Tag Archives: horror comedy

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES horror movie review

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Deliciously terrifying! Final Destination: Bloodlines is a sleek, thrilling experience that delivers heart-pounding, nightmare inducing fuel that feels familiar yet fresh. And underscoring the outside/action plot is an emotionally-driven family drama. You’ll root for their survival! After a decade-long hiatus, the Final Destination franchise roars back to life with Bloodlines—an edge-of-your-seat, high-octane installment that doesn’t just rest on its laurels on its signature Rube Goldberg-esque kills; rather, it dares to deepen the mythology and inject real emotional stakes. This isn’t just a parade of spectacularly elaborate kills; Bloodlines brings humanity and emotional vulnerability to the forefront, making every death feel earned—and every survival all the more desperate.

Plagued by a violent and recurring nightmare, a college student heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle of death and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.

Bloodlines doesn’t reinvent the “Final Destination” wheel, but it certainly retooled the 26yo engine. It’s faster, more furious, and surprisingly emotionally compelling—a rare horror film that makes you care who dies and how. (Except for perhaps Julia–pretty sure everyone applauded when she met her demise). By blending the franchise’s signature fatalism with real human drama, it proves that even after all these years, Death still has some fresh tricks up its sleeve. And it’s that “heart” that makes this installment different from the rest. After the original and traumatizing second movie (never drive behind a logging truck ever again), this is the first installment to inject an emotionally resonant core into the narrative. Despite the family drama, it’s clear that everyone cares about each other, even though some distance has grown between some of them. And the fact they care about one another compels us to root for their survival.

But what about the kills? The deaths, of course, are still inventively gory and meticulously choreographed—this is a Final Destination movie, after all—but they’re no longer the sole draw nor does the camera linger too long. Instead of being a schlocky bloodbath from beginning to end, this Final Destination movie is more punctuated with the death scenes, and never feel like the scenes themselves–the kills are more like buttons on a dramatic sequence that delivers sufficient setup, development, and resolution. Each death in Bloodlines serves a narrative purpose, reflecting character choices and emotional arcs. When someone dies, it’s not just shocking—it hurts. The deaths are all the more painful because our characters matter. Each character is given a moment to breathe, before the inevitable occurs. Character decisions matter; their respective relationship with each other and the world around them matter. When they die, it doesn’t feel like a spectacle; it feels like a loss (except for you, Julia, I think that was a gain).

Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, Bloodlines brings a more mature tone to the franchise without losing its pulse-pounding suspense. This isn’t just death coming for the next in line—death is unearthing long-buried histories, and the characters are forced to confront more than just their mortality–they are forced to confront family secrets. The screenplay benefits greatly from being measurably more character-driven than plot-driven, which bestows upon this movie a narrative quality seldom experienced in the Final Destination franchise (or nearly any horror franchise this far into its franchise). The film also expands the franchise’s mythology in subtle, intriguing ways, threading in ideas about fate as something both predetermined or inherited. Without diving too far into exposition, Bloodlines cleverly explores what it means to be marked—not just by death, but by family history.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the final appearance of the late horror great Tony Todd. Like Vincent Price, Todd’s mere presence in a horror film added a qualitative dimension that could not be replicated by any other actor. Todd’s contributions to horror and science-fiction TV (namely Star Trek) are many and each delivered with class. RIP.

Final Destination: Bloodlines isn’t just a refreshing return to form—it’s a redefinition. It proves that slasher-adjacent (which this is; we just don’t see the slasher) movies can be character-first without losing the terrifying or nightmare-inducing edge. Bloodlines also subverts our feelings about being a survivor in a horror movie–sometimes the scariest thing isn’t dying–it’s questioning why you’re still alive.

