Final Destination: Bloodlines - Proving Horror Sequels Aren’t Always Awful

Feature Image: Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) Dir. Zach Lipovsky & Adam B. Stein.

‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ (the latest instalment in the iconic horror franchise) was released in the UK on 14th May 2025. 

If you're familiar with the franchise, you can imagine what narrative this particular instalment follows.

What if your worst anxieties were not just intangible thoughts but premonitions of the very near future? And, just like all the other instalments in the franchise ‘Bloodlines,’ features many, many, many farcical, gory deaths - because, when you try to avoid death, it’ll always come back for you. But... What if someone managed to avoid death for so long that they had children? And their children had children—families that were never meant to exist.

If you don’t enjoy horror, this one’s probably not for you. 

If you are a fan of the horror genre... You will love this one. It's utterly ridiculous, leaning into its comical nature and refusing to ever take itself too seriously.

The narrative follows college student Stefani on her journey to outrun death (typical). Equipped with a guidebook written by her grandmother (who was in the same predicament), Stefani is a great main character. Especially because she's got common sense where other chaacters lack it.

Rather than relying on tropes of damsels in distress or incompetent horror protagonists who get themselves into dangerous situations, Stefani and her grandmother Iris are intelligent and careful: protagonists you can thoroughly root for.

Contrasting Stefani’s gravitas is pretty much her entire extended family. Her cousins Erik, Julia, and Bobby are hilarious. Erik and Julia especially challenge Stefani with her ‘death is coming for us all’ theory, providing moments that had the entire audience laughing. 

With a runtime of almost two hours, ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ doesn’t drag. It keeps the pacing fast and effective, and truly captivated everyone in the theatre. Not a single person left during the film, despite many watching with large cinema drinks.

At the heart of this film is the ever-present motif of time. More specifically, how we never have enough of it. However, it doesn’t keep the mood down for too long before pulling you right back onto the edge of your seat. Keeping you guessing the whole time: what’s the next horrible way somebody’s going to die?And to find that out, I guess you’ll have to take a trip to your local theatre. Trust me, this one is worth the trip.

But be careful if you're grabbing any snacks from the vending machine...