Take Sixteen: Final Destination Bloodlines
Final Destination Bloodlines is the 6th film in the series and picks up where the first batch of films left off. After Iris ( young Brec Bassinger and old, Gabrielle Rose) prevents a catastrophe thanks to the a premoniton, Death sets out to right the scales. When her granddaughter Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) begins having experiencing the same premonition that Iris did, she learns the gift has passed to her and learns that Death is after her family, the final bits of unfinished business.
When I first saw the trailer for this, I was a little concerned. The series concluded on a high note and I absolutely LOVED the ending- one of the most clever wrap-ups ever. But the setup of this instantly brought back the same anxious anxiety that the first few did so well. I was was back in from jump.
This one opens up in the 60s, my OTHER favorite era. The opening is as good as the any of the earlier ones. It even seems to slightly break the format of the originals and the retro setting adds a nice complexity to the storytelling. As I said, they do a great job building that feeling of dread. The sound choices are truly on the nose, but they work: “Ring of Fire”, “Shout”, Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head”, “Spirit in the Sky”… Good stuff. The line”Seeing is believing” caps off a a really cool sequence fairly early and bodes well for the film.
The deaths are hella gory. And the fake outs. These are great! I don’t remember them so much in the first two, but around #3, they really started playing with he audience making you think things are going to go a certain way only to go left in an unexpected way. This one has some doozies and I was here for them.
Tony Todd reprises his role for the final time, which is another great moment for the film. His character ties into the story much for organically than ever before and is another highlight of the movie.
Unfortunately, it’s probably the last one. By this point, it starts to FEEL a little long. It seems like the filmmakers are aware of this too because it takes a bit of a turn and loses it way. It starts spiraling and never quite gets its balance again. It also becomes apparent that most of these characters once again, aren’t especially likable. Perhaps they figure it will make it more tolerable when they meet grizzly ends? I dunno. All I know is, by the end, I was ready to see most of them go. I probably was most worried about Stefani’s dad truth be told.
My score…. 7. Strong beginning, cool connection to the earlier films, but by the end, it kinda collapses. Not sure we need or will get more of these in the future. If only there was a way to just give us more of those openings. Just those.
So, please, your next DESTINATION should be the comments section where you my have the FINAL say…
Until next time…
