'Final Destination: Bloodlines' & 'Bring Her Back'

by Philip Price

Final Destination: Bloodlines

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Honestly, for what this needed to be, “Final Destination: Bloodlines” delivers the goods. It’s a solid twist on the original concept, as much a mystery as it's a slasher with an invisible villain, as well as some authentically earnest and genuinely funny performances - Kaitlyn Santa Juana anchoring the antics, with Richard Harmon providing the comic relief and breakout. 
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The performances are all in tune with the tone, there are some great needle drops and even if the kills themselves feel a little oddly paced as compared to entries of the past, the quality of everything else is so much higher than this type of schlock deserves you almost don’t mind the slower frequency; quality over quantity, as they say.

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Bring Her Back

Photo: Stage 6 Films

The hook isn’t as catchy as the one in “Talk to Me,” but the textures around many of the same themes resonate more deeply. As a parent, I can’t imagine losing one of my children and would admittedly do whatever I could to save their life. I'm not sure I could ever fully accept the supernatural enough to attempt anything remotely similar to what's happening in “Bring Her Back,” especially at the cost of depriving others of what was taken from me, is incomprehensible. Each of the children in this film has a story that is heartbreaking and tragic. It's how the Philippou brothers match the barbarity of the violence depicted with the depth and authenticity of the characterizations and their relationships with one another that make their films not necessarily scary, but genuinely disturbing. I was gasping for air by the third act.

​The way the Philippous utilize sound is also as striking, if not more so, than the horrific physical abuse inflicted on young characters and the compelling ways in which they tie together their thematic threads. The crunch of teeth, the peeling of certain surfaces, you won't only be wincing at the screen - you'll be plugging your ears. Not to mention the set-ups and pay-offs of a handful of little details that really layer the discussions around tremendous loss, the level of empathy we extend those who have experienced as much, and reconciling that with the evil Sally Hawkins' character deploys despite feeling said empathy towards her; it’s messy but it means to be - thorny subject matter to prick the audience. Speaking of Hawkins and speaking of feeling bristled, she's beyond infuriating from moment one, managing to add shades of menace to her typically merry persona.

Additionally, has anyone ever dropped the title of their previous film so intentionally into another of their films only to follow it up later with the present film's title line?