Final Destination: Bloodlines - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Final Destination: Bloodlines



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


​

Movie
I don’t think there’s a millennial alive who doesn’t experience anxiety while driving behind a logging truck DUE to the original Final Destination film. I mean, to this day my first thoughts while seeing the back end of a logging truck is “nope, nope, I think I’ll move to another lane” even though I know for a fact that there is just about zero risk. Why? Because we ALL saw what happened back in 2000! All joking aside, the Final Destination franchise was one of those early 2000s horror franchises that took the world by storm, pumped out 4 more sequels after the initial film, then stopped as the box office profits shrunk with each subsequent release. I haven’t though of the series in the last 10 years, but when I saw that Warner was releasing a 6th film in the franchise this year, I HAD to watch it. I didn’t care if it was a garbage sequel, but Final Destination was one of the last decent horror franchises coming off the late 90s that it has become and indelible part of my memory.

Bloodlines starts out with an extended flashback to 1968, where a young woman named Iris (Brec Bassinger) and her beau Paul (Max-Lloyd Jones) are on a date to a swanky new restaurant known as the Skyview Tower (which is TOTALLY not the space needle, I swear) when things go horribly wrong. In true Final Destination fashion, things start breaking and the entire restaurant collapses, killing everyone involved in gory details. Fast forward to modern times and it’s revealed that everything you just saw was a nightmare for one Stephanie Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), who is trying to finish college, only to have her performance degraded due to this constant recurring nightmare. In an effort to figure things out, Stephanie heads home to her parents and confesses that she’s been dreaming this horrible dream, and that her grandmother Iris is in it. When she pushes her Uncle about how to contact their grandmother to talk about it, she’s introduced to the fact that Grammy Iris is a bit of a nutter.

Refusing to let well enough alone, Stephanie gets hold of Iris (now played by Gabrielle Rose), who fills her in on a long hidden family secret. That dream Stephanie has been having was actually a vision that Iris had back in the 1960s. It was actually the order of events that was SUPPOSED to happen when Iris and Pual went up in the Skyview Tower, but due to her vision she was able to evacuate the place and get everyone out before the collapse killed everyone. But the consequence after the fact is that death himself was NOT to be cheated, and has been systematically coming for the survivors of the tower, as well as their entire bloodline in order of birth. Iris had seen the events coming and in order to protect her family, built a little enclave out in the wilderness and kept herself safe so that Death couldn’t get to the rest of her family. But time is running out, and Stephanie has the same gift of foresight as her grandmother, and now it’s time to pass the reigns of leadership to her grand daughter. That is, if death doesn’t get to them first.

I will say this. I was really impressed with Bloodlines. I loved the first Final Destination film, as well as the 2nd, but each subsequent sequel really went downhill to the point of annoyance. I barely even remember the 4th film, and only brief flickers of the 5th one. So I really wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this sequel that came 14 years after the last one. But at the end of the day, I was genuinely pleasantly surprised. Bloodlines is a mildly fresh take on the classic film’s premise, engaging in all of the unique and inventive ways for death to kill someone, but adding in a nice multi generational twist to explain why he’s coming after them (and actually brings some context to several of the previous films events as well). It’s not perfect, but Bloodlines captures the fun and gory deaths that the first couple of films enjoyed, and it feels unique enough to not be just another tagged on film to a dying franchise.




Rating:

Rated R for strong violent/grisly accidents, and language.




Video:

The 2.39:1 framed HEVC transfer looks fantastic on 4K UHD as well. The native 4K digital master used was quite impressive, allowing for a very clean and shiny looking image. The opening flashback is a standout in the production, allowing for a very warm and colorful look into the 1960s color palette. The rest of the film is a bit darker, with a richer array of primary shades, but a little more muted in terms of brightness and pastels. Fine details are impressive throughout, with good looking facial tones and solid contrast. I DID notice some black crush in the scene where Erik is working at the tattoo parlor, but other than that, this is an artifact free disc.







Audio:

One of the most impressive aspects of even below average horror films is the audio mixing, and Final Destination: Bloodlines sports a really impressive one. The Dolby Atmos track is of the active variety, with lots of discrete activity happening in the surrounds and overheads. The complete breakdown of the Skyview Towers is jaw dropping, with ripping metal, tearing concrete and weighty crashes literally keeping the entire soundstage active all at once. The rest of the movie quiets down a BIT ,there are still quite a few deaths throughout the movie, with a gigantic train crash near the end that had my subs literally almost flexing the drywall with the sheer ferocity of the low end. Dialog is still quite intelligible and clean, while the mains balance nicely with the very active surrounds. The mix is just shy of perfect, and one of the cleanest and most impressively noticeable with the directionality of the mix. Brave Warner, bravo.






Extras:

• Audio Commentary by the film's directors Adam Stein & Zach Lipovsky
• Death Becomes Them: On the Set of "Final Destination Bloodlines" – Catch up with the fresh new cast and dynamic directing duo of "Final Destinations Bloodlines" to hear about their experiences on set and what fun surprises they managed to sneak in for the fans.
• The Many Deaths of Bloodlines – From the collapse of the Skyview Restaurant to the world's worst MRI, get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the most gruesome Final Destination deaths yet!
• The Legacy of Bludworth – Tony Todd reflects on the decades-spanning legacy of his iconic character and re-examines Bludworth's impact on the franchise now that all has been revealed.

Final Score: ​

Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein add a fresh “bite” to the aging franchise, and I had way better of a time then I was expecting. Sure, the basic structure of the film is the same as the previous ones, but that’s part of the charm of the gory series. Guessing and trying to predict just who would be killed next and in what horrible way. The story suffered a bit near the end, but overall it was a fun gorefest with some nice kills. The 4K UHD looks and sounds amazing, and there’s a moderate array of extras found on the disc as well. As a long time fan of the original films, I’m happy to say that fans should be pleased with this latest entry.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Rya Kihlstedt, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Tony Todd
Directed by: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
Written by: Guy Busick, Lori Evan Taylor, Jon Watts
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), French, Spanish, Czech, Polish DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, Canadian French, Parisian French, Latin Spanish Chinese – Complex, Czech, Polish, Korean, Slovakian
Studio: Warner Bro's
Rated: R
Runtime: 110 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 22nd, 2025

Recommendation: Fun Watch

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

​

 

[JBrax]

So many ahhhhh moments with this one! I think they did a fantastic job wrapping up the franchise. Another that we thoroughly enjoyed!