Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) Film Review

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.

Final Destination: Bloodlines is directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein both of which directed Freaks (2018) and Kim Possible (2019) while Lipovsky independently directed Tasmanian Devils (2013), Leprechaun: Origins (2014) and Dead Rising: Watchtower (2015). Final Destination: Bloodlines is the sixth installment in the Final Destination series, the film serves as a sequel to Final Destination 5 (2011).

The Final Destination series is back after 14 years and what a way to make a return, Bloodlines takes the formula of the previous films and tweaks it a bit in it’s own way without completely losing the idea of the franchise. Combine that with some surprisingly great character writing, direction and of course some memorable plus well done kills and you have yourself a wonderful addition to the series.

The performances are quite great, I would go as far to say that Bloodlines has some of the best acting of the franchise. Kaitlyn Santa Juana does a pretty solid job as the lead, while her character Stefani Reyes might not be my favorite main character of the series I do appreciate what she added to the franchise and I do think the script complimented that quite well. The idea of the film being about family bloodlines and death going after the family tree is such a neat idea that was executed so well especially when you look at the bond Santa Juana shares with the rest of the cast. It’s strong and does get the viewer to feel for her and wanting her to make it out of this alive, her acting has a few hiccups but for the most part she nails this down quite well.

The performances that surprised me the most were Richard Harmon as Erik Campbell and Owen Patrick Joyner as Bobby Campbell, at first they come off as very traditional horror movie characters. Erik coming off as the typical jerk and Bobby just sort of being there but slowly over the course of the film the writing actually develops these characters into something more. The family bond between Erik and Owen is genuinely sweet and often times kind of humorous, the writing really makes these two come off as people you might know in your family. This was surprising given that Final Destination as a franchise is not particularly known for its character writing, while it’s not anything very deep the fact that it’s here at all is worth something. The performances from the two are also quite genuine and a lot of fun which helps add to the film.

The late Tony Todd gives his final performance in the franchise (in general he has 6 more projects according to IMDb) and the way the film sends him off is quite powerful, Tony Todd appears only in one scene but it’s perhaps one of the best moments of the franchise. We also do get to learn about William John Bludworth’s backstory which is quite effectively done. The way they tied Bludworth into the story was clever and meaningful, this is something that could have easily went down the whole “let’s shove as many references from the franchise as possible” route but instead they focused on giving Bludworth proper character moments and a very strong send off that admittedly made me emotional.

The writing in particular was quite strong this time around, as I said before the character writing was surprisingly well written. It allowed the characters to have some complexity rather than just be there for the sole reason of being killed off, the movie actually gets you to feel for these characters and root for them to make it out alive. It’s a surprising yet welcome change that gives the film a bit more to stand on when it comes to standing out from the series.

The kills manage to capture the craziness and fun of the previous films, they are not that much different from what they were in the past. However that’s not a bad thing (far from it) if anything it shows that the franchise fits like a glove in the modern day and can be just as fun now as it was years ago, the film captures the atmosphere of the previous films as well with tons of suspenseful moments and actually makes the viewer look at the negative space of certain shots to see how Death could strike. There’s one particular kill in this film that is absolutely insane in all the best ways, I won’t spoil it here but it just screams the spirit of the franchise.

Overall Final Destination: Bloodlines is a fantastic addition to the series, it’s a sequel that in a lot of ways surpasses a lot of it’s predecessors thanks to some strong writing, great characters and bringing something new to the table while also complimenting it’s predecessors.

Final Destination: Bloodlines is playing in theaters.

8/10 B+

Until Dawn (2025) Film Review

One year after her sister disappeared, Clover and her friends head to the remote valley where she vanished to search for answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they soon encounter a masked killer who murders them one by one. However, when they mysteriously wake up at the beginning of the same night, they’re forced to relive the terror over and over again.