Ryan is the general manager for 90.7 WKGC Public Media in Panama City and host of the public radio show ReelTalk about all things cinema. Additionally, he is the author of the upcoming film studies book titled Monsters, Madness, and Mayhem: Why People Love Horror. After teaching film studies for over eight years at the University of Tampa, he transitioned from the classroom to public media. He is a member of the Critics Association of Central Florida and Indie Film Critics of America. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Follow him on Twitter: RLTerry1 and LetterBoxd: RLTerry

“Zombieland: Double Tap” horror comedy mini review

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Worth the wait! Whereas some sequels try to imitate the original, Zombieland: Double Tap functions as a hilarious companion piece to the original. Perhaps the plot isn’t as compelling, and lacks the social commentary of the original, but you will undoubtedly have a fantastic time watching this movie. Personally, I enjoyed it even more than the first one. Believe me, I was as shocked as you are right now. If you loved the chemistry between all the characters in the first tone, you will be delighted to know that the characters are just as strong thanks to the return of the original writers and director! To be fair, this doesn’t function as a stand-alone movie, and needs the relationship with the original for much of the humor. However, as I mentioned, this is a companion piece to the first one. There is demonstrable growth witnessed in our ensemble case of central characters, but they aren’t the only ones to have developed off screen over the last decade. Hoards of new zombies have evolved that pose quite the threat to our favorite zombie hunters. In addition to encountering new zombies, we are introduced to some new human survivor characters as well. While this movie may not be as deep as the original, it does a great job of driving home the message of the importance of family. Even when your family is make-shift, the needs for love, acceptance, and even independence are still the same. Highly recommend for fans of the original! Be sure to stay for the end credits scene featuring Bill Murray.

Ryan teaches screenwriting at the University of Tampa. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Interested in Ryan making a guest appearance on your podcast or contributing to your website? Send him a DM on Twitter or email him at RLTerry1@gmail.com! You can catch Ryan most weeks at Studio Movie Grill Tampa, so if you’re in the area, feel free to catch a movie with him!

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“Office Killer” Throwback Thursday movie review

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Ever see one of those indie horror-comedies that was panned by the critics when it came out a couple decades ago just to realize that if it was released today that it would be the talk of the horror community? Well, that is 1997’s Office Killer starring Carol Kane (When a Stranger Calls), Molly Ringwald, and directed by famed photographer Cindy Sherman. Kane delivers an outstandingly bananas performance that is a combination of Norman Bates and Patrick Bateman. Sherman certainly displays her adoration for the cinematography of Hitchcock’s films in many of the scenes in how the shots are framed and blocked. You’re hard-pressed to find many reviews of this horror-comedy even on LetterBoxd. It’s baffling to me why this movie hasn’t received more attention from the horror community on Twitter, blogs, and podcasts. Perhaps it’s because it is no incredibly obscure that you have a hard time even finding it on DVD, let alone streaming. A friend of mine had to order his copy of the movie from Spain. That is how difficult it is to find this movie. Even the few reviews I found were not flattering–except a couple that write about what I witness in this movie. The title works in two ways (1) it’s a description of how even in the 90s there was a fear that computers would kill the traditional office environment and (2) the literal description of a slasher in the office. Furthermore, there are plenty of moments and kills that serve as a freudian commentary on the American workplace. So I suppose it’s up to me to direct attention to this horror gem!

From the beginning, I had a feeling that I was in store for a highly artistic indie darling of a movie as soon as I saw the fantastically creative opening credits accompanied by a creepy score. Following the opening credits, there was a very Hitchcock shot that intrigued me and tipped its hat to Sherman channeling her award-winning photography into the moving images on the screen. Typically, horror movies don’t have narration but we begin with a narration. Not knowing anything about this movie, I was completely unsure of what to expect. Even the first kill didn’t tell me that I was about to watch a slasher. But as I learned more about Dorine (Kane), the more I was sucked into her world and completely intrigued by her choices and lack of social awareness. Playing opposite Kane is the indelible Molly Ringwald as the bitchy, judgy coworker Kim. Her performance is great! Not great in that it’s a phenomenal performance, but great in that she showed that she can play a character that is in stark contrast to most of the characters she has played throughout her longstanding career. Most of the performances are caricatures of various people found in a typical office. In fact, I’m curious if The Office ever parodied Office Killer because it seems like a missed opportunity if not. If you are aware of an episode that pays homage to Office Killer, let me know!

