Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

​“Final Destination Bloodlines” stars Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Rya Kihlstedt, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, and Tony Todd.  Released on May 16, 2025, the film has a family falling victim to Death’s plan.

The film is directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, who directed “Freaks” and the live-action “Kim Possible” made-for-TV movie.  Lipovsky is also known for directing films like “Tasmanian Devils”, “Leprechaun: Origins”, and “Dead Rising: Watchtower”.  It is the sixth installment in the Final Destination film series.  No matter where you go or where you are, death follows you around every corner.  You go about your day without a care in the world, and then all of a sudden, something appears out of nowhere and brutalizes you.  It doesn’t matter if you’re innocent or an asshole, as your life could end in an instant if you’re not careful.  It’s all part of the plan designed by the Grim Reaper himself.  But if you happen to foil that plan, the reaper always finds a way to finish the job, whatever means necessary.  The “Final Destination” films showcase that no matter how much people try, they can’t cheat death.  Through their tense frights and gruesome deaths, the franchise is considered one of the horror genre’s greatest accomplishments that makes audiences feel paranoid of possibly getting killed by these relatable “incidents”.  Does anyone remember the highway sequence from “Final Destination 2”?  After returning to form with “Final Destination 5”, Death returns from its fourteen-year retirement to target a new batch of victims hoping to get off its hit list, with one having a long history with the invisible presence.  Does this latest installment offer enough “death-defying” moments to emphasize its relatable horrors?  Let’s find out.

The story follows Stefani Lewis (Juana), a college student who suffers from terrifying visions of her family’s demise.  Eager to find out why, Stefani returns home to solve this harrowing mystery, reuniting herself with her family, including her cousins.  She later encounters her estranged grandmother Iris (Gabrielle Rose), who claims she’s responsible for her family’s intended fate.  Iris explains that her premonition helped save everyone from a collapsing Skyview restaurant years ago, but later discovers that her family was never meant to exist, as death is now hellbent on finishing the job.  With Stefani’s family in danger of falling victim to Death’s plan, she strives to keep them safe by protecting them from its grisly “incidents”.

I must admit I have a love/hate relationship with the “Final Destination” movies.  Regarding the quality, I admire the concept’s execution of having “death” be the main killer for the characters to confront instead of an ordinary psychopath in a mask.  The installments used the concept to create outstanding suspense and authenticity in the build-ups while showcasing some delightfully gruesome gore amid their flawed narratives.  On the other hand, those same reasons made me feel more cautious around the ordinary objects that could result in a terrifying demise, which might be why I didn’t revisit the “Final Destination” movies that often.  I remembered liking the first, third, and fifth installments, with the latter being a suitable return to form for the horror franchise.  The infamous fourth film, “The Final Destination”?  Not so much.  Fortunately, one bad installment in the franchise wasn’t enough to hinder my intrigue in its latest destination.

If you’ve seen the previous “Final Destination” movies, you’ll have a clear idea of what to expect from “Bloodlines”, which is people getting brutally axed off by death’s cause-and-effect strategies.  While that is the case regarding its plot, the movie has an apparent reason for its subtitle instead of just calling it “Final Destination 6”.  Instead of focusing on random people confronting death like in the previous installments, “Bloodlines” sets its sights on the Lewis-Campbell family, who find themselves on Death’s doorstep due to Iris’s premonition saving everyone.  This direction is another change of pace for the franchise as it provides an opportunity to make the characters worth caring about with their family dynamic amid the themes involving death and paranoia.  Was this plan foolproof enough to carry the franchise forward?  The answer to that question is a resounding yes.

“Bloodlines” delivered exactly what you would expect from a “Final Destination” movie, including the startling premonition and the grisly and terrifying deaths caused by Rube Goldberg-style domino effects, for better or worse.  For the latter, if you don’t like these movies due to those elements, then this one may not change your mind about going out into the dangerous world we call “life”.  But if you enjoyed the sadistic and gruesome “accidents” from the previous installments, “Bloodlines” easily offers this formula on a silver platter.  Just be wary of the sharp utensils set alongside it.  It is a fun, bloody, and suitably balanced depiction of death and generational trauma that’ll make you think twice about our everyday objects and dangers.  While the narrative may be familiar by design, the movie introduced some surprises to its plot and even the emotional heft to help this design go by smoothly.

As mentioned earlier, “Bloodlines” ditches the cast of random people who met due to one’s premonition in favor of a familial twist.  We have Stefani attempting to protect her family, which wasn’t supposed to exist, after having recurring nightmares about Iris’s premonition.  But, of course, it’s not without a few family issues getting in the way of that quest.  In this case, Stefani also reunites with her estranged mother, Darlene (Kihlstedt), who abandoned her family due to being affected by Iris’s traumatized condition.  The “Final Destination” movies showcased that the characters aren’t usually their strongest suit, as they’re only portrayed as one-dimensional victims of Death’s sadistic strategies, but at least the deaths were fun to watch.  However, I was surprised to see that “Bloodlines” actually attempted to make me care about this family, mainly Stefani’s estranged relationship with Darlene.  Its emotional depth regarding its familial themes may not always work, but it certainly has moments that didn’t make me wish they would just be set on fire already.

