Horror movies often fill the audience with the most extraordinary and unrealistic fears, but Final Destination: Bloodlines makes the audience scared of all the ordinary, everyday things that may lead to death.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is the sixth installment in the Final Destination franchise. While it follows the overall plot structure of the other films, the story stands on its own, and the other films are in no way required viewing to enjoy this film to its fullest extent. While it may be a self-contained story, like others in the series, the film connects to the others through the appearance of William Bludworth. The small connections to the other films have led to many fan theories connecting the victims of this film to those who appear in others.
The film follows Stefani Lewis, a girl in college, whose every thought is plagued by a constant nightmare of her grandmother’s death. When she returns to her family to investigate these nightmares, she finds her grandmother alive and well. Her grandmother shares that many years ago, she had this same premonition, leading her to save the lives of everyone who was supposed to die that day, including herself. With the knowledge that her entire family isn’t supposed to exist, Stefani tries to warn them that death is coming for them all, but they do not believe her until they start dying off one by one, and now they need to find a way to save themselves before death reaches them.
The film’s biggest highlight is the individual characters. Stefani, all her cousins, and the rest of their family feel memorable and unique. Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger, and Richard Harmon deliver standout performances.
Tony Todd returns to the franchise as William Bludworth, who is revealed to be an elderly version of a young boy that Iris, Stefani’s grandmother, saved due to her premonition. The family goes to him for advice on how to stop death from getting to them. While his scene may be brief, the way he commands the room and portrays this wise and old character who has such a complicated relationship with death is one of the most memorable parts of the film. Todd’s final words in the film offer not just a perfect send-off to the character of Bludworth, but also to Todd’s life and career, as he sadly passed away before the film’s release on November 6th, 2024.
Richard Harmon is Erik Campbell, Stefani’s cousin, who is the source of comic relief throughout the film. However, hidden within the humor is a nuanced performance of an outsider within this family who still loves them unconditionally. Brec Bassinger portrays the past version of Stefani’s grandmother, Iris. Bassinger manages to juggle both versions of the character, the one within the premonition and the one who is deeply traumatized by it. The film spends most of the first act following this past version of Iris in Stefani’s dream, and Bassinger’s performance alone makes this one of the standout portions of the film.
The film’s main antagonist is death; some may think that having a villain that is more of a concept than an actual person may take the audience out of the story, but this cannot be further from the truth. The characters personify death by referring to it with the pronoun “he” very often, and they frequently talk about how he is trying to trick and mess with them. By the end, the film makes the audience view death as a character within the film’s narrative.
The extravagant and unique kills are what keep audiences coming back to the Final Destination franchise time and time again. Final Destination: Bloodlines does not disappoint regarding the violence expected from the franchise. The film is packed with gory, unique, and often humorous deaths, but because of this, more squeamish audiences will have to look away at certain points. The film tricks the audience into thinking the characters are either dead or safe, so it can hit the audience with an even more surprising reveal later. The film’s sense of humor is one of the highlights, and the way it melds these comedic aspects with the more traditional horror elements is one of the film’s best aspects.
The film uses far more than just violence to keep the audience scared. Cinematographer Christian Sebaldt shoots the film in a way that makes shots simultaneously claustrophobic and packed yet also empty in a disturbing way at times. Aside from visuals, the score composed by Tim Wynn is another factor that makes the film so horrific.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is a character-driven, comedic entry in the Final Destination franchise that keeps the audience entertained. The film provides an enticing plot full of unique kills and memorable performances from the whole cast, but especially Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger, and Richard Harmon. Final Destination: Bloodlines is a step in the right direction for the franchise, with a more substantial plot than most other films in the series, which is simple yet doesn’t treat the audience like they are stupid. If Final Destination: Bloodlines is at all telling about the direction the Final Destination films are going in the future, then audiences are in for funny, character-driven, gory stories that they are sure to enjoy.
