Minor glitches for the opening scene of the film in paragraph two.
As the leaves are turning orange and pumpkins are beginning to decorate the front porches of homes, it’s always inevitable to dive into horror movies this time of year, especially the ones I watched at the beginning of the year. so finally i caught on Final Destination: BloodlinesThe latest in the franchise about Death’s elaborate ways of killing people. But six movies in, is there any reason for this franchise to still exist or is it worth watching this year? Let’s find out.
Final Destination: Bloodlines This is an attempt to tie the entire franchise together as well as introduce a new story with new characters. The film begins with an extended sequence on a Space Needle-esque tower in the 1960s as death knocks for some of the victims. Only one person present, Iris, gets a premonition and saves dozens of people from imminent death. Those survivors will then have families of their own, families that Death believes should never have been born to begin with. Since Death is a busy man, it took him some time to understand the events of the ’60s, and he has been systematically killing survivors and their families ever since. Now, we come to Stephanie and her family, who are direct descendants of Iris and, well, bad things start happening to the family.
Now, for the sixth entry in a horror franchise, I wasn’t expecting too much. But you know what? Bloodiness Really very good. It has some nice twists, a plot you care about, a throughline to other movies that doesn’t feel forced or regressive, and devilishly creative kills. Seriously, death could just give people heart attacks, but instead, he opts for Rube Goldberg-style murders, where a seemingly innocuous object will cause a chain reaction and lead to a ridiculously extreme death toll. Does it make any sense? No, but it’s really fun to try to figure out the sequence of events beforehand. There are some nice fakeouts in there too, because the filmmakers know how these go by now.
Since the plot is tied to a family bond, it also drives the characters and offers some good characterization overall. I’m not saying it’s Shakespeare, but it goes beyond the surface level and explores themes of fatherhood and the burden of knowledge. This is also the last film in which Tony Todd appeared and as such, the film is dedicated to him, giving a wonderful and heart-touching farewell to the icon.
So I would definitely recommend BloodinessFor me, due to the better twists, turns, characterization and over-the-top sequences, it is the second best in the franchise after the original. It won’t win over any new fans, but if you’re on board for this franchise and haven’t seen it yet, thinking maybe a sixth entry couldn’t cut it, give it a try.
