Death is back and it’s got quite a lot of baggage.
It’s been fourteen years since the last Final Destination movie and one of the most likely questions people would have about the new installment could be: “how is this any different?” Let’s face it. The Final Destination franchise runs on a tried-and-tested formula that has raked in millions in worldwide box office.
Someone gets a glimpse of the future and foresees a horrific accident that claims dozens of lives. That person panics and prevents the accident from happening, and ends up saving dozens of lives. The survivors then start to wind up dead in a series of weird, grisly deaths, prompting the remaining survivors to race against time (and death).
When you have five movies made with this storyline, you’ll eventually run out of ideas. There’s a danger of becoming too predictable and monotonous. What else is there? How else is a new movie going to surprise audiences when we basically know how this kind of movie ends up?
Since 2000 we’ve seen people get hanged inside the bathroom, burned inside tanning beds, and crushed by a huge glass window panel. Some more horrific than others: head stuck in an elevator door, barbed wire slicing through one’s torso, or stepping on a screw and ends up breaking every single bone–all creative and gruesome ways to bid this earth goodbye. One would think, how would this new movie be different?
The creators of Bloodlines probably already know this question is going to come up, which is why they upped the ante. The opening scene was a great way to traumatize audiences. New fears were unlocked (and worsened) and it created new reasons to be paranoid about the most mundane of things–like a stupid coin.
What’s good about Bloodlines is that it brings it all back to something a lot more relatable; it drives the entire thing back home. Previously, death came after groups of friends. While the lead characters were noble enough to risk a lot to save their friends (and romantic partners) from death, the stakes just aren’t that high because, ultimately, you can only do so much to save a classmate from death. It would suck if they die; but there’s still work to do.
By focusing on family, there is so much more pressure for the characters. It leaves little to no room for error because, it’s your fucking family we’re talking about. There’s nothing more terrifying than knowing death is out to erase your entire lineage.
It was evident how the filmmakers took great measures to retain the elements we loved about the franchise while tweaking it just the right way to give us something new to chew on. Bloodlines didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel but it added a whole new layer to the lore in an attempt to make sense of the entire premise.
It took us all the way back to the 1960s where it all started. Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) had a premonition while several hundreds of feet above the ground at the Skyview Restaurant Tower. She saw the entire room set ablaze and the glass floor give way, sending dozens of people falling to their deaths.
Just like with the other Final Destination movies, the lead gets to relive the situation and alter the outcome by intervening with the events to save lives. Iris realizes she had a premonition so she warns everyone about what’s about to happen and saves some lives.
There was something different in the way the opening scene was executed here in Bloodlines. And it was quite clever. It was a good way to transition to the present where we meet Stefani (Kaitllyn Santa Juana), a descendant of Iris, who soon discovers the family’s worst-kept secret.
Make no mistake: the deaths in Bloodlines are more creative than some we’ve seen in the past. They were so fun to watch. There are at least four brutal deaths in this movie that outshine the others. And while Final Destination 2’s log truck scene remains the most iconic and traumatic in the franchise, the Skyview disaster can easily come in second.
The buildup to each horrific takedown was so stressful–the anticipation was so unbearable a lot of times you don’t have much energy left when the actual death happens.
Bloodlines was a good example of creating a great movie experience. The funny thing is, once each death is done, and after all that screaming and shrieking from the audience is over, the people in our cinema end up clapping and laughing. I’m not sure why that was a collective reaction. But it goes to show how each scene is engrossing; you’d easily forgive the unpolished CGI in some scenes.
It seems clear that Final Destination: Bloodlines aims to cater to a whole new audience; it has achieved that goal successfully. It gave us new gruesome deaths that may very well trigger new phobias in some. But it also included easter eggs that served as nods to its predecessors, most notably William Bludworth whom you’ll remember from the first, second, and fifth movies. At long last, we finally discover why this mortician knows so much about Death. Rest in peace, Tony Todd.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is now showing in Philippine cinemas.
Watch the trailer here:
