23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Final Destination serves death, dismemberment… and a dash of sentiment
BLOOD, gore and about a gazillion ridiculous ways to die — Final Destination Bloodlines doesn't disappoint. The sixth entry in the franchise leans all the way in. Expect flying glass, a rogue MRI machine and possibly death by garbage truck.
It's gloriously pointless, unapologetically schlocky and honestly, that's half the charm.
Death is back — not that it ever left. The beauty of this franchise is you don't need a reason for the villain's return. It's Death. It doesn't need motivation. It just shows up, wrecks lives and keeps the plot moving.
In this universe, no one cheats Death and walks away. Well, almost no one. There's always that one person who thinks they're smarter than fate. Spoiler: they're not.
Of course, no Final Destination film is complete without a gloriously horrific opening — and this one delivers.
Picture a rooftop proposal 152m in the air, glass floor beneath your feet, full Loupe Lounge vibes… and then chaos. The whole scene is chilling — and because it's Final Destination, you know anything could be the trigger.
A flambé pan crackling too loud. A kid hurling a coin off the edge.
Couples dancing enthusiastically on the glass floor because apparently, that's a smart thing to do 152m in the air. You can't help but wonder — which one's going to set Death in motion?
Then — boom — everything happens all at once. Turns out, literally everything is a death trap.
The flambé? Deadly. The glass floor? Definitely cracking. The penny? Oh, it's got a mission.
The opening sequence goes full chaos mode — the kind that has you clutching your popcorn like a life raft.
But twist! It's not a premonition — just a dream.
Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) has been haunted by the same terrifying dream for two months — and oddly enough, she's not even in it.
She's just watching the carnage unfold like some cursed horror movie on repeat. The result? Sleepless nights, slipping grades and a fast track to academic probation.
In a last-ditch attempt to make sense of it all, Stefani uncovers a chilling truth: the dream isn't even hers — it's a vision passed down from her grandmother, Iris (Gabrielle Rose).
Fifty years ago, Iris saved a group of people from certain death at — wait for it — that tower.
Yep, the one with the glass floors, flambé fireballs and that one idiotic kid tossing coins.
But in the Final Destination universe, Death holds grudges. It didn't just come for the survivors — it's coming for their descendants, too.
Stefani finds Iris living in self-imposed exile, in a house surrounded by death traps — which, let's be honest, seems like a terrible idea when Death's the one after you. Iris explains she derailed Death's plan decades ago, and now it's coming for the survivors' descendants, in order.
She insists she's safe… as long as she stays inside. Then she steps out — and is promptly impaled by a flying weather vane.
Stefani races against time (and Death) to save her family, only to watch them get picked off one by one in some truly stomach-churning death sequences.
Sorry for the spoiler — but come on, are you really surprised? It's a Final Destination movie. Of course, everyone dies.
What really stands out is the return of William Bludworth, the enigmatic mortician who's been cryptically guiding survivors since the beginning.
This time, his presence is finally explained: it was Iris's premonition that saved him as a child.
And now that she's gone, Bludworth is ready to face Death.
In a poignant move, directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein allowed Tony Todd to improvise his final scene.
The result is a quiet, unscripted monologue that doubles as both Bludworth's farewell and Todd's personal goodbye to fans: "I intend to enjoy the time I have left. And I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when..."
Todd, who was battling stomach cancer at the time, delivers it with heartbreaking honesty.
His death in November 2024 makes the moment hit even harder — a fitting end to a horror legend and the character he made iconic.
That aside, Final Destination Bloodlines is exactly what it sets out to be: campy, over-the-top, and packed with gloriously bizarre deaths.
It knows what it is — and fully commits. If you like your horror loud, ludicrous and tinged with legacy terror, this one delivers.
Classification: 18
