New to Me is a series here at The Nerds Templar where we discuss a film that has been out for a while. It’s most likely available on home video or streaming services, but it’s our first time seeing it. Hence, it’s “New to Me“!
If you read me enough you know I never review movies after they hit theaters. I review them before their release or wait until home video/streaming. I think I’ve been to the theater 6 times in the past five years to see a movie after its release and that was because they didn’t screen for press. I go to press screenings to write about movies before they hit theaters and I had missed the press screening of Final Destination Bloodlines (because the MBTA sucks). I had done a full franchise rewatch prior to the press screening and was bummed I had to miss it. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to see Final Destination Bloodlines in the middle of a busy day this week and I’m glad I checked it out.
As a fan of the franchise I wasn’t sure what to expect after the brilliant fifth film ended up secretly being a prequel. I wasn’t sure what new idea could be brought to the table without doing a full reboot or rehashing the previous stories. The concept of a family bloodline is a neat addition to franchise lore yet it also feels like a standalone plot. You don’t need to watch all five movies in the series to follow along because this story works on its own yet is still 100% part of the Final Destination concept. If you are familiar with the movies you understand that Death is coming for those who survived when they shouldn’t have, but the past movies don’t have to be fresh in your mind to follow along.
It opens in prototypical Final Destination form with a cold open, but it tries something different. A new character keeps having nightmares of an event that she was not a part of because it took place decades before she was born. A person having a premonition, but not being part of the event is a good twist. It turns out the event and the survivors have bloodlines to the new character and she returns home from college to find out information about her grandmother. Her family was torn because of the grandmother and soon family secrets come to the forefront. Then Death comes knocking and you get the standard “who’s next on the list” leading to fantastic kills. There is some great gore and as a person with medical issues myself, I’ll be thinking about the hospital scenes for a while. It has all the fun kills with ridiculous step-by-step processes we expect from the franchise, but with more characters aware and having their eyes open. Despite being the sixth film it never feels flat or run into the ground.
Then there’s Tony Todd. One of the kings of horror, we lost Tony Todd in late 2024 and he had been a staple of the films from the beginning. Seeing him sick with cancer did make my eyes tear up and I’m glad they were able to get him in the film even for a brief cameo. His character actually gets a fantastic backstory as well and it was such a great way to honor a horror icon. Your incredible voice is already missed Mr. Todd.
Final Destination Bloodlines fits the franchise perfectly and also adds to it. At this point you can do all kinds of sequels with bloodline theories without treading on the previous movies. It’s almost like the newer Scream and Halloween films where it’s kind of a soft reboot, but still very much in the same universe as past films. I actually liked this way more than the newer films of those franchises. If you are a fan of the franchise and haven’t seen Final Destination Bloodlines yet you should.
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