Final Destination: Bloodlines: Say You Will

🎶Well...

You know you make me wanna (shout)

Kick my heels up and (shout)

Throw my hands up and (shout)

Throw my hands back and (shout)

Come on now (shout)

Don't forget to say you will🎶 - “Shout” by The Isley Brothers.

You know, The Isley Brothers have been one of my favorite groups my whole life, so of course I love the song “Shout”. But thanks to the terror of new massively successful Final Destination: Bloodlines I will never hear that song the same way again.

Yessir, it’s finally here. The sixth installment of the supernatural mega hit horror franchise Final Destination is here. Final Destination: Bloodlines was released in theaters on May 16th, this past Friday and in the five days since, the world of entertainment and social media has been in a frenzy. Let’s break down every reason why.

The plot of the latest Final Destination entry is centered around a young girl named Stefani Reyes who is constantly having nightmares about her grandmother Iris who cheated death back in 1968 while she was pregnant with Stefani’s mother. Eventually Stefani discovers that these dreams are not just nightmares, but flashback premonitions that are warning her that death is coming for her family tree that should have never existed. After discovering that death is coming for what remains of her bloodline, Stefani sets out on a quest to save her family members and from here chaos bleeds.

Let me tell you. For the entire duration of this film there wasn’t a dry eye in the screening room. All you had in the movie theater that night was people on edge with their nerves ripped to shreds, mines included. From the very beginning of the film we get a death sequence unfolding in the clouds of a glass skyscraper and of course everyone cringed at the mid air brutality. Death was more elaborate than ever in this sixth Final Destination film and it was chasing after an entertaining family of survivors, especially that of the humorous and charismatic Erik Campbell portrayed by Richard Harmon.

The grandmother Iris Campbell is also a charismatic breath of fresh air. Portrayed by Brec Bassinger and Gabrielle Rose. For me her character is an elderly and enjoyable wisecracking callback to the original Final Destination hero, Alex Browning. Iris Campbell is also the first time we have ever seen a Final Destination character portrayed in a dual performance of a younger and older version of the character.

You can’t have a great continuation of a legendary franchise without some good callbacks and allusions to early entries in a series. In this movie we get just that with the references to some of the most infamous ways of dying like being killed by big logs falling off of moving vehicles and learning how to navigate surviving death’s puns by being informed of how legacy characters managed to beat death.

Pun intended to the other Final Destination films, this movie is a rollercoaster of emotions. The character bank is a big mixture of humor, seriousness and trepidation, so the way they all process the imminence of death is very endearing. In classic Final Destination fashion music is of course utilized in the most entertaining and eerie of ways. Whereas previous entries in the franchise used songs like “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver, “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC and “Rollercoaster of Love” by the Ohio Players, this movie uses the 1960’s party classic “Shout” by The Isley Brothers. The song is ingeniously used to capture the mood of a party crashing down, both figuratively and literally.

Without a doubt the biggest and perhaps most unexpected chord struck in the film is it’s heartfelt poignancy all felt in the movie’s tribute to the late great Tony Todd. It was of course with great sadness that the world of horror and really entertainment overall loss the legendary Tony Todd back in November of 2024 when he passed away after a long war against stomach cancer. When filming this movie the filmmakers and Todd knew that he was in his last days. Viewers watching can also see how visibly sick he is and the filmmakers even incorporate his real life ailments into the plot of the film, which in part finally reveals the backstory of his mysterious series long character, William Bludworth who we first met 25 years ago.

It was Tony’s final monologue as Bludworth that really tugged at the heartstrings. When you sit here and think about the success of the entire Final Destination franchise leading to this very continued moment of success with the sixth entry, Tony Todd’s final words in the film really hit home with everyone:

“I intend to enjoy the time I have left and I suggest you do the same. Life is precious. Enjoy every single second. You never know when…good luck” - William Bludworth.

The most heartfelt part of this monologue is it wasn’t scripted. The filmmakers told Tony to improvise and just speak from his heart. He did so in a way that not only spoke to his fellow characters, but to us as an audience who has loved watching him for decades. Ironically I also feel that the success of this film reflected in the support it has garnered from fans as well as all the former co-stars of the series is a living testament to his final words in his final film. Life is precious, yet beautiful. Live it, say you will and live as if tomorrow isn’t the final destination.

~In loving memory of Tony Todd.