Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)

Death runs in the family.

R
1h 50m

Directed by: Zach Lipovsky
Story: Jon Watts
Premiered: May 14, 2025
Language: English
Status: Released
Budget: $50,000,000.00
Revenue: $315,630,814.00
Awards: 1 win & 4 nominations total
Country: United States of America

Final Destination Bloodlines

7.1/10 (2409 vote)

★★★★★★★★★★

Production: New Line Cinema
Practical Pictures
Freshman Year
Fireside Films

Spoiler

The chilling narrative of Final Destination Bloodlines unfolds with a terrifying premonition that sets in motion a relentless cycle of death. The year is 1969, and a young woman named Iris (Brec Bassinger) finds herself on a date with Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones) at Skyview, a newly opened, breathtakingly high-rise restaurant. Iris, already unnerved by the dizzying altitude, is further unsettled by a mischievous young boy who pilfers a penny from a wishing fountain. Their ascent in the glass elevator only amplifies her anxiety, as the same boy deliberately stomps on the elevator's glass floor, a deliberate act to provoke her fear.

Upon reaching Skyview, the atmosphere of celebration is subtly marred by an impending disaster. A bartender's uncorking of a wine bottle sends the cap flying, striking a chandelier and dislodging a shard of glass. This seemingly minor incident results in a crack appearing on the restaurant's reinforced glass floor, a harbinger of the chaos to come. Iris, increasingly overwhelmed by her phobia of heights and the unsettling events, retreats to the restroom. There, she confronts a personal revelation: she is several months pregnant. In the same restroom, she encounters the son of a singer, whose mother instructs him to wait. The singer, upon spotting Iris, offers her congratulations, unaware that Iris has not yet shared her news with Paul. The singer, however, senses Iris's apprehension and encourages her to embrace her happiness.

Paul, oblivious to Iris's secret, leads her to the observation deck, where he proposes marriage. It is at this moment of profound joy that Iris reveals her pregnancy. Paul's reaction is one of unadulterated elation, and Iris joyfully accepts his proposal. Their shared happiness is tragically interrupted by the same troublesome boy from earlier, who is now gleefully tossing pennies from the observation deck. One of these errant pennies finds its way into Skyview's ventilation system. A fan propels it, igniting a release of gas throughout the restaurant.

As Iris and Paul celebrate their engagement with other patrons on the glass dance floor, the floor catastrophically shatters. A cascade of guests plunges from the tower, and Paul is among the fatalities. Simultaneously, an open flame ignites the leaked gas, triggering a devastating explosion that engulfs multiple guests in flames. Iris's attempts to escape are met with a series of horrifying obstacles. The overloaded elevator plummets, its descent ending in a gruesome split of a man in half. The stairwells collapse under the frantic rush of fleeing patrons, and the tower's structural supports buckle, pressing terrified guests against the glass windows. In a final, macabre twist, the penny from earlier lands on a piano, sending it crashing through a woman and the windows, claiming the lives of most of the remaining guests. The penny-throwing child, who had seemingly escaped, is then crushed by the falling piano.

Amidst the carnage, Iris spots the singer's son, miraculously alive. Driven by a surge of maternal instinct, she navigates the collapsing restaurant to reach him. However, the floor gives way further, leaving Iris and the boy precariously clinging to a fragment of concrete. Iris's engagement ring snags on a support beam. The immense strain tears the skin from her ring finger, sending her and the boy plummeting to their deaths. The boy succumbs first, followed by Iris, who is impaled through the mouth by a massive shard of glass. This harrowing vision concludes with a cut to the present day, where Stefani Reyes (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) awakens screaming, the victim of a recurring premonition.

Stefani's recurring nightmare of the Skyview disaster has become a persistent torment, severely impacting her academic performance. Through her visions, she deduces that Iris is her estranged grandmother. Encouraged by her roommate, Stefani decides to take a leave of absence from college and return home to seek answers.

Upon her return, Stefani is reunited with her father, Marty (Tinpo Lee), and her younger brother, Charlie (Teo Briones). Her inquiries about Iris are met with a wall of silence from Marty, who harbors resentment, blaming Iris for the departure of Stefani's mother, Darlene (Rya Kihlstedt). Charlie, too, is distant, embittered by Stefani's absence since she left for college. Stefani then drives Charlie to visit their cousins, Julia Campbell (Anna Lore), Erik Campbell (Richard Harmon), and Bobby Campbell (Owen Patrick Joyner). It becomes evident that Stefani's estrangement has led Charlie to forge a stronger bond with his cousins.

Seeking further clarity, Stefani approaches her uncle Howard (Alex Zahara) and aunt Brenda (April Telek). Howard reacts with anger, recounting the profound trauma Iris endured due to the constant paranoia of Death's impending arrival, a trauma she passed on to her children after Paul's death. Brenda, however, discreetly guides Stefani to a hidden box of letters penned by Iris, which contained warnings to their family about Death's relentless pursuit.

Using these letters as a guide, Stefani locates Iris, now played by Gabrielle Rose. Iris has lived in a fortified compound for over two decades and is succumbing to cancer. She reveals a notebook filled with her meticulous research on Death, including documented accidents like the Route 23 pileup and the Flight 180 crash, both iconic events from the Final Destination franchise. Iris explains that she managed to save everyone from the Skyview premonition, but now Death is targeting their family, systematically working through a list of those who cheated their fate.

