Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
We at Dread Central are big fans of John Waters. The filmmaker behind movies like Pink Flamingos, Hairspray, and one of my personal favorites, Serial Mom, is a living legend. Known by some as the “Pope of Trash”, he’s a man with taste who often goes against the grain. Emphasis on the “taste” part. When he loves a film, we pay attention. But I have to say, even I was surprised that Waters just listed Final Destination: Bloodlines as one of the top five films of the year.
The first Final Destination crashed onto the scene in 2000. Based on an unused X-Files spec from Jeffrey Reddick about people hunted by death itself, the film was a sensation. It smashed box-office expectations, resulting in a franchise that is still going strong today. If you’ve seen any of the Final Destination movies, at least one of them has likely scarred you for life (logging trucks, anyone?). The sixth film in the series, Bloodlines, delivered on everything fans could’ve asked for and more. If you missed it in theaters, you can stream it now on HBO Max.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
What’s Final Destination: Bloodlines About?
College student Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) is plagued by a recurring nightmare where she witnesses a would-be tragedy through her grandmother’s eyes. Searching for answers, Stefani returns home to learn more about her estranged family member. Soon, she discovers that decades ago, Grandma Iris (Gabrielle Rose) had a vision that helped her save hundreds of people from catastrophe during the opening of a towering new restaurant. Now, Death seeks to eliminate all those who escaped. That includes the people never meant to exist…like Stefani and her family. In order to beat Death once again, they’ll have to keep their eyes out for clues…but Death has a few new tricks up its sleeve.
John Waters Is a Big Fan
For Vulture, John Waters listed the best movies of 2025…and Final Destination: Bloodlines took the number two spot! Said Waters, “The best sequel to the coolest cinematic franchise ever. Ferocious, fractured, and filled with so many scary, twisted surprises — this picture goes beyond trash into a new realm of exploitation art.”
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Re-Inventing the Formula
Here’s the thing…I may not even have Bloodlines in my top ten horror list this year, but it’s hard to disagree with Waters on the rest. You could argue that the Final Destination movies have only gotten better as they go—not counting The Final Destination—and Bloodlines keeps that trend going. Directing team Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein (Freaks) may be new to the series, but they come in with an undeniable understanding of what makes Final Destination work. Over-the-top yet possible-in-real-life kills splatter the screen red. Elaborate set-ups by Death keep the audience on their toes. And the premise never takes itself too seriously, delivering gut-busting laugh after gut-busting laugh.
Six films in, franchises often run the risk of becoming stale. But not Final Destination. Somehow, some way, Bloodlines re-invents the concept to allow all sorts of new surprises from Death. Even the most hardcore Final Destination fans won’t see a lot of what the sequel has to offer coming. Opening on the standard premonition scene from the perspective of someone uninvolved (Stefani) completely flips the game. And that’s just the first of many new twists. Toss in lovable characters and a family element that tremendously raises the stakes, and you have a bloody blend of satisfying sequel juice. Let’s not forget that the film features franchise regular and horror icon Tony Todd in a heartfelt final performance in the series. R.I.P. Tony. We miss you.
Whether Bloodlines makes it into your top ten or not is beside the point. John Waters speaks the truth when he describes it as the best sequel of the franchise. Find out where you fall by streaming it on HBO Max now. And for more recs like this, follow me on Bluesky @werematt.
Categorized: Streaming News
