Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) is the rare horror legacy sequel that understands exactly what it is—and more importantly, what its fans want. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, this blood-soaked revival of the Final Destination franchise doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it absolutely fine-tunes it, delivering gory set pieces, a slickly paced plot, and just enough lore expansion to make it feel like more than a rehash. It’s self-aware without being snarky, brutal without being mean-spirited, and surprisingly clever in how it weaves its mythology into something new.
Like the best entries in the Final Destination series, Bloodlines knows that the star of the show isn’t the characters—it’s Death itself. The premise remains intact: someone has a vision of a catastrophic event, cheats death, and triggers a gruesome chain of fate where survivors die one by one in absurdly elaborate ways. But this time, there’s a twist rooted in legacy. College student Stefanie (played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is haunted by violent premonitions that lead her back to her hometown. There, she discovers that her grandmother Iris (Brec Bassinger in flashbacks and Gabrielle Rose in the present day) was the original survivor of a premonition back in the 1960s—an event that created a ripple effect through generations.
This angle—death correcting a bloodline that should never have existed—is a smart, unsettling evolution of the franchise’s rules. Instead of relying solely on Rube Goldberg-style kills (though there are plenty), Final Destination Bloodlines creates tension from the idea that no one in this family was ever meant to be born. That existential dread lingers, even as the film barrels forward with one splatter-filled demise after another.
The supporting cast, including Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Anna Lore, all shine in roles that are admittedly thin on paper but fully functional in practice. These aren’t richly developed characters (and the movie wisely doesn’t pretend they are) but the performances are energetic, and each actor makes their limited screen time count. When the deaths start, the film delivers on the franchise’s core promise: creativity, carnage, and chaos. MRI machines, vending machines, trash compactors—Bloodlines finds fresh, pulse-spiking ways to turn everyday items into deadly traps.
The film’s opening disaster—a gleaming “space-tower” restaurant’s collapse on its launch night—is one of the most visually ambitious set pieces the series has attempted, and it pays off. It’s operatic, absurd, and perfectly pitched to set the tone. From there, the kills escalate in both intensity and imagination. But what gives Bloodlines real franchise weight is how it retroactively ties into the events of previous Final Destination films without feeling like forced fan service.
And yes, Tony Todd makes his final appearance as the ominous mortician, and it’s a moment that lands with eerie poignancy. Todd, who passed in 2024, helped shape the DNA of this franchise, and his brief return feels like a respectful, chilling goodbye.
Ultimately, Final Destination Bloodlines works because it respects the blood-soaked legacy of its predecessors while forging new ground. Lipovsky and Stein don’t bog the movie down in exposition or nostalgia. They keep the kills coming, the pace tight, and the mythology sharp. It’s not a reinvention—it’s a refinement.
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For a franchise that could’ve easily stayed buried after diminishing returns, Final Destination Bloodlines proves that there’s still life (and death) in this formula. It’s one of the most entertaining horror movies of 2025, and easily one of the best franchise continuations of the year. If you’re in the mood for a smartly staged splatter-fest with a pulse-pounding pace and a dark sense of humor, Final Destination Bloodlines delivers the goods—and then some.
Score: 7/10
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
- Cast: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Alex Zahara, Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger, Gabrielle Rose
- Directors: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
- Genre: Horror, Mystery
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Rated: R
- Release Date: May 16, 2025
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