Spoilers ahead for Final Destination Bloodlines
Death is back and he has a bigger hit list this time. After 14 years we get another installment in the Final Destination franchise. Final Destination Bloodlines is finally out in theaters and the stakes are higher than ever.
Final Destination Bloodlines is about the Campbell family and their fight to beat death. This movie technically kick started the popular chain of premonitions and the chaos that ensues after. This disaster occurs in the 50's way before any of the other movies. Iris Campbell escapes death after seeing the Skyview crumble to pieces. She saves hundreds of lives that were meant to die that day. Death doesn't take no for an answer so eventually it picks off the survivors one by one.
In this movie there are a couple of nods to the movies that came before. The survival guide book made by Iris contained quite a few Easter eggs. Here is a list of all the references to the franchise:
1. Flight 180
When Iris first shows Stefani the survival book the pages are filled with ways everyone can die. Within the pages there is a plane that is a reference to the very first Final Destination. The plane is a hint to flight 180 when Alex and his classmates boarded for Paris.
2. Log truck
The log truck is a very famous scene that has traumatized many drivers from driving behind one. The original scene is from Final Destination 2 when Kimberly and her friends take exit 180 and a gigantic crash happens involving a log truck. The log truck is referenced a couple of times in the movie, appearing in the survival book, on the road almost crashing into the RV, and of course it reappears at the very end.
3. Kimberly Corman
Kimberly Corman is named dropped towards the end of the movie by Tony Todd's character JB. JB mentions Kimberly because she was the only one to survive and beat death. The only way to survive is to either kill someone else or to flatline and then be resurrected. Kimberly flatlines in the second movie and is then revived breaking death's chain.
4. Hope River Hospital
Once Stefani, Charlie, and Darlene figure out where JB is they mention Hope River Hospital which was the same hospital from Final Destination 2. Darlene even calls it the Clear River Hospital which is a nod to Clear Rivers who was a legacy character in Final Destination and Final Destination 2.
5. Tony Todd as William Bludworth
The greatest reference in the film is of course the reprise of Tony Todd's character William Bludworth aka JB. Bludworth has made an appearance in almost every single Final Destination movie, serving as a warning to the rest of the characters. He is essential to the storyline as he explains the rules of death, so naturally he had to do it one last time.
6. "It's not you I'm afraid of"
When Stefani goes to visit Iris for some answers she is stopped at the gate. Iris tells her to empty all her pockets and Stefani claims she isn't any danger to Iris to which she responds with "it's not you I'm afraid of." This is a call back to Final Destination 2 when Clear Rivers says the same exact thing to Kimberly at the psychiatric hospital.
7. Homage death scenes
There are a couple of deaths that happen in the film that are clear homages to previous death scenes. I don't want to spoil too much but the deaths that are referenced are the gymnastics scene from Final Destination 5, Kimberly drowning in Final Destination 2, Terry getting hit by a bus in Final Destination, Peter being impaled in Final Destination 5, and a couple others so pay close attention to each death.
There are quite a few references and Easter eggs in Final Destination Bloodlines. There may be a few more that are missing from this list but these are the most obvious ones that I could find. The movie did a great job at acknowledging the movies in the past while trying to be original in its own way.
Final Destination Bloodlines is playing in theaters now!