14 May REVIEW – ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ proves there is still life (and death) left in this franchise

Fifteen years after the last instalment, Final Destination: Bloodlines arrives with the impossible task of resurrecting a franchise that felt more like a time capsule than a contemporary horror engine. The original Final Destination films thrived on their high-concept simplicity and rollercoaster Rube Goldberg kill scenes, but by the fifth entry, even die-hard fans began to admit the series had grown stale. So it’s a genuine surprise (and a very welcome one) that this new entry manages not only to reinvigorate the series but also to do so with a clever narrative twist, a healthy dose of blood-splattered ingenuity, and a surprisingly resonant emotional core. It doesn’t always avoid the franchise’s historical missteps, but it delivers exactly what longtime fans want and a bit more than they might expect.

Thankfully, Final Destination: Bloodlines doesn’t just rehash the formula but reconfigures it with a fresh, eerie, and unexpectedly poignant approach. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, and penned by Scream’s Guy Busick and Insidious: The Red Door’s Lori Evans Taylor, this latest entry proves that even six films in, the series still has life and, more importantly, a whole lot of death left in it. With its inventively gory kills, emotional depth, and a fresh take on the familiar recipe, Bloodlines ensures that the Final Destination franchise continues to be a thrilling ride for horror fans.

Traditionally, Final Destination movies have followed a clear pattern: someone has a sudden vision of a catastrophic accident, a group of people narrowly escapes, and then death comes knocking, one brutally ironic kill at a time. But Bloodlines smartly changes things. The premonition that sets everything in motion happened decades ago, and not even to our main character. The story opens in 1968 at the grand opening of the Sky View Restaurant Tower. Young Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) and her fiancé Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) are caught up in the glitzy celebration until Iris is struck by a terrifying premonition; a gas leak, a broken chandelier, a cracked glass floor, and ultimately, a catastrophic explosion that causes the entire tower to collapse, killing everyone inside. She warns the others in time, preventing the disaster, but not without consequence. Her vision has disrupted Death’s design, and she’s now marked.

Decades later, college student Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is plagued by vivid nightmares involving that very collapsing tower. Encouraged by her frustrated roommate, Stefani returns home to her father, Marty (Tinpo Lee) and younger brother, Charlie (Teo Briones). Her search for answers takes her deep into family history — and into the woods, where her estranged grandmother Iris (Gabrielle Rose) now lives in isolation. There, Stefani begins to uncover the truth about her family’s connection to death’s plan, the ripple effect of Iris’s long-ago warning, and the reason why the people around her are suddenly dying in horrifyingly intricate ways. It’s not just about her. It’s about an entire family tree infected by survival.

This generational twist gives Bloodlines a whole new sense of tension and urgency. Suddenly, the film isn’t just about fate coming for a group of survivors; it’s about whether some people should have ever existed at all. Those caught up in death’s design include Stefani and Charlie’s estranged mother, Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt), her brother, Howard (Alex Zahara), and his children, Erik (Richard Harmon), Julia (Anna Lore), and Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner). 

What makes Bloodlines stand out from previous entries is how grounded it feels emotionally. There’s a melancholic undercurrent to the story, anchored by Iris’s guilt and Stefani’s desperate search for answers. The idea that escaping death once could ripple across generations is a genuinely interesting angle, and it injects a sense of haste that isn’t just about who will die next, but why and the impact on those left behind. Lipovsky and Stein take the core DNA of the series — premonitions, omens, and brutal chain-reaction deaths — and add thematic depth without slowing down the fun. You care about these family members not just as potential victims, but as people, which is something only a few entries in the franchise have ever achieved.

Santa Juana, in particular, is a standout. She plays Stefani with a vulnerability that never tips into helplessness, and as she pieces together the horrifying truth about her ancestry, she becomes a compelling final girl in her own right. There’s a quiet sadness behind her eyes that sells the idea of generational trauma. She’s not just scared of dying; she’s scared of being destined to suffer. By centring the story on a family with real dynamics, emotional baggage, and deep connections, the film adds genuine weight to each death. Briones, Kihlstedt, Joyner, and Harmon all bring strong energy to the ensemble, making this feel like more than just another body count. The familial twist adds a new layer of emotional resonance to the franchise, making the stakes feel more personal and the losses more impactful.

