Pulls out all the stops… and puts in a few, too. This one’s for the fans.

Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) begins having a recurring nightmare while away at college about a young woman (Brec Bassinger) dying in a horrific tragedy back in the sixties. Deprived of sleep and unable to focus on her schoolwork , she learns from her family the truth about Iris (Gabrielle Rose), her estranged maternal grandmother. Back in 1968, Iris said she saw “Death’s Design,” warned everyone, and averted the crisis… except survivors began dying off in bizarre accidents in the order she saw them originally die. Against the wishes of her family, Stefani confronts Iris at her reclusively remote death-proof cabin to bear witness to Iris’s obsessive documentation. When the granddaughter remains unconvinced of the danger ahead, the grandmother does the unthinkable… proving it the only way she can.

It’s been 25 years since the first Final Destination and almost 15 years since Final Destination 5; filmmaking technology has since grown by leaps and bounds in the superhero era. Fans of the series (easily recognized for their aversions to logging trucks) have been salivating over the trailer clips and gleeful over the morbid marketing. Working from a script by Guy Busick (Abigail, Ready or Not, Scream), Lori Evans Taylor, and Jon Watts, Freaks directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein understand visual effects and putting money up on the screen, so this must have been the opportunity of a lifetime (so to speak). As always, Rube Goldberg-infused Hitchcockian-dread horror is the Angel of Death’s modus operandi, the palpable anticipation of each ending served up to be savored. Shall we see who’s on today’s docket? I’m sure I have a yellow sticky with a name on it somewhere…

A staple of the series has always been Death calling its shot, like a switch hitter pointing into the parking lot behind the outfield; Bloodlines is no exception. At the same time, it may also be the best of the series overall, balancing characterization, ensemble interactions, and story to make it more than setup, kill, repeat. It’s also fun for audiences to follow the camera pointing out potential pitfalls yet still enabling them in surprising ways, including the order of the hit list. It’s a ride as much as it’s a movie, and the filmmakers understood the assignment. You do know it’s a bit demented to enjoy all of this, don’t you? Not judging; I’m right there in that handbasket with you.

The story toys with the audience the same way Death toys with victims. Music choices are also a must, whether it’s a clever lyric on the radio or the house band being ironic. A few setups are nigh impossible, bypassing multiple safety mechanisms to turn a simple appliance or power tool into a method of capital punishment… especially when it comes to hospital equipment. Fortunately, amusement overrides the impossible if there’s a cool way to do it, and these folks have quite the imagination. Cast standouts include Bassinger’s young Iris, Juana’s sleep-deprived Stefani (although the effects of her exhaustion seem to conveniently vanish), and Richard Harmon’s disaffected-yet-likable Erik caring more the he pretends not to. Bonus fun: watch for Erik’s coffee mug.

One thing even Bloodlines still fails to address is why anyone is ever given these premonitions, a Cassandra-like curse of inevitability that no one believes nor anyone escapes, more often blaming the seer. Could it all stem from the Princess of Troy spurning the Greek god Apollo, or is there a trickster demon out there who enjoys making it difficult for Death to keep up a quota? Call it fate, call it luck, call it karma, all I will say is this: whatever or whomever it is had damn well hope this grim reaper never catches up to it — because it will not be over quickly… and they will not enjoy it (insert sinister laugh here).

Final Destination: Bloodlines is rated R for strong violent/grisly accidents, language, and the final film performance of beloved actor Tony Todd: “Good luck.”

Four skull recommendation out of four