Until Dawn is directed by David F. Sandberg director of Lights Out (2016), Annabelle: Creation (2017), Shazam (2019) and Shazam Fury of the Gods (2023)

I’ll start out by saying that I have not played the game Until Dawn so maybe that has something to do with how I did not mind this movie as much. The whole thing about this movie is that while it is set in the same universe the story is an original standalone story that expands on the game’s ideas. Whether this move actually worked really varies from person to person, I will say though it’s not as bad as you would think or expect there’s some parts here to really like.

The performances are fine for what they are, I do think Odessa A’zion is the best out of the bunch simply because she always tends to give a solid performance and that’s no exception here. Peter Stormare reprising his role as Dr. Hill from the video game is quite neat as well, although I haven’t played the game as I said before I still find it quite neat they included him. He also does a pretty solid job here as well, Stormare captures the atmosphere quite well and comes off as pretty intimidating. He’s able to make some scenes that would otherwise be very flat into something at least atmospheric and interesting.

The kills are surprisingly quite solid, they actually do end up getting gnarly at times which I most certainly was not expecting. It helps that the practical effects really give this extra push to them that really makes the kills all the more nasty.

The main issue here really comes down to the writing, unfortunately the character writing is incredibly basic with a ton of stock horror movie characters that you come to expect. David F. Sandberg a director who I typically really like when it comes to horror, tries his best with his direction, which at times you do get a few moments between these characters that do feel genuine. But the script from Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler really weighs it all down with very little for the viewer to chew on and finishing on such an anticlimactic ending really makes the movie incredibly forgettable.

The ideas are there and the atmosphere is what it needs to be, but the script never allows the ideas to get stronger or develop. The tension never builds up outside of the kills which while they are neat can’t really build strong atmosphere on their own.

Overall I don’t think Until Dawn is horrendous as there was some level of attempt here. But neat kills, fine enough acting and a few solid moments can really only do so much.

Until Dawn is available on all VOD platforms.

4/10 D+

Bob Trevino Likes It (2025) Film Review

Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger, sharing her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.

Bob Trevino Likes It is directed by Tracie Laymon which is her directorial debut!

Bob Trevino Likes It is one of those films where you can really tell that right from the beginning there was heart poured into it, considering the film’s themes and that it is actually based off of a true story that might not be exactly shocking to hear (especially if you read the true story) but it’s still quite impressive and beautiful how well this film connects with the viewer.

The performances are absolutely beautiful, Barbie Ferreira is absolutely incredible here and really shows her power as an actress. The quiet moments involving her in this film broke me at times, her character Lily Trevino is someone who just wants to belong after her biological father Robert Trevino (played by French Stewart) shows how irredeemable and evil he really is. The theme of belonging is played so well especially with Ferreira’s performance she really captures this sense of wanting to belong and trying to make sense of it all, Ferreira’s facial expressions and body language really do a lot of the talking and completely give her this powerhouse performance.

John Leguizamo gives such a beautiful performance here as well, his connection with Barbie Ferreira is genuinely beautiful and at times a real tearjerker. Over the course of the film we see two get closer and it’s something that the viewer constantly roots for, Leguizamo also fits like a glove as this father figure his performance as Bob Trevino shows a lot of personality, confusion at first but willing to help and strikes this beautiful cord earnestness. There’s so many beautiful moments here that the viewer can relate to and it’s all due to the bond between Ferreira and Leguizamo that hit all the emotional beats needed.

The script from Tracie Laymon does a spectacular job of really telling this incredible story, as I mentioned earlier there is this theme of wanting to belong but there is also a theme of healing through unexpected places or connections. We see that through the bond of Lily and Bob as the film progresses, we also get to see Lily go on this journey of healing from trauma and abandonment. The theme of small acts of kindness is also present here, Bob displaying these what would be considered by some people to be just small acts of kindness could mean so much more to someone else. In this case these small acts of kindness means so much to Lily and impacts her healing journey. The film really shows how simple acts of kindness can really help someone especially if they are not use to receive those acts.