In addition to its tolerable characters, the screenplay by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor was also able to provide some refreshing twists that helped prevent the franchise’s formula from getting too stale.  I can’t say what they were without giving away important plot details.  But, I will say that there were some surprises that were both shocking and mildly sentimental.  Don’t worry.  I’ll get to the latter later.  Considering the earlier works Busick worked on, like the recent “Scream” sequels, “Ready or Not”, and “Abigail”, I can definitely say that this guy knows how to make horror movies fun.  It also helped that “Spider-Man” director Jon Watts came along to help out with the story.  Of course, it’s not a “Final Destination” movie without the deaths, and as usual, it did not hold itself back with how fatal and disgustingly brutal they are.  However, those deaths were portrayed in a way that’s frightful, possibly relatable, and surprisingly rewarding.  There’s also one that’s a little bit far-fetched and silly, but hey.  What do you expect from a franchise involving an invisible Grim Reaper killing people?  My only issue with these sequences is that most of the CGI effects looked shoddy, which makes sense considering it has a $50 million budget.  Besides that, “Bloodlines” offered the usual display of blood, carnage, and grotesquerie in their deaths without being distractions from its story.

Funny enough, I was first introduced to directing duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein through the live-action “Kim Possible” movie.  I know they did other films as well, but the adaptation of one of my favorite childhood shows managed to put them on my film-watching map.  Based on my experience with that movie's quality, I was a bit concerned about how they’ll handle this installment compared to other directors like James Wong and David R. Ellis.  Fortunately, my worries were dashed upon seeing their directorial vision in action.  Lipovsky and Stein demonstrated a solid understanding of the fundamentals and world-building essential to a "Final Destination" installment.  Additionally, they effectively created strong tension in the moments leading up to the characters' demises.  I knew these characters were going to die, but the anticipation towards those moments drew out the most anxiety from me, emphasizing my love/hate relationship with the franchise.  It also brought in some light-hearted, comical vibes in the film’s dark and horrifying tone, especially regarding the movie’s representation of paranoia, but it didn’t come across as senselessly parodic.  This is due to the directors embracing both sides of the same coin while also ensuring that death is indeed frightening, resulting in a savagely amusing ride that’s both humorous and scary.  While I didn’t mind “Final Destination 5” for its darker tone, I enjoyed “Bloodlines” a bit more because it embraces both the light and the dark of its mood. 

Going back to the characters, their tolerable presence is due to the young cast gracing the screen with their mildly entertaining performances.  The “CW Flash” fans may be familiar with Kaitlyn Santa Juana, who portrayed Lydia Sanchez in the show’s eighth season.  Following her adventures with the DC superhero, Santa Juana now confronts Death's wrath regarding her role as Stefani.  I haven’t watched “The Flash” (the show, not the movie), so this movie was my first exposure to her as an actress.  Kaitlyn Santa Juana effectively conveyed her character's traumatic fear of Death’s designs, showcasing her talents and enhancing the believability of her portrayal as the young protagonist.  Richard Harmon was also surprisingly good as the tattooed Erik, whose personality screamed “unlikable,” but the actor’s charismatic approach derailed that possibility.  The film also had a couple of former Nickelodeon stars joining the deadly party: Owen Patrick Joyner (Bobby Campbell) from “100 Things to Do Before High School” and Brec Bassinger (young Iris) from “Haunted Hathaways” and “Bella and the Bulldogs”.  Bassinger also starred in DC’s “Stargirl”, so it does seem like this movie is more like a DC/Nickelodeon collaboration.  Both of these actors were also decent, especially Bassinger for her ability to express her character’s emotional anxiety during the film’s Skyview sequence.

Finally, I want to mention the late Tony Todd, who was able to make his final appearance in the franchise before his death back in November.  This actor is the primary reason for the movie’s emotional heft, especially for those who grew up with “Final Destination”.  Todd’s William Bludworth has been the explainer of Death’s twisted plan since the first movie in 2000.  While “Bloodlines” is no exception to this case, the installment did something else to the character that made him more than just another tiny, pointless cameo.  This was one of the movie’s surprises that effectively characterized Todd’s character on an intriguing and even sentimental level, with the latter being due to his tenderhearted farewell.  Regarding Tony Todd’s subtle performance and emotional speech, this final moment with our favorite mortician is worth going through all the deadly mayhem.  I would even say it’s one of my favorite parts of the movie, the other being the Skyview disaster sequence.  We’ll see you soon, Mr. Tony Todd.

Overall, “Final Destination Bloodlines” continues Death’s horrifically twisted design with another sadistically fun and grisly installment that’s to die for.  While it did offer the “same old, same old” routine we’ve come to expect from Death’s earlier plans, the movie injected enough surprises and emotion to revitalize the concept for another deadly round.  Its goriness may overshadow some of the emotional heft in its themes, and the CGI effects were pretty cheap-looking, mainly for the deaths.  Fortunately, directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein embraced the silliness and ingeniousness of the 25-year-old concept to continue the franchise’s resurrection that started with its fifth installment.  Regarding its entertaining cast, effective direction, refreshing screenplay, and gruesome deaths, the film is another bloody good time that’ll satisfy plenty of fans of the horror franchise.  But again, if you don’t like these movies because of the paranoia they gave you, you’re better off staying in your comfort zone.

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