Don’t think pennies can be considered lucky anymore after this one. In 1968, lovebirds Iris Campbell (Brec Bassinger) and her boyfriend, Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) have managed to get on the list for their city’s newest upscale dining and entertainment establishment, the Skyview. As the name suggests, the stunning architecture provides a stunning view of the city, with the top level featuring a glass dance floor. This promises to be a special, life-changing night for the couple.

Sadly, those plans go kaput when the building does. In a chaotic sequence of unbelievable events, everyone in attendance meets a fatal end, be it by falling, impalement, trampling, or other evisceration. Every night for the past two months, this is a dream Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) has been tormented by, to the point that her lack of sleep is impacting her grades, and she’s pushed to the brink of academic expulsion. Iris is the name of her estranged grandmother, and it encourages Stefani to go back home and figure out what, if anything, she could share that could put this nightmare to bed.

Despite the reticence to share where grandma Iris is located, Aunt Brenda spills it and Stefani reconnects with her. Here, she finds out that Skyview didn’t happen, but it almost did. Iris saved so many lives with her premonition and plea for everyone to evacuate. They did, yet the survivors of that day would eventually die in mysterious circumstances. Iris is convinced death is coming for her family, and it is up to Stefani to observe the signs and heed the warning.

14 years is a long time to go between releases for one of the century’s most profitable horror franchises, but sometimes, all it takes is a long absence to make the heart grow fonder. In the case of Final Destination: Bloodlines, the absence has given the series a feeling of freshness again, despite the core aspect of Death as a character exacting revenge for being cheated on remaining unchanged since 2000. And this by and large is a good thing.

The newest showcases of Death’s wrath are crafted by co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. It’ll never be a Final Destination film without an opening catastrophe, and the second installment is still widely regarded to exhibit the best one with those unforgettable logs forever sowing fear on the freeway. But the duo’s Skyview disaster comes awfully close to topping that film’s mayhem, an impressive medley of escalating chaos. Outside of the major set piece, Lipovsky and Stein showcase their fandom of the series through small—and large—Easter eggs and references. Their deaths, largely of the CGI variety, range from ingenious (you’ll know it when you see it, an immediate claim to a top 5 demise in the entire series) to limp. Not all of them can be winners.

Final Destination movies have never been known for their narrative depth or robust characterization. The trend follows somewhat in Bloodlines, though the writing trio of Guy Busick, Lori Evans Taylor, and Jon Watts do generally succeed in giving more weight to the proceedings by highlighting the cold reality fatedness brings to unsuspecting clans—and the generational trauma that trickles down the family tree. While no franchise theories as of this writing have been confirmed or debunked, Bloodlines simultaneously gives the previous movies and overall series a bow (unlikely at this point with the box office performance) and the ability to move laterally or longitudinally in the future. The death order of operations is a bit hazy, and the last act is the weakest of the three, but as it all leads to the same end, it’s not worth getting too concerned with the machinations.

Bloodlines‘ cast is perfectly competent, and some members of it like Richard Harmon and Owen Patrick Joyner drive the film’s zaniness. Still, save for Dewan Sawa in the first, Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the third, and maybe Ali Larter in the first two, the series has always focused less on the quality of thespians who are mostly there to get offed at some point in the runtime. There are two faces of the franchise. One, the faceless grim reaper, and the other, the late horror icon Tony Todd, who’s appeared in four of these movies as the enigmatic William Bludworth, someone who knows too much about death’s design. Spoiling nothing directly, his character loses his secrecy but gains specificity, and it leads to an impressively raw moment that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Those patiently waiting for people to perish in gruesomely new ways should be satiated with Final Destination: Bloodlines. And those who have followed the series from its inception (and even those who haven’t) may be pleasantly surprised at the emotion this one manages to conjure up and the intentionality behind it all.

B

Photo credits go to impawards.com, cbr.com, screenrant.com, and slashfilm.com.