Something that I have purposely left out up until now is what really helps Bob Trevino Likes It is Tracie Laymon is basing it off the life of herself and how she made a friendship she strikes up while looking for her father. So we get to have this personal feel to the film like Laymon invited us over to tell us her story and it’s beautifully told in this way that it feels like a friend is telling you a story. It has this charm that is incredibly raw especially with the performances and how striking they really are. It’s such a beautiful way of telling this story that it brings the viewer to tears (i definitely cried at times.)

Overall Bob Trevino Likes It is one of the best films of the year, I’m very excited to see what’s in store for Tracie Laymon as a director because this was quite impressive. It’s a powerful story about healing, belonging and acts of kindness that really delivers in every single way possible.

Bob Trevino Likes It is available on all VOD platforms.

9/10 A

Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) Film Review

Shadyside High’s 1988 prom queen election becomes deadly for underdog Lori as candidates are targeted.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is directed by Matt Palmer who previously directed Calibre (2018). This film serves as the fourth installment in the Fear Street film series!

The first three Fear Street films were quite fun for what they were, I really liked the different styles each of the films went for tackling different eras of the genre. It all combined together in this neat little package that ended up working in each of the films favor, so I was pretty excited to see another film being in the works. Even when it was announced Leigh Janiak would not be returning and Matt Palmer would be taking over I still had hope, Calibre (2018) was a really solid thriller (definitely one of the better Netflix thrillers that’s for sure) and I was hoping Matt Palmer would hit it out of the park with this one….that is sadly not the case.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is a complete and total mess and shares a lot of the worst aspects of a terrible slasher film, outside of a few good performances and some decent kills this very much feels like Matt Palmer (who directed and wrote this movie) and Donald McLeary (who also wrote this movie) had next to no idea what they were doing, the movie completely misses the charm and fun of the trilogy and struggles heavily in the character development.

The performances are mostly questionable, aside from Ariana Greenblatt who’s barely in the film and Suzanna Son who is really trying her hardest to get something out of the script. Everyone else is either not given anything to work with or are just terrible, India Fowler makes for a very forgettable lead and her character Lori Granger has very little to keep the viewer interested. Fowler definitely tries to bring something to the table during the movie’s second half with the more quiet moments, but even then just getting a somewhat decent line of dialogue is like pulling teeth.

The kills are decent enough, but they are not enough to really save this movie at all. Especially when you as the viewer end up not caring about a single one of these characters. Which leads me to what completely breaks the movie…the writing, look I was not expecting a slasher movie to have masterclass character writing let alone writing in general. But when you compare this to the previous Fear Street films you can see the difference almost immediately, while the previous three films did have some hiccups writing wise. At the very least the character writing was genuinely interesting and we got to know those characters, it helps that the films ooze with charm.

Fear Street: Prom Queen gives below the bare minimum character writing with nothing the viewer can chew on, the reveal at the end is laughably bad and feels like they were on a time crunch so they thought of the most ridiculous idea possible. The writing itself is also filled to the brim with terrible horror cliches that any horror fan will roll their eyes at, it’s predictable is a huge step down from the previous three movies as mentioned before.

I think if Fear Street: Prom Queen was its own thing and did not have the Fear Street name this could have easily just been written off as a terrible yet harmless slasher film. But going by the intention and what it’s presented as, this is a terrible addition to the series and easily the worst of the series. Prom Queen fails to capture the fun character moments, atmosphere, or interest of the rest of the series.

Fear Street: Prom Queen is available on Netflix.

1/10 F

Fountain Of Youth (2025) Film Review

Two estranged siblings partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth. They must use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an adventure that will change their lives and possibly lead to immortality.

Fountain Of Youth is directed by Guy Richie director of Snatch (2000), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011), Aladdin (2019), Wrath Of Man (2021), The Covenant (2023), The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) and a few others.

Fountain Of Youth is basically if you took National Treasure and Indiana Jones but made them both incredibly dull. This movie is a straight to streaming film and it’s one of those cases where you can really feel that, sure the movie might look big and scale and the filming is actually quite decent at times. But it really does end up being a shrunken down version of better films.

