to beat it, it’s not long before Stefani dives into her legacy to find a path forward — one that hopefully results in not being buried six feet under.

Returning to the big screen after almost 15 years, Final Destination: Bloodlines hits the ground running with a prologue that sets up the brutal yet fun tone of a film that could have easily become a lazy, uninspired retread of what we’ve seen before. Populated by characters who feel more important than simply acting as the next victims of Death’s grand design, Bloodlines leans into Final Destination’s inventive Rube Goldberg sequences to great effect, with a few kills ranking up there as some of the best in the franchise — the MRI scene alone being worth the price of admission.

Putting a slight spin on how a Final Destination film usually works, Stefani seeing visions of the past as well as taking the initiative to dive deeper into the “hows” and “whys” of Death coming for her in the present, makes Bloodlines feel like a far more balanced film than its predecessors in terms of its plot, characters, and kill scenes. Throw in the fact that Bloodlines leans into being a bit of a black comedy at points, and by the time the credits rolled, I was pleasantly surprised by what I had seen, proving there’s still a lot left that this franchise can play with.

Though there’s a lot to like in this one — especially if you’re as big a fan of the series as I am — not everything worked the way the filmmakers intended. For one, the opening prologue, while effective in its own right, relies a bit too heavily on CGI to bring its catastrophic event to life, something that plagues the film and a few of its lesser kills throughout. And while I appreciated the lengths the script went to give audiences something to think about and characters to get attached to, this is still the fifth sequel in the franchise, ensuring that certain plot beats and conversations feel a bit stale and repetitive at times.

While I had a blast with Final Destination: Bloodlines, there are still a few kinks this series needs to work out before it can reach even more satisfyingly over-the-top heights, to say nothing about the continued fun factor these movies provide even at their absolute worst. And with a stronger focus on the franchise’s lore as well as a few kills that show Final Destination still has some bite to it, Final Destination: Bloodlines is the refresh the series needed, and I, for one, can’t wait for what Death has in store next.