After a 14-year hiatus, the Final Destination franchise is back with a vengeance in Final Destination: Bloodlines, a splatter-filled thrill ride that’s equal parts gruesome and gleefully silly. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, this sixth installment, released today, shifts the series’ focus to family ties, delivering a fresh twist on the classic formula of cheating Death’s Rube Goldberg-style traps. With a killer cast led by Kaitlyn Santa Juana, a poignant farewell from the late Tony Todd, and a $35–40 million opening weekend projected, Bloodlines is a bloody blast that’s both a fan-pleasing comeback and a bold new chapter. Here’s why this one’s a cut above.
A Plot That Ties Death to Family
Bloodlines kicks off in 1968 at the grand opening of the Skyview Restaurant Tower, a Space Needle-like landmark. Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) is on a dreamy date with her fiancé, Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones), when a premonition hits: a dropped penny sparks a catastrophic chain reaction—screws pop, flames erupt, and a piano flattens a kid—leading to the tower’s fiery collapse. Iris saves herself and others, but Death, as always, doesn’t take kindly to being cheated. Fast-forward to 2025, and Iris’s granddaughter, Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), is plagued by nightmares of the same disaster. On academic probation and battling insomnia, Stefani heads home to reconnect with her estranged family, including her distant brother Charlie (Teo Briones), snarky cousin Erik (Richard Harmon), and reclusive grandma Iris (Gabrielle Rose).
Stefani discovers her visions are inherited, and Death’s now gunning for her entire bloodline, picking them off in order from oldest to youngest. Armed with Iris’s “bible” of survival tips, Stefani races to break the cycle as everyday objects—lawnmowers, MRIs, garbage trucks—turn into sadistic murder machines. The 110-minute, R-rated film, written by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor from a story by Jon Watts, leans into the franchise’s knack for absurdly elaborate kills while grounding the chaos in family drama. It’s a risky pivot, but the emotional stakes—watching loved ones face grisly ends—make the horror hit harder, even if the script sometimes leans too campy.
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A Fresh Spin with Familiar Thrills
Bloodlines is a masterclass in balancing fan service with innovation. The franchise’s DNA—premonitions, chain-reaction deaths, and Death’s invisible wrath—remains intact, but the family angle adds surprising heart. Unlike past entries’ random teens or coworkers, these characters care about each other, so the stakes feel personal. When Stefani pleads with her cousin Julia (Anna Lore) to avoid a barbecue, you feel her desperation. The idea of a genetic curse, tied to Iris’s 1968 escape, also cleverly ties the series together, hinting this disaster sparked the franchise’s mythology. It’s a sequel and prequel, nodding to classics like Final Destination 2’s log truck with cheeky callbacks (yes, logs make a cameo).
Directors Lipovsky and Stein, indie darlings from Freaks, embrace a Sam Raimi-esque vibe, blending horror with slapstick comedy. The opening 20-minute Skyview sequence is a showstopper—think Looney Tunes meets body horror, with a kid-crushing piano and a fiery tower collapse that had preview audiences cheering. The kills are inventive, from a lawnmower shredding to an MRI machine going haywire, blending goopy practical effects and CGI for maximum gore. Shot in Vancouver with Christian Sebaldt’s kinetic cinematography, the film’s visuals pop, especially in IMAX or 4DX, where seats shake with every crash. Tim Wynn’s score keeps the tension tight, though some VFX, like a tattoo parlor scene, feel a tad cartoonish.
Where Bloodlines stumbles is its script. The family drama can drag, with melodramatic dialogue that feels like a soap opera. Some deaths, while creative, are so convoluted—needing “a hundred steps and a sprinkle of miracles,” as one critic put it—that they lose the grounded terror of, say, the original’s log truck. The humor, while a franchise staple, occasionally tips into self-parody, winking too hard at the audience. Still, the film’s 94% Rotten Tomatoes score and fan buzz suggest it’s a crowd-pleaser, with posts on X calling it “the best Final Destination yet” for its “jaw-dropping” kills and “hysterical” vibe.
Santa Juana Anchors, Todd Steals
Kaitlyn Santa Juana is a revelation as Stefani, a plucky, determined heroine who carries the film’s emotional core. Her panic as she decodes Iris’s bible and her warmth in scenes with Charlie make her a standout, grounding the absurdity with real heart. She’s no scream queen stereotype—she’s proactive, flawed, and relatable, selling both the horror and the family ties.
Richard Harmon, as cousin Erik, is a riot, channeling a Tom Green-like energy with snarky one-liners and a pierced, rebellious vibe. His comedic timing lifts slower moments, though his arc feels underdeveloped. Brec Bassinger shines in the 1968 scenes as young Iris, her wide-eyed romance turning to terror in the premonition. Teo Briones (Charlie), Anna Lore (Julia), and Owen Patrick Joyner (Bobby) are solid as the doomed clan, though their roles are more functional than deep. Rya Kihlstedt, as Stefani’s mom Darlene, adds gravitas but gets sidelined.
The film’s emotional peak is Tony Todd’s final bow as William Bludworth, the cryptic mortician who’s been the series’ grim mascot since 2000. Filmed before his passing in November 2024, Todd’s frail yet commanding presence is haunting. His single scene, dispensing wisdom to Stefani, is a meta farewell, with Todd knowingly addressing his own mortality. Audiences at premieres gave him standing ovations, and it’s a moment that retroactively deepens the franchise’s lore, revealing why Bludworth’s always been the common thread.
Fan Buzz vs. Reality
Fans are losing it over Bloodlines. Early screenings sparked raves, with one X post calling it “a splatterrific blast” of “gleeful gore”. The trailer, which racked up 178.7 million views in 24 hours, fueled hype with its log truck nods and brutal kills. At a preview, audiences cheered a kid getting pancaked by a piano, showing the film’s twisted humor lands. But some fans gripe about unlikable characters—a series trope—and VFX that don’t always nail the realism of past entries’ practical effects. Diehards love the callbacks (buses, barbecues, logs), but newcomers might find the self-referential humor a bit much.
A Franchise Reborn
Bloodlines is the smartest, most entertaining Final Destination yet, blending the series’ gory roots with a fresh family spin and a comedic edge. It’s not perfect—the script’s campiness and uneven VFX can distract—but Lipovsky and Stein deliver a film that’s as fun as it is horrifying. Todd’s farewell and Santa Juana’s star turn make it unforgettable, while the inventive kills (that MRI!) keep you squirming. At 1 hour 50 minutes, it’s a lean, mean death machine that proves this 25-year-old franchise still has blood to spill.
