FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES : FILM HONOURS

FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES is the most original film in the franchise since the first movie came out 25 years ago.

The first news about Final Destination  Bloodlines came before the film went into production, as a sort of prehype gimmick to get people ready for the franchise's return [ the last film came out in 2011 ].

NEW directors Adam Stein and Zack Lipovski - I had first seen them as promising upcoming directors in the Steven Spielberg filmmaking reality show On the Lot had fooled the executives at New Line Cinema by staging visual-effects freak accident similar to those seen in the Final Destination Films, on a live Zoom call.

The prank had gotten them the job - and a fine hire it turned out to be, because Bloodlines is the most original and fresh Final Destination has been since its first movie came out 25 years ago.

Starting way back in 1968, Iris Campbell and her fiance Paul [ Bree Bassinger and Max Lloyd Jones ] slips into an uber-posh highrise restaurant for the snotty elite that turns out to be a hotbed for disaster waiting to happen.

Iris, who had peeked into death's plan with a premonition, ends up saving people. Years later, Iris's granddaughter Stefani [Kaitlyn Santa Juana ] a college student, constantly sees Iris' death the way it was meant to happen, forcing her to learn what really happened.

There is actually a reason to keep the rest of the story spoiler free, save for the fact that the title.  Bloodlines, despite sounding B-grade and cheesy, actually fits the premise. Bloodlines removes the friend's angle and replaces it with family.

The change shifts the emotional core of the film into a new territory where, instead of teenagers dying in unexpected ways, the stakes become higher when a close-knit family has to thwart death............  or at least try to.

A few new aspects of death's plans are revealed, including how to cheat it, and a surprise reveal of the mysterious recurring character, the coroner mortician played by the late Tony Todd.

The deaths aren't as gruesome and the little gore one does see has a bit of campy, laughable tenor to it.

The World Students Society thanks Mohammad Kamran Jawaid.