Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Disclaimer: The following contains mild spoilers.
Death returns with a resounding bang to the big screen in Final Destination Bloodlines (2025). This is the sixth film in the Final Destination franchise coming fourteen years after its predecessor in 2011. The film was directed by Zack Lipovsky and Adam Stein (Freaks) and co-written by Guy Busick, Lori Evans Taylor, and Jon Watts.
The opening sequence takes place in 1969 and focuses on a young couple named Iris and Paul. Paul surprises Iris by blindfolding her and carrying her to the inauguration ceremony of the newly built high-rise restaurant at the top of Skyview Tower.
After the nail-biting sequence, we are catapulted to the future where the main protagonist Stephani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), is being tortured by vividly horrific nightmares of the SkyView Tower incident. It disturbs her to the point where she is put on academic parole at the university that she attends because her grades are declining due to lack of sleep. She decides to visit home, determined to get a valid explanation as to why she was suffering from nightmares involving her estranged maternal grandmother, Iris (Gabrielle Rose).
First of all, the directors and writers did an amazing job in terms of delivering a seat-gripping yet complex storyline to a franchise that has been dormant for more than a decade. Without even realising it, the plot gave Death a revenge-fueled persona. This time around, Death wasn’t in the mood for playing around and got right down to business with even more gratifyingly over-the-top violent death sequences. Bloodlines also ensures that it hits that emotional cord as it focuses on a dysfunctional family dynamic born out of constant paranoia and family drama.
Adding to the emotional layers would have to be the now-deceased actor, Tony Todd, in his final on-screen appearance. Todd reprised his long-standing role in the Final Destination franchise which has now come full circle as it finally explains his connection to the entire FD universe. His appearance is jarring to those who have known him since the Candyman days. His final words are unscripted allowing the actor to say his goodbye to the audience as he speaks from the heart that life is precious and you’ve got to savour every second that you’ve got. Todd passed away in November last year from stomach cancer.
On a lighter note, we also get a bit of grotesque dark humour thrown into the mix as well. I got the impression that a lot of consideration was taken into ensuring that the franchise’s core audience would be satisfied with the results. And it is wonderfully free of both modern wokeness and exaggerated promiscuity. It is solidly one of the best film entries in the franchise, with a neatly wrapped twist at the end which gives a giant nod to Final Destination 2.
Dark Alice’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
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Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More