Aaron Ploof
Final Destination: Bloodlines’ opening sequence features a 1960s restaurant in a tower hundreds of feet up in the air. Iris (Stargirl’s Brec Bassinger), a young woman on a date with her boyfriend, is hesitant to enter the building. Pushing past her mental reservations, she squeezes into an overcrowded elevator (max occupants 8 adults). The bellhop informs her that the tower finished building five months early (“That can’t be good, right?” she remarks).
At the top, she looks through a window towards the far-off ground. It’s easy to read the fear on her face. That fear soon proves prophetic, as in Final Destination fashion, the tower’s integral structure is thwarted by an almost comical Rube Goldberg-like series of events. With such innocuous items as a penny and a chandelier piece linking together, soon the entire restaurant is up in flames. It’s cracking and falling apart at an ever increasingly accelerated pace. Death has made his entrance.
This is one of several inventive, shocking, and honestly funny death sequences in Bloodlines. Although it is the most extravagant, it is by far not the most creative. Through these death scenes, and a strong, tight, and funny script with characters to care about, Bloodlines establishes itself as the best Final Destination film in the franchise.
The Death Curse
Iris (Gabrielle Rose), now in her old age, is the grandmother of our protagonist, Stefani. The young college student is unfortunately suffering from a recurring nightmare depicting the horrifying deaths at the restaurant. It’s causing problems at school and has Stefanie so distracted that she is on academic probation. Returning home to search for a solution, she soon learns that although Iris dies in the dream, she is still alive in the waking world. She thwarted Death’s plan through her own premonition. Although her family members warn her that Iris has long since lost her grip on reality, Stefani visits her cabin in her search for answers. Answers she soon has, as Iris warns her that Stefani’s entire family is on Death’s hit list.
Rose gives an extremely impressive performance as Iris, whose entire life since that fateful day in the tower has been spent avoiding Death at every moment. Her character is in complete control, having mastered Death’s games and underhanded tricks. But Rose imbues her with a looney aspect, talking to Death as if he were in the room. To any average person, she would appear to be completely lost. But to Stefani, who is no longer a skeptic, she is chillingly believable. Now Stefani must convince her family of the reality of the Death Curse, or Death will take them one by one.
A Strong Script
Our Creative Director, Sean Parker, recently reviewed the film Until Dawn. Based on a PlayStation game, the movie takes some general ideas from the source material. Having played the game myself, I was excited to see the film, but I came away disappointed. The film let me down by its lack of character development, aimless script, and horror cliches.
I can confidently claim that Bloodlines does not suffer similar problems. Although the characters aren’t as complex as ones you would find in a thinkier drama film, they are multi-dimensional and they do get us to care about them. Stefani, for instance, loves her brother Charlie (Teo Briones). And though her move to college has left him feeling abandoned, the bond between brother and sister strengthens throughout. They are a formidable foe for Death by the end.
Richard Harmon’s Erik appears to be your average tattooed, pierced-up, bad-attitude punk rocker. Yet his love for his brother Bobby (Owen Patrick Joyner) adds an extra dimension to his character, humanizing him. Bobby doesn’t get a lot of character development, but Joyner’s performance tells us all we need to know about his sweet, good-hearted nature.
Furthermore, the central conflict at the center of the film, the one instigated by that day at the restaurant, creates an interesting family dynamic between the characters, with some believing Stefani’s claims, and others lumping her with her grandma and her mom (Rya Kihlstedt) who left her and her family when she was younger. She holds resentment towards her mother, but watching their relationship evolve over the course of the film, with these two believable actors, held my attention.
The deaths are creative and link together. The camera lingers on each component of the trap, indicating the danger but not spelling out how it will occur; it keeps the audience guessing. The deaths are entertaining and surprisingly funny. Many times, I laughed out loud at how over the top they were. An MRI magnet comes to mind. And man, is that nose ring on that fan? Classic.
The family has a clear goal: halting death. Apparently, a man named JB knows how to thwart him. Which leads us to one of the most memorable scenes in the film: Tony Todd’s return as Bloodworth.
Linking Lore
This is Todd’s final performance in any film. The speech he delivers appropriately lays out the feelings I suspect he may have, not only as the character, but also in real life. His advice stresses the importance of seizing opportunity, making the most of what you have while you still have it. It is a dignified and graceful final bow, and I sincerely hope he was proud of his art.
Of course, the family asks him for advice on how to thwart Death’s plans. His response refers to lore established more than 20 years ago. Referencing characters from past sequels and tying up loose ends gives the film a final feel, even if this installment doesn’t turn out to be the conclusion of the franchise.
Our Final Destination
We’re all on the same road, one that ends in the same way for each of us, regardless of when. Laughing at death, as Bloodlines encourages, helps us to accept that inevitable conclusion. This is an excellent way to pass that time until the final death knell.