Iris implores Stefani to remain with her in the secure compound, but Stefani, despite her fear, attempts to flee. Iris rushes out to give Stefani her notes, accepting her own impending doom. Death intervenes, causing an impacted fire extinguisher to launch a weathervane directly into Iris's head, ending her life.

At Iris's funeral, Darlene, Stefani's mother, makes an appearance. She is now living a nomadic existence in an RV, moving from one trailer park to another. Stefani confronts her mother with fury over her abandonment during their childhood. Charlie echoes this sentiment, expressing his own hurt over Darlene's departure.

The Campbell family reconvenes at their home for a memorial barbecue, and Darlene joins them. Howard urges her to stay with them, but she declines. Howard then proposes a toast, encouraging everyone to cherish the time they have together. During the barbecue, a series of near-fatal incidents occur: a faulty gas tank nearly ignites Erik, a rake lies directly beneath Bobby as he bounces on a trampoline, and a broken shard of glass finds its way into someone's drink. Darlene intervenes, moving the rake, but an unattended bottle of Hice Pale Ale tumbles, causing a hose to inflate.

Meanwhile, back at her house, Stefani pores over Iris's notebook, sensing Death's presence. A gust of wind sends a family photograph to the floor, and a single shard of glass lands directly in front of her. Realizing the imminent danger, Stefani races to the barbecue. She arrives too late. The trampoline rips with Bobby on it, and the glass falls, landing upright. Howard steps on the shard, impaling his foot. At that precise moment, the inflated hose sends the rake falling onto their lawnmower, activating it and propelling it towards Howard's face, killing him instantly.

Following Howard's funeral, Stefani gathers the family to discuss Iris's notes. She reveals that Death has systematically claimed everyone who survived the Skyview premonition and defied their fate. Now, Death is targeting Iris's blood relatives in a specific order – Howard, Erik, Bobby, Julia, Darlene, Stefani, and Charlie – because their existence was never meant to be. The grieving Campbells, overwhelmed by their losses, react with anger towards Stefani and depart.

Later that night, as Erik is closing up at a tattoo parlor, a series of events leads to a near-fatal accident. A fan becomes entangled in chains, which snag on his nose ring, causing him to fall into a fire ignited by isopropyl alcohol. When Stefani and Charlie arrive to find him, Erik is miraculously alive, his leather jacket having protected him from the flames.

Stefani attempts to warn Erik about Death's plan, but he dismisses her concerns, even after a close call with an ambulance. Julia then urges Stefani to leave them alone. However, a chain of events ensues: nearby children kick a soccer ball, striking Julia in the head and causing her to fall into a garbage bin. A truck then picks up the bin and throws it into a compactor. As Stefani tries to intervene, with Charlie and Erik in pursuit, it is too late. The compactor crushes Julia's head.

The family, witnessing these events, begins to believe Stefani. When Stefani expresses confusion about the order of Death's targets, Brenda reveals that Erik was spared because he is not Howard's biological son. Stefani, Charlie, Darlene, and Bobby decide to seek out a "JB" who works at a hospital. Erik, concerned for Bobby's safety, joins them. During the journey, Stefani and Darlene begin to mend their fractured relationship.

At the hospital, "JB" is revealed to be William John Bludworth (Tony Todd), the son of the singer Iris had saved at Skyview. Bludworth and Iris had been close friends, collaborating on her research and tracking Death's movements. He explains the rules of Death's list and the potential ways to escape its grasp: either by taking another person's life to extend one's own, as seen in Final Destination 5, or by dying and being revived, a feat achieved by Kimberly Corman in Final Destination 2. Bludworth, also battling cancer, acknowledges his own impending demise and retires from his position, offering the family his best wishes and urging them to savor the remaining time they have.

While Stefani, Charlie, and Darlene strategize, Erik and Bobby decide to take matters into their own hands and venture off into the hospital. After dismissing the idea of killing a baby, they devise a plan: Erik will trigger Bobby's severe peanut allergy, and then Bobby will be revived at the hospital. While attempting to retrieve peanut butter cups from a vending machine, the coil malfunctions. Erik, frustrated, cracks the glass to access the cups.

The brothers then enter an MRI room and inadvertently activate the machine. After Bobby consumes the peanut butter cup, the machine's powerful magnet rips all of Erik's piercings from his body. A wheelchair then forces him into the machine, crushing him. Bobby crawls to Erik's body to retrieve his EpiPen and injects himself just as a nurse opens the door. The malfunctioning vending machine coil flies across the room, striking Bobby in the skull. A horrified Stefani, Charlie, and Darlene arrive to witness the tragedy. An elderly woman at the hospital picks up a coin, eerily similar to the one that initiated the Skyview disaster.

Now only three remain, Darlene decides her fate is to lock herself in Iris's compound and live out her remaining days there, ensuring Stefani and Charlie's survival. As they breach the compound gate using Darlene's RV, a malfunctioning light triggers an explosion. Stefani becomes trapped by a broken seatbelt, while Charlie is pinned by debris. Darlene frees Charlie, but a falling lamppost crushes her. Stefani appears to drown, but Charlie revives her. The siblings embrace, believing they have finally outsmarted Death.

A few days later, Stefani prepares to return to college. She escorts Charlie to his prom date. During this time, the elderly woman from the hospital accidentally drops the penny while purchasing cookies, sending it rolling onto train tracks. Stefani and Charlie learn that her revival was not a true escape from Death, as her heart never stopped. Stefani begins to notice signs that echo the Skyview premonition. A train derails and hurtles towards Stefani and Charlie. The siblings flee, evading the train, only for logs from the top of a nearby structure to fall, crushing them both.