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Final Destination (Bloodlines) is a familiar cocktail of gore and thrills. As viewers you can guess where things are headed, at the same time directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein bring something new to the table by focusing on an estranged family rather than just a bunch of teenagers unlike the previous ones. At times the movie gets into a philosophical zone by dwelling into the themes of inherited trauma among others.
Starcast: Kaitlyn Santa Jauna, Gabrellia Rose, Richard Harmon and others special appearance (William Bludworth)
Genre: Horror
Directors: Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein
Story: Jon Watts, Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor
Screenplay: Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor
Producers: Craig Perry, Sheila Hanhan Taylor, Jon Watts etc
Production Companies: New Line Cinemas, Practical features etc
Cinematography: Christian Sebdalt
Running time: 1 hour and 49 minutes
The Final Destination movie starting from the year 2011 is one of the longest running Hollywood franchises like Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies or even the Annabelle movies. The storylines of all The Final destination movies revolve around the concept of death, one of the main characters has a premonition about a catastrophe happening and he or she prevents the disaster, however death isn’t very happy with the person meddling with his plans and goes about systematically killing. In spite of a familiar terrain what makes Final destinations movies work are the thrills, as viewers you don’t know from where death is approaching. The latest movie in the Final Destination Franchise also follows this formula but with some changes in the storytelling and characters.
The First Final destination movie 2011
The Final Destination (Bloodlines) begins with a deadly nightmare. Stephanie Ryes played by Kaitlyn Santa Jauna is suffering from recuring dreams of a restaurant turning into a massive bloodbath. These constant dreams are affecting her academics, in desperate search for answers from a distant grandma she makes a return back to home. As the story progresses Stephanie stumbles some horrific secrets related to the Skyview restaurant and her estranged family. This is the story in brief
A strong part of Final Destination (Bloodlines) is how the directors have built up the family dynamics and a simmering tension. As viewers you know that death curse will hit soon resulting in horrific killings but where the movie scores are the emotional layers specifically that of the titular protagonist. The character is a solid mix of vulnerability and an inner determination, the desperation of Stephanie Ryes in wanting to keep her family members alive has come out well both in terms of direction and writing along with Kaityln Santa Jauna’s wonderful performance.
Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stephanie Ryes
Through the strained family dynamics the director duo of Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein have briefly touched upon the topics of inherited trauma, the burden of survival and generational guilt. These topics aren’t explored in detail however these themes lift the movie from just a series of macabre killings.
Mention must also be made of the dark humor making the viewers chuckle even in the most serious of situations. Richard Harmon as Erik contributes majorly to these moments. He plays his part with the right amount of cockiness. Mention must also be made of Gabrielle Rose as Stephanie Rye’s grandmother Iris. As a old woman living in a self imposed exile challenging death and surviving for a long time she makes a solid impression in spite of the brief screen time. Lastly William Bludworth is also good lending a philosophical touch with his dialogues on how there is no point worrying about death instead one should live life to the fullest while alive. This also acts as a meta moment given that William Bludworth won’t be appearing in the future Final Destination movies.
William Bludworth making his final appearance
Mention must also be made of how the killings have been staged. There is a rootedness to the macabre nature making the weak hearted viewers dread about how easily a person can die with just normal things like a gruesome death involving a shattered wine glass.
The cinematography of Christian Sebaldt is of a top quality nature. Whether its the 1960 portions involving the eeriness of Skyview restaurant or the dread in the present portions. The production design of Rachael O’ Toole also brings the terror alive.
Talking about the flaws Final Destination ( Bloodlines) does suffer from a certain predictability. More so for those who have seen the previous movies. Also the movie could have done with little more depth with some of the subplots. Some of the horror elements also gets gimmicky.
Final word: Final Destination (Bloodlines) is a perfect watch for those who enjoy gore and thrills in equal measure and of course the fans of Final Destination movies too.
