Final Destination: Bloodlines
The first instalment for 14 years, Bloodlines breathes new life into the Final Destination franchise by fully embracing the dark humour of the series.
Premise: After suffering recurring premonitions of a number of deaths that happened before she was even born, college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) learns that Death itself may be targeting her family in order to restore order to Death’s “plan”.
Review:
The Final Destination series has been one of the most consistently good horror franchises (with the noticeable exception of the pretty dire fourth instalment, The Final Destination), but across the series the tone has been quite varied. The original 2000 film Final Destination may not be my favourite in the series, but it played the tone fairly straight, and it deserves a lot of credit for coming up with such a great central premise and for setting the blueprint for all that followed. For me, the best in the series is 2003’s Final Destination 2, because it struck the right balance between the tension, the plot, and the dark humour of the elaborately unpredictable deaths (the ‘airbag’ moment may be my favourite unexpected death in the series).
By 2006, Final Destination 3 was providing some interesting deaths (and an unexpected ending), but the plot as a whole was beginning to lose focus (the introduction of the photos that could predict the future felt like a plot point from something else entirely), but after the disappointing mess of the fourth film in 2009, Final Destination 5 was a real return to form in 2011 with probably the best plot after FD2, as well as my favourite death in the series (the ‘gymnastics’ scene) and a truly unexpected final twist (which I won’t spoil here, even though 14 years have now passed).
“…the filmmakers are fans who grew up with the earlier films…”
And then ... nothing for 14 years. In an age where studios seem happy to churn out “content” regardless of quality as long as there’s “name recognition”, it was refreshing not to have to watch lesser filmmakers drive the series into the ground with a series of ever-worsening sequels. Now, the filmmaking team behind Final Destination: Bloodlines, are coming at the movie from the perspective of fans who grew up with the earlier films, and their affection for series is palpable.
One of the staples of the series is a spectacular opening disaster, and although the logging truck from FD2 is firmly lodged into the psyche of all those who watched it, Final Destination: Bloodlines may very well have the most impressive opening disaster of the franchise so far. Set in a high-rise restaurant tower, it follows young couple Iris (Brec Bassinger) and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) as they attempt to get a table for the opening night ... before things take a turn for the worse. I believe this opening disaster is the longest in the series (it’s about 20 minutes), but the time invested pays off – you not only get to know Iris and Paul better, but you also get a chance to revel in the build-up of tension before the satisfying release when all the dominos that you’ve seen put in place finally start to topple.
“…the grisly deaths & gory moments made me laugh out loud…”
Not only is the opening great from a tension and character perspective, but it also sets the tone for the rest of the movie, which is that it’s as much a pitch-black comedy as it is a ‘horror film’ per se. There are grisly deaths and gory moments in the opening sequence that made me laugh out loud – not to mention a hilariously inappropriate musical choice – but the outrageous violence is designed to make you wince with an involuntary smile on your face, rather than to shock or revolt you.
That tone carries on throughout the film – which features (in my opinion) the funniest death of the series so far (which I won’t even hint at here, because the gag hinges on how the death comes about). Other death scenes playfully toy with the audience’s expectations, as various potentially lethal pieces are moved around the board, only for the filmmakers to pull the rug out from under the audience’s feet and have a seemingly inconsequential thing be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
“…one of the best in the series, with an inventive plot & some of the best death scenes…”
Taken for what it is, Final Destination: Bloodlines is certainly one of the best entries in the series: it has an inventive plot (which ties back to previous films without repeating them), and some of the best death scenes in the series, and it does it all with a gleeful glint in its eye. But it’s probably fair to say that the characters are pretty thinly drawn – Brec Bassinger makes an impression as Iris, as does Richard Harmon as Erik, but the rest of the cast don’t get a lot of character development, and even Kaitlyn Santa Juana (who’s the lead of the movie as Stefani) is saddled with a fairly unmemorable character.
But all that can, perhaps, be forgiven thanks to the way in which the filmmakers use this opportunity to give the legendary Tony Todd a proper send-off as his recurring character, the coroner Bloodworth. Tony Todd had terminal cancer when he shot Final Destination: Bloodlines, and he was allowed to adlib his final lines as Bloodworth, which serve as a touching farewell to both the character, and to the acting legend.
“…provides darkly comedic & unpredictably convoluted death scenes…”
Overall, while it would have been nice to get a bit more character development before the main victims are eliminated, the Final Destination films are perhaps not the best place to go for in depth character explorations - but when it comes to providing darkly comedic and unpredictably convoluted death scenes, Final Destination: Bloodlines certainly delivers.
