Film review of “Final Destination: Bloodlines”: This horror is recommended
Fourteen years after “Final Destination 5,” the sixth installment in the horror series, “Bloodlines,” is now in theaters.
The premise of the "Final Destination" films is as stupid as it is ingenious: It's not a masked killer who kills the teenagers, but Death himself. While he's invisible, he can intervene in the physical world in such a way that seemingly random chains of events lead to the death of selected individuals in supposed accidents. Sounds complicated? It's actually not.
"Bloodlines" begins in the 1960s. Young Iris has a bad premonition: the newly opened Skyview Tower is about to collapse, killing many people. Thanks to her warning, some survive the disaster, which actually happens. But Death doesn't like that. The survivors were actually his rightful owners, but he now wants to get them from another source. Why this initially fails, and why he then reaches out his bony hand to the student Stefanie in the present, is something the film tells us in artificial-looking images and with full awareness of the silliness of its basic premise. But that was already what was fascinating about the first film from 2000: the accidents orchestrated by Death himself are both incredibly entertaining and downright creepy.
In the better moments of the "Final Destination" films, the viewer is overcome by the feeling of being constantly surrounded by death in the midst of life. Nothing is certain; harmless everyday objects and situations can suddenly turn disastrously against you. It could be a lawnmower, a family barbecue, or even an MRI machine. The fact that you never know exactly how the fatal chain reactions will play out is what makes the series so appealing. "Bloodlines" is no exception, offering several bizarre and bloody deaths that hint at them in advance, only to then come as a surprise. In this respect, "Bloodlines" can hold its own with the best installments in the series.
The selection of songs such as "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head", "Stronger (what doesn't kill you)" and "Ring of Fire" enhance the dark humor of the sequences. Fans of the series will also appreciate that "Bloodlines" not only makes several references to the first two installments, but also introduces a few new ideas to the absurd saga surrounding the machinations of death. The heavy use of computer-generated effects might be less than enthusiastic. While these are also a feature of the series, some scenes make you wonder why the CGI looks hardly more believable in 2025 than it did in the early 2000s. However, directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein deserve praise for their sense of pacing. The fact that the film is 110 minutes long doesn't make it seem that way. It's just as entertaining as the first three installments in the series.
The franchise also remains true to itself when it comes to the characters: don't expect much depth. This isn't an arthouse drama, but a slasher in which the killer, for a change, is an invisible force. The superficiality of the characters has a defusing effect, and that's perhaps a good thing. Because even if the series doesn't take itself seriously, the broadly played out disaster scenarios can certainly reinforce those fears that are prone to anxiety. That said, some film fans in the theaters still cried during "Bloodlines." And that's thanks to Tony Todd, who played the mysterious William Bludworth in every installment in the series. In "Bloodlines," Todd, already severely affected by his illness, plays Bludworth, who is also suffering from cancer, in truly moving scenes, and we finally learn more about his backstory here. Tony Todd died on November 6, 2024. The film is dedicated to the actor, who is particularly popular among horror fans.
Theatrical release: May 15, 2025, horror film, mystery film, USA, FSK 18, 96 min. Film distributor: Warner Bros.
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