The performances are fine enough, nobody here really does anything noteworthy which is a bit of a disappointment because you have John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza González and Stanley Tucci (who is very underused) all in the same movie yet all their performances are either forgettable or are not impressive. It does not help that Krasinski and Portman have zero chemistry, sure there’s a few decent moments of dialogue but the chemistry feels like dead air right from the start.

The action scenes I will say provided some surprisingly entertaining moments, they are not anything mind blowing but they are at the very least fun enough. Christopher Benstead’s score is also pretty solid as well, it definitely gives off the feel of an adventure and manages to capture this adventurous atmosphere that actually does a lot of the heavy lifting in the atmosphere department.

The writing is what kills this movie, there’s just not a whole lot going on here narratively, it’s all very predictable and goes on for way too long. The “twist” the movie tries to say is a surprise reveal is incredibly predictable and narratively is incredibly ridiculous, it’s odd because the first half of the movie is not that bad. It’s when the movie becomes an unimaginative version of National Treasure and Indiana Jones it really falls off a cliff and never recovers.

There is not much more to say about Fountain Of Youth, outside of some decent actions, a solid score and fine enough acting you are not going to get much else out of this one.

Fountain Of Youth is available on Apple TV+

4/10 D+

The Surrender (2025) Film Review

When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual and bring him back from the dead.

The Surrender is directed by Julia Max which is her directorial debut.

The Surrender is one of those films where it takes it’s sweet time to get going, right from the beginning the film establishes a quite thrilling and haunting atmosphere that helps establish the characters, setting and overall themes of the film.

Without the performances from Colby Minifie and Kate Burton the film would not have worked nearly as well as it did, the two bring these natural performances that really match the film’s dark atmosphere and really bring the viewer front and center into what is exactly going on here. Although some of the character choices can be questionable and some of the writing does have a few hiccups, the performances from Minifie and Burton feel natural and quite relatable enough to keep the film on its feet. The mother and daughter bond between Burton and Minifie feels raw and does a really solid job of establishing their relationship early on, Minifie is definitely the emotional core of the film where there are some quite devastating scenes that heavily make the second half of the film all the more worth it.

The script from Julia Max is quite strong, the first half of the film is more of a family drama with a haunting atmosphere. The film takes a bit to set the stage for what’s to come during the second half which is where the horror kicks in, Max does a really solid job of balancing family drama and horror. When she needs to, she combines the two together incredibly well to create something quite haunting and surprisingly quite sad.

There’s this theme of trying to make sense that loved one is gone as well as going through grief. Which although the theme of grief has been done quite a lot, The Surrender manages to make things a bit more interesting. It brings this desperation to the table and question of “what if you can bring a loved one back from the day?” the catch is you have to destroy the personal possessions of said person which is where things get really hard for Megan (played by Colby Minifie) and Barbara (played by Kate Burton) It’s hard to let go even when you are supposedly promised your loved one will return and you can feel the pain through the characters.

Overall The Surrender is a well directed and well written film that has two fantastic performances from Minifie and Burton. Julia Max takes the themes of grief, letting go and relationships of mothers and daughters and really explores them in this devastating and haunting way that is sure going to stick with the viewer as the credits roll.

The Surrender releases tomorrow on Shudder!

8/10 B+

The Ballad Of Wallis Island (2025) Film Review

Old tensions resurface when former bandmates who were former lovers reunite for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is directed by James Griffiths who previously directed Cuban Fury (2014). The film is based on the 2007 short film The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is a pretty straightforward story about the relationships with art we both make and admire, the film does have its hiccups particularly in the character writing department but there is so much passion felt here especially through the acting and flow of the film.

The acting all around is quite great, Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan all give beautiful performances that are genuinely meaningful especially as the film goes on. While the character writing is a bit lacking as we don’t really get some critical answers to some of these characters and are kind of left in this unknown area, what makes them work is the acting. It’s raw, beautiful and striking which is more than enough to bring the viewer along for the ride.

The direction from James Griffiths is earnest and gives this beautiful look at Charles (played by Tim Key) looking up to Herb McGwyer (played by Tom Basden) and Nell Mortimer (played by Carey