Final Destination Bloodlines was a return to form for a horror franchise that hadn’t touched a movie theater in nearly 15 years. There are a number of reasons for the film’s success, but as any longtime Final Destination fan will tell you, the death scenes are a big part of it. You get the right combination of Rube Goldberg mayhem in your FD movie, and you’re well on your way to a hit.
Now that the film’s been out for a while, and even made its way to streaming, Bloodlines directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein are more willing to discuss spoilers, particularly when it comes to the death scenes. In a new chat with Letterboxd, the directing duo broke down each of the major kills in Bloodlines, and pointed out how one of them is unique among FD death sequences.
The death in question is one that was hyped in almost every teaser and TV spot for Bloodlines, the one that unfolds at a family cookout gone horribly wrong. It all culminates in Uncle Howard (Alex Zahara) getting his face chewed up by a lawnmower, but it starts much more innocently. A misplaced glass, a rake sitting threateningly under a trampoline, a falling Jenga tower all have roles to play in this kill scene. So, why was it in all the trailers? Because even when you see the finished film for the first time, Bloodlines has yet to give away who Death’s target might be.
“From having seen the movie, we all know Uncle Howard dies in that scene, but when you watch it the first time, you don’t know who’s gonna bite it,” Stein said.
Lipovsky added, “Which is unique for FD. Most setpieces start with you knowing who’s gonna die. This was one where you didn’t.”
To add to the complexity of the sequence, Stein and Lipovsky designed it in such a way that every single member of the family at the cookout contributes to Uncle Howard’s death in some way they can’t foresee. Whether they’re just putting a beer bottle down in the wrong spot or trying to move that rake for the safety of the family, they all have a hand in setting that lawnmower loose on Uncle Howard.
It’s a great sequence, and Stein noted that it was inspired by another FD classic: The gymnastics death in Final Destination 5. Both sequences are all about misdirection, and about how one misplaced object which pierces a person’s foot can set off a chain reaction that ends in buckets of blood. It’s no wonder our own Mary Beth McAndrews called Bloodlines “a disgusting delight” in her review.
Final Destination Bloodlines is now streaming on HBO Max.
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