Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Cast: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Tony Todd, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Alex Zahara, April Telek, Tinpo Lee, Brec Bassinger, Gabrielle Rose, Max Lloyd-Jones, Brenna Llewellyn, Natasha Burnett, Jayden Oniah, Mark Brandon, Yvette Ferguson, Garfield Wilson, Justin Stone, Noah Bromley.
To present horror on screen those behind the scenes must do so with an element of dark humour attached to the project. It is all well and good having the ability to scare people, but with the sense of uncomfortable must come the notion that you want the viewer to laugh without realising, to find themselves regretting the slip in emotions as they witness in the revulsion at first hand.
Such a motion of expression and delivery within cinema works when the directors and writers are in union of their understanding of how the story works, and whilst for example Raiders Of The Lost Ark is not a horror film, the scene where the power of the Covenant melts and destroys the bodies of the Nazi soldiers, the sadistic Gestapo agent, and that of fellow archaeologist Rene Belloq to the point where it delights the horror fan for the same reason; it is tension relief, a glimpse into the absurd whilst feeling the terror of realism.
The long running franchise of Final Destination is subtle in its application of humour, it comes in the form of the manner of death that the victims suffer, the often-implausible connections that come in chains as the event unfolds, and this is no different as Final Destination: Bloodlines offers a new perspective on Death’s relentless cause.
The film has to be praised for its use of CGI, for the effects that underline how each person passed away, and there is a great detail of narrative, underscored by the late great Tony Todd in his final screen appearance as he delivers a fitting explanation to those lately dogged by the pursuit of Death.
The film is itself relentless, it refuses to let up as each character is hunted down in ever more gruesome ways and as the action ramps up the film lover is pulled through the emotional mill, and given the opportunity to feel the scare of accommodating wit, and with some excellent performances, such as Brec Bassinger as the young Iris who has the initial premonition that sets the chain of events in motion, and Gabrielle Rose as her older counterpart, Final Destination: Bloodlines is a sizeable addition to the franchise and one to which surely will act as a conduit to more relatable films being produced.
Ian D. Hall