Major Spoilers for Final Destination: Bloodlines are below.
Summary
Final Destination Bloodlineshas proven to be a successful resurgence for thehorrorseries, telling a unique story that helps to redefine the franchise. The firstFinal Destinationpremiered in 2000, telling the story of a young man who experiences a vivid premonition, causing him and others to deboard a plane that ultimately blows up minutes later, just as he had seen. Having skirted death, the survivors find themselves being picked off one by one in what seems like a series of freak accidents, but is actually “Death” coming to collect the souls that got away.
The franchise produced four sequels, but it went dormant after 2011’sFinal Destination 5, which features one of the best endings in the series. Each film utilized a similar formula: starting with a large-scale disaster that turns out to be a premonition, allowing people to survive who shouldn’t have, prompting an unseen force (Death) to kill them in increasingly distinct Rube Goldberg-esque ways.Final Destination Bloodlinesis the firstreturn to the franchise since the fifth film, and it offers a few unique takes on the series' lore and “Death’s design” that help reframe earlier installments.
Death’s Design In TheFinal DestinationMovies Explained
TheFinal Destinationfilms see death coming for the survivors of disasters, essentially cleaning up a mess of people who shouldn’t be around. Each character’s death throughout the series plays out in elongated scenes where numerous red herrings are set up before something finally sees them meet their demise in shocking ways.
A few deaths were quick, likeTerry in the firstFinal Destination, who was dispatched by a bus from nowhere. However, most have setups that show several ways the character could perish, often with one small thing leading to another that ultimately culminates in an unexpected death. For example, in the dentist scene inFinal Destination 2, a character endures various dental scares, only to leave unscathed, with a piece of glass crushing him as he exits.
Throughout eachFinal Destinationfilm, the characters learn that Death is killing them off in the order they would have died in the opening scene’s disaster, showing them that Death has a plan.Characters learn they can thwart Death’s design if they intervene, allowing someone to survive, causing the ominous presence to move on to the next person. Some installments elucidate other ways to beat Death’s design, like dying and coming back to life, as seen inFinal Destination 2, and trying to kill someone to gain the time they would have left, asFinal Destination 5highlighted.
Death’s Unique Design Behind The Disaster InFinal Destination Bloodlines
Final Destination Bloodlinesshakes up the franchisein a few ways, and the opening disaster scene that sets up the film may be its most striking moment. The movie opens with a large-scale disaster, which is in line with franchise expectations, seeing Iris and her boyfriend attending the opening night of the Skyview restaurant, which towers above the city. As the building breaks apart and explodes, viewers are treated to a terrifying series of deaths, but it changes drastically as it ends.Rather than switching back to the same character who foresaw the disaster, it cuts to her granddaughter Stefani in the present day, experiencing the carnage as a nightmare.
Beyond changing how audiences experience the opening bedlam,Final Destination Bloodlinessees those who survivedthe Skyview incident go on to lead lives and have families.Rather than seeing Death chase down only the disaster’s survivors,Bloodlinesfeatures entire families being wiped out as Death sets about correcting the existence of whole “bloodlines” that shouldn’t exist.While the characters find out similar information about thwarting Death’s design, the stakes are drastically different, as all involved are family.
Final Destination Bloodlinessees Stefani and her grandmother both being capable of noting details that Death may utilize to kill them and their family.While carnage still ensues, Stefani embraces her gift, using it almost like a superpower to help them navigate each scene, looking for ways Death could exploit the environment. However, the films also hold larger implications for the franchise overall.
How Death’s Design InFinal Destination BloodlinesReshapes The Franchise
Final Destination Bloodlinessurprises audiences upfront with its twist on the opening premonition, but it also helps flesh out details connected to the other films.Tony Todd returns to his roleas William Bludworth, who offers fans their expected ominous exposition, while also getting a backstory. The opening disaster sees Todd’s Bludworth as a young boy who survives thanks to Iris. He and Iris stayed in touch over the years, following other disasters and tracking how Death goes after other survivors. They shared notes and learned everything they could, whichprovides viewers with an answer as to why Bludworth was always so knowledgeable in the priorFinal Destinationfilms.
Bloodlinesalso directly referencesFinal Destination 2, when Bludworth explains how someone beat death before by dying and coming back to life. However, Bludworth’s backstory also means that during each encounter with past characters, he took notes and kept track of the outcome more than the audience ever realized. This is how he helped Iris survive, creating her book on how to cheat Death, which has a long timeline tracking Death’s handiwork throughout the years. This also allows Stefani and her to see Death’s possible designs, which could be a helpful conceit for future characters.
Iris’s timeline features references to other films and clearly displayed dates from priorFinal Destinationinstallments.While the director confirmed that not everyone featured in past films is a descendant of a Skyview survivor, they did state that Iris was tracking other disasters, meaning each movie in the series influences the story ofBloodlines. While speaking withCollider, the directors said:
One of the things we all debated early on was, obviously, when you have something that starts so early, you’re like, ‘Oh, could this be the origin of allthe other movies?’ We debated that for a second, but then we realized none of those other characters' parents died, so it can’t be.
Bloodlinesoffers a new perspectiveon the franchise from Bludworth’s point of view. With Iris keeping tabs from the shadows, the bold choices in the latest sequel recontextualize theFinal Destinationfilmsand the measures Death will go to in fixing mistakes. The movie even nods to other franchise deaths, like the log truck, hinting that Death likes to use many of the same tools to dispatch survivors. Whatever may be next for the series,Final Destination Bloodlineshas paved the way for a unique franchise future by reframing past films.