Perhaps the strength of this movie is not the acting (albeit, Kane is fantastic), but the strength is in the production design, costuming, plot, and Freudian themes. On the plot. Yes, the plot. You may be scratching your head because most reviews have slammed the plot. But I feel that 1997 critics and even those who come across this film today largely missed the point of the plot. It’s not supposed to be a compelling story with thought provoking imagery and characters, it’s supposed to be a 70/80s horror movie that is darkly funny! It’s just happens to be taking place in the mid 1990s. Perhaps this movie came out too close to the 70s/80s and thus felt old and cheesy. I posit that if this movie came out today, that it would be praised for its embrace of what we love about 70s/80s slasher movies! We don’t watch and rewatch these movies because they have incredible plots. We watch them because they are lots of fun! And Office Killer is incredibly fun to watch. While we may not know precisely why Dorine’s switch flipped and she went full–what I’ll call–Norman Bateman, we are given indicators of her unstable psyche through her flashbacks to her sexually abusive father and complacent mother, and of course the present story of most of her coworkers bullying her. Those three elements, plus the opportunity, work together to set her up to be a total psycho. Her actual kills may not be creative–that is, the method by which she kills–but the creativity comes into play afterwards with the corpses piling up in her house. She talks to them, plays with them, articulates them in such a manner that they become her action figures so to speak. It’s incredibly creepy but in a comedic way.

Now for those Freudian elements. This is what I find most fascinating about the movie; and what should provoke conversations amongst cinephiles and horror enthusiasts. One of the earliest shots in the movie is an extreme closeup (or ECU) of a staff member’s mouth as she is on the phone. Her red lipstick accentuates her mouth and points to the Freudian oral fixation. The scenes that follow depict female office staff members in a variety of different capacities and situations. It appears as though Sherman was painting a portrait of the male gaze over the female body. Moreover, what this movie appears to comment on and depict is Freud’s study on Fetishism. According to Freud’s study, and not to over simplify, fetishism is a fixation on an object or physiological practice of a substitution for intercourse following a sexual desire awakening in the body and mind. In more contemporary terms, the definition of fetish has evolved beyond just sexuality, but is generally still associated with sexual practices. Since likely paternal sexual abuse happened to and her mother turned her head to the allegations, in an effort to deal with the trauma, Dorine substituted what she wanted to do to her parents and others who abuse or bully her by engaging in slasher-style killings.

Each of the kills is a warped poetic justice based upon what Dorine saw as wrong with the victim. A great example of this is the attempted strangling of Kim. Since Kim ran her mouth constantly, Dorine sought to silence her voice. This same idea can be applied to the other kills too, and even in how the corpses are treated in Dorine’s basement. There is a playful nature in Dorine’s approach to the kills and even more so with her interactions with them afterwards. The depths of her psychosis are revealed one layer at a time. Even when you think that Dorine is about to get caught, she gets away with it; she alludes her would-be captors by searching the want ads and heading for another job in an office–perhaps your office! With each kill, Dorine integrated an element of that victim into her own life. She goes from mousy, frumpy to stylish and seductive. Her office underwent a transition and so did she. Dorine killed her former self to become the self that she wants to be. There is so much to enjoy about this horror comedy, and it baffles me that more horror fans and cinephiles have not talked about this movie. If you can somehow get ahold of a copy, then I highly recommend it if you enjoy slasher movies with a tough of style and laughter.

 

You can catch Ryan most weeks at Studio Movie Grill Tampa, so if you’re in the area, let him know and you can join him at the cinema.

Ryan teaches screenwriting at the University of Tampa. If you like this article, check out the others and FOLLOW this blog! Interested in Ryan making a guest appearance on your podcast or contributing to your website? Send him a DM on Twitter!

Follow him!

Twitter: RLTerry1

Instagram: RL_Terry