Much like Meghan Markle exclaiming, ‘I’ve got a great new business idea!’, doomed catastrophe is never far away and here death once again stalks a whole new set of characters in Final Destination : Bloodlines. Much like every utterance that Meghan Markle makes there’s much to be shocked at and then laughed at. Except here it’s all deliberate and hugely enjoyable.
Unlike the earlier films the opening premise begins back in the 1960’s with the opening night of a new revolving restaurant at the top of a purpose built tower, think Toronto’s Skylight tower restaurant with a glass floor and you get the idea. In keeping with the previous films it all ends in cataclysmic death and destruction in one extended and hugely inventive set piece.
But where this takes a diversion from the previous films is that this is not a premonition but rather a recurring dream of college student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) that’s tearing her apart. It won’t be long before it starts doing exactly that to her extended family because it turns out that Death, having been deprived of its victims at the restaurant opening decades ago, is now stalking those in the intended victims bloodlines which includes her and her family. So what follows is the expected outrageous set pieces that set up a number of potential deadly ways of dying before pulling the rug from under audiences feet with a leftfield and often spectacularly gruesome demise.
The film adheres to the franchise template that have always been part of the undoubted appeal of all the films and here there’s a generous dose of humour that have been thin on the ground previously. There are moments that will have audiences laughing and saying ‘Ewww! at the same time. With the family soon realizing that death stalks them there’s some often amusing moments as they get over-protective that their demise can come in the most unexpected way and part of the fun is guessing just how that will happen even when it seems obvious when one characters Achilles heel is a peanut allergy.
With this being the sixth film it resists the temptation to bend its mythology to fit the earlier films which has often been the downfall of horror franchises like Saw until it got itself back on track. The Final Destination films started way back in 2000 but for audiences new to the franchise there’s no need to have a knowledge of them and like all the other five films it can stand on its own although there are Easter eggs for the fans of the franchise as well as the return of an uncomfortably frail looking Tony Todd what would be his last film.
With it being fourteen years since the last film Final Destination film, Bloodlines is a successful reboot and is immensely enjoyable hokum with a spectacularly orchestrated set pieces, especially the opening restaurant sequence and will please both new and …ahem…. diehard fans alike.
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Here’s the Final Destination Bloodlines trailer….
