For those who haven’t yet been traumatized by airplane take-offs, logging trucks, rollercoasters, automobile racetracks, and suspension bridges, the Final Destination movies are about a group of people avoiding death set off by the main character’s premonition of their tragic demise. Because no one likes cheaters, Death isn’t happy when they escape and kills off those who managed to evade its clutches, one by one.
They die horribly, of course (worse than in the premonition if you ask me). This is a gory franchise, people!
If you’re looking for an Oscar-worthy horror film, turn around now; this movie isn’t intended to be a cinematic masterpiece, but within its niche, it could still be a fan favourite — or a total flop. So, which was it?
After the last two installments in the franchise, I was weary when they announced Final Destination: Bloodlines. The films felt borderline ridiculous and leaned too much into the gore, in lieu of the story and characters. Yeah, yeah, I get that I was just talking about how people don’t usually watch these films for their character development — nor should they — but is a minimal amount of coherence and consistency too much to ask for?
Suffice it to say, my standards weren’t sky-high for the new film. However, these expectations grew as soon as I heard the story would delve into the lore of how Death operated in this universe. The film breaks the tradition of the main character having a premonition of their own death and focuses instead on a college student who dreams of her relative’s old premonition — a twist I was surprised they made work.
After seeing the teaser trailer my expectations were at an all-time high. Why? It wasn’t the gruesomeness of the tattooist being pulled by his nose ring to a ceiling fan, no, sir — it was exclusively because the scene featured one of my favourite Air Supply songs ever: “Without You.” Ahh, what a wonderful, heartbreaking, and dreary tune. It’s a perfect song, and I will die on this hill — preferably in a non-horrifying way. This is a great use of sound and image juxtaposition as they play a relaxed song over the violent and bloody situation. I could think of a million examples of how the Kuleshov Effect is used in music to increase dramatic effect, but my editor is already glaring at me for attempting to turn this into a thesis.
If there’s something this movie does great overall, it’s the soundtrack. For those who’ve seen it, I think we can all agree that the premonition scene is one of the best, and is largely elevated due to the combination of the sound FX matching the rhythm of “Shout” by The Isley Brothers.
Final Destination: Bloodlines leans tonally more into the humorous take of trying to evade death, which makes it a tad campier, but not in a way that takes you out of the story. It’s entertaining, and its pace holds up until the end.
I did miss the more dramatic aspect of it, however. There’s often a lack of reaction and impact that these losses have on the characters — unlike previous installments, in which you can see how much these deaths weigh on the survivors. The only character that seems to have a semblance of this is arguably the movie’s best character: the grandmother. She has mastered her knowledge of Death’s nastiest tricks because she’s suffered its murderous attempts for years… but this isn’t enough. As much as I like the jokes and lighter tone, I did find myself missing some depth in this film.
Regardless, this movie is worth watching — it’s a good addition to the franchise and holds a beautiful tribute to Candyman himself, Tony Todd. The actor has been a recurring character on the Final Destination franchise and has acted as a herald, explaining Death’s modus operandi to each new targeted group. Final Destination: Bloodlines contextualizes his character, William Bludworth. His final dialogue was not scripted and was the actor’s parting words about life and death, reminding us that life isn’t forever and we should cherish every minute we have left. May you rest in peace, legend.
If you watch this film, prepare to walk out with a brand new perspective on safety hazards and additional trauma that will never go away. Now, if you excuse me, I need to check for the 100th time if I left my kettle plugged in…