But don’t worry — for all its newfound emotionality, Bloodlines doesn’t skimp on the carnage. In fact, it might feature some of the most sadistically creative death scenes in the entire franchise. The film knows its audience and plays into expectations with wicked glee. Every innocuous object becomes a potential weapon. The kills are built on suspense, misdirection, and a very dark sense of humour. It’s clear the filmmakers took joy in constructing elaborate machines of doom, and that gory inventiveness is a big part of what makes this series tick. You feel the dread building in every frame, and the camera lingers just long enough to make your skin crawl. The screenplay does a great job of subverting expectations, making you think you know what’s coming, only to pull the rug out from under you in the most delightfully macabre ways.

Visually, the film is slick and confident. Lipovsky and Stein shoot with clarity and purpose, favouring clean compositions and restrained camera movement that let the chaos unfold in real time. There’s a certain elegance to the way scenes are staged (especially and expectedly the death sequences) and the visual effects are used to enhance rather than overwhelm. The opening premonition sequence is a stunner, a chaotic ballet of glass, flame, and structural collapse that immediately reminds viewers what this franchise can do at its best. That being said, some of the prologue’s CGI feels unconvincing and detracts from the otherwise visceral impact of the scene.

And then there’s the late great Tony Todd, returning as the enigmatic William Bludworth in his final on-screen performance. His presence alone is enough to send a shiver down the spine, and while his role here is relatively brief, it’s steeped in the same ominous mystique that made him such an icon in previous entries. He doesn’t provide easy answers (does he ever?), but he adds gravitas and that vital connective tissue for longtime fans. Todd delivers a monologue that offers long-awaited insight into who Bludworth really is. His scene is weighty in a way that honours both the actor and the legacy of his role. As Todd’s swan song, it’s a chillingly perfect one. The franchise won’t be the same without him, but what a gift he was able to join us one final time.

That said, Bloodlines isn’t flawless. The pacing in the third act gets a little muddy, and there are a few character choices that feel more like genre obligations than organic developments. While the film does an admirable job of building tension, there are moments where the pacing lags, and the narrative meanders. These lulls can momentarily pull you out of the experience, but they are few and far between. There’s also a slightly rushed quality to the ending, as though the film wants to wrap everything up before you have time to question the logistics of its big ideas. And, as with many horror films, there’s a hefty helping of clunky dialogue.

But these are relatively minor gripes in a film that does so much right. More importantly, it understands the tone of Final Destination better than any entry since part two. It’s the mixture of tension, horror, absurdity, and tragedy that made the original such a modern horror classic. It’s a tonal dance that most horror films wouldn’t dare to attempt, let alone pull off successfully, but Bloodlines manages to strike the right balance more often than not. It’s gory, it’s weirdly funny, and it’s got something on its mind.

There’s also something kind of touching about the idea that death, in this universe, isn’t just inevitable, it’s personal. Bloodlines frames the invisible presence not as a faceless force but as something vengeful, methodical, and even poetic. The sins of the past, the lives that should not have existed, all come crashing back in a way that feels earned. It gives the film a mythic quality that sets it apart from its predecessors, and it adds narrative heft to the bloodletting.

In the end, Final Destination: Bloodlines won’t convert nonbelievers. It’s still a film built around increasingly elaborate ways to kill its cast, and if that conceit has never appealed to you, this entry won’t change your mind. But for fans of the franchise and for those open to a horror film that tries just a little harder than it has to, it’s a bloody good time. It’s that perfect blend of horrifying and hilarious that’s kept this saga humming for six films. For better or worse, it’s a deliciously nasty blueprint that still works remarkably well in this soft reboot. Grab your popcorn and take another dance with death, if you dare.

Distributor: Warner Bros.
Cast: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Rya Kihlstedt, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, Tony Todd
Directors: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Producers: Craig Perry, Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, Toby Emmerich
Screenplay: Guy Busick, Lori Evans Taylor
Cinematography: Christian Sebaldt
Production Design: Rachel O’Toole
Costume Design: Michelle Hunter
Editor: Sabrina Pitre
Music: Tim Wynn
Running Time: 110 minutes
Release Date: 15th May 2025 (Australia)