The plot is generally the same as always, a premonition leads to a bunch of people escaping their intended death so the Grim Reaper tracks them down and dispatches them in insanely convoluted ways. With the distance between entries making this a quasi reboot, there is a small twist on the formulae. This time round, the main character has dreams of their estranged grandmother saving hundreds from a disaster in her youth. Turns out Death has been working his way through the survivors for years, with granny holding him at bay (by isolating in the most dangerous looking shack known to man) for years. Now all her descendants are on the chopping block, making this a family affair rather than the usual group of teen besties. There are a tonne of nods and connections to previous movies in the series, none of which matter and most of which don't make sense, but they serve as little easter eggs for franchise devotees.
Bloodlines nails the tone needed for a Final Destination film perfectly. The characters take their fate seriously enough that there is drama in watching them fight against their doom but from the audience perspective its pure chaotic entertainment. While you never actually see Death, you get the sense of someone enjoying their job. Directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein understand the assignment and do a great job of imbuing inanimate objects with intentional seeming malice. A piano looms over its victim like Micheal Myers, an MRI machine lurks in the shadows like an alien and a menacing coin hitches a ride with a sweet old lady. The opening disaster is one of the biggest and most spectacular set pieces the series has attempted and the while effects are still visibly CG in places, the technology has (despite what some slap dash blockbusters would make you believe) come a long way in the last quarter century, meaning they avoid the overly cartoonish look that marred a parts of the other entries.
With Rube Goldberg machine kills being the main attraction all the cast have to do is hold enough of our attention in the downtime and they do their job here, although you are left with the dullest characters for the finale. The performances are a mixed bag but never distractingly bad, except for maybe one scene. There is a brief standout appearance from series regular, the late great Tony Todd. We get a bit of background on his recurring character before he delivers a poignant speech on accepting death and enjoying life, apparently all of his own making as the directors told him he could say whatever he wanted in what he already knew at the time would be his final performance. It will be strange and sad to see the franchise continue without him.
If you aren't on board with the Final Destination films's brand of madcap death dealing then Bloodlines certainly isn't going to convert you. For fans though (or any new horror heads who have sprung up while the serious has been on hiatus), it's hard to imagine a revitalisation being any better than this. The only real caveat is that, with slightly more "realistic" effects and a little extra gore, it's a bit more of a graphic watch than its predecessors. All in all, with inventive kills, a good sense of humour and what is looking like a healthy box office return, Bloodlines looks like ensuring this series may be dodging death for some time yet.
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