Final Destination Bloodlines review: Bringing the franchise back from the dead

The latest entry in the Final Destination franchise is Final Destination Bloodlines, which is premiering almost 15 years after 2011’s Final Destination 5. This time around, we learn that all of the events from the entire film series go back to one fateful evening in the 1960s, when a swanky new observation tower and restaurant called the Skyview should have collapsed to the ground, killing dozens.

But in classic Final Destination style, a young woman named Iris (Brec Bassinger) prevents the disaster thanks to a premonition. In the decades since the would-be disaster, Death has been coming for every Skyview survivor and their descendants – meaning everyone in the Final Destination franchise is either a survivor of the Skyview incident or their children and grandchildren.

Bloodlines centers on Iris’ family, the last remaining descendants of the Skyview incident, who are forced to confront the reality of their situation while trying to escape Death once and for all. As much as this idea makes me want to roll my eyes and groan, I have to admit that Final Destination Bloodlines is actually a pretty solid entry in the franchise.

Bloodlines has an excellent opening disaster

For me (and I think most horror fans will agree), the opening disasters are the highlights of the Final Destination series. Bloodlines doesn’t disappoint, and its opening scene is now one of my favorites in the entire franchise.

Without giving too much away, I’ll just say this: the Skyview Tower is inspired by the Space Needle in Seattle (and looks almost identical to it). So you have a lot of people high above the ground, supported only by a slim piece of concrete that’s just wide enough for one elevator and a very narrow stairwell. So, when a fire breaks out and the foundation begins to collapse … where do you go? 

Combining claustrophobia and the fear of heights makes Bloodlines’ opening disaster a genuinely scary scene that’s sure to get under your skin. Plus, it’s got a few really great, morbidly funny moments that made me laugh out loud and drove the audience crazy.

Final Destination Bloodlines offers a new take on the franchise formula

Like other Final Destination movies, after the opening disaster, we meet our group of protagonists, aka Death’s targets. But unlike the previous installments, Bloodlines jumps from the ’60s to the present day, and the group isn’t friends or strangers brought together by fate but Iris’ family.

Iris’ granddaughter Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) begins having strange dreams about the Skyview Tower, which leads her on a quest to find her estranged grandmother. After meeting, Stefani learns the truth about how all the deaths have always stemmed from the Skyview incident. Her family is not just next on Death’s list, but they’re the last surviving lineage of anyone who was in the tower.

From there, Bloodlines plays out similarly to other Final Destination movies. One by one, the family members die, and after each death, the survivors get a little more cunning and a little more capable of fighting back. But what sets Bloodlines apart is the new, deeper meaning behind it all. In some ways, you could say Bloodlines is a lore-heavy movie. Finally, we get answers about why Death has been stalking these seemingly random groups of people throughout the years, and we also know that since these are the final survivors, their deaths have huge implications for the franchise and could possibly even end it.

All Final Destination movies have a plot, but most lack a story. They’re about watching people get killed in wild ways, not about a captivating story that offers exposition or explanation. To finally get that in a Final Destination movie is a welcome change, and for once, audiences actually have something engaging to watch between the kills instead of just seeing a group of teenagers scream “This can’t be happening!” for fifteen minutes until the next kill scene begins.

But don’t get me wrong, the kills are still the highlight – and they’re a lot of fun

While I love that Bloodlines builds out a great story, we all know why we bought a ticket for a Final Destination movie. We want to watch Death kill people in wild, bombastic, Rube Goldberg-style disasters. Sadly, some of the later Final Destination movies couldn’t even give audiences that (cough cough, looking at you, The Final Destination), but Bloodlines comes through with some solid kills.

Even better, the film uses many practical effects, and the scenes that use CGI are at least quality, unlike the super cheap look that some of the later movies had (cough … again, The Final Destination). I promise I won’t go in-depth on the kills, because that will spoil everything. Plus, Bloodlines succeeds in faking audiences out a few times, so even mentioning where the kills take place could give away spoilers. Just know they’re good, fun, and worth it.

Final Destination Bloodlines is a great send-off for Tony Todd

Without much connective tissue throughout the franchise, the one thing that’s really linked the films together is the late Tony Todd. Todd plays William Bloodworth, a mortician who’s always seemed to have a surprising amount of knowledge about Death. Todd originated the role in the first movie and returned for Final Destination 2 and 5, while also having a few secret cameos in 3.

In Bloodlines, Todd returns as Bloodworth once again, and this time audiences finally learn why he knows so much about Death. Again, shoutout to Bloodlines for finally building a story and creating a plot for a character that until now had unfortunately been pretty hollow.

Beyond that, it’s a very fitting final role for Todd, who died in 2024. He’s an actor who made a name for himself in the horror genre, so it seems oddly full circle for his last role to be in a horror movie all about how none of us can ever truly escape death. In the film, his character admits that as the list of survivors dwindles, he knows he’ll soon be targeted by Death as well, and his final line in the movie is, “Life is precious; enjoy every single second; you never know when…” For horror fans, it hits hard and feels like it’s exactly as he would have wanted it to be.

Bloodlines is great … for a Final Destination movie

The TLDR is this: Bloodlines works with Final Destination‘s tried-and-true formula but adds enough new elements to make it unique. Plus, its ability to create an overarching story and reveal the franchise’s origins is a lot of fun, and again, is something that no other movie in the series has offered yet.

By Final Destination standards, it’s a very smart and fun movie. But, by “smart,” I don’t mean in some A24 or Neon way, where the entire film is actually a meditation on the generational trauma that women are forced to carry in patriarchal societies. Bloodlines is smart … for a Final Destination movie. But you know what? Sometimes that’s totally fine, and we all just want to watch a good splatterfest filled with guts and gore.

Final Destination Bloodlines is now playing in theaters.