It has been a quarter of a century since Final Destination was first released in theaters. Originally written as a spec script by Jeffrey Reddick (Dead Awake) as an episode of X-Files, it was eventually turned into a feature film. Directed by James Wong (9-1-1), it told the story of a student and his friends who got off a plane heading overseas after he had a premonition that it would explode. When it came to fruition, the teenagers felt lucky to be alive until they each started dying in mysterious ways, revealing the lesson that death cannot be cheated. Twenty-five years later, Final Destination: Bloodlines is in theaters now.
College student Stephanie Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana; The Flash) has been having a recurring nightmare for the last two months. The year is 1968, and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones; War for the Planet of the Apes) takes his girlfriend Iris (Brec Bassinger; Stargirl/Gabrielle Rose; The Sweet Hereafter) to the opening night of the Skyview Restaurant Tower. While there, Iris has a premonition that the Tower will explode and everyone will die. She warns the other guests and staff, and they all survive. However, over many years, death catches up with the survivors, but not before they have families, including Iris and Paul. To set things right, Death not only claims the survivors but their families as well.
Anyone who has seen any of the Final Destination films already knows the basic plot. After a premonition, a group of people start dying like they would have had they not changed their plans based on said premonition. This time, though, the death follows the families of those who managed to cheat death for many, many years, like Iris, who happens to be Stephanie's estranged grandmother. Iris warns Stephanie about the bloodline and gives Stephanie a book full of research about all the people who were saved that night in 1968. Now, Stephanie and her family are seemingly helpless as they too start dying one by one.
The Final Destination franchise is a bit difficult to follow genre-wise, as the first was considered a mystery/thriller, while the latter movies include the horror category. This latest film definitely falls into the latter and is probably the bloodiest of the franchise, with blood and body parts splattering everywhere. It also has one of the more interesting plots as it adds in generations of survivors who technically should have never been born.
Reyes carries the plot throughout the movie. From visiting her grandmother to studying grandma's book and warning her family that they are all cursed, she carries a range of emotions and does so very well. Of the rest of the cast, Bassinger and Richard Harmon (The 100) stand out. Of course, a very thin Tony Todd (Candyman) made a final appearance in the franchise and poignantly spoke from the heart about our limited time on Earth. Writers Guy Busick (Ready or Not), Lori Evans Taylor (Wicked Wicked Games), and Jon Watts (Spider-Man: No Way Home) did a terrific job explaining Todd's character's backstory and his existence in the franchise while sending him off beautifully (though rumor has it Todd's final lines were improvised).
While the franchise follows the same premise, this latest installment is not only the most successful but is also the most original since the first Final Destination film. The only bad thing about the movie, besides all the blood, guts, and gore, is that the events leading up to the eventual death of a character or two is so far-fetched that it comes across as beyond ridiculous and borders on just plain stupid. Regardless, it is somewhat enjoyable and a decent addition to the two and a half decades long franchise.
Grade: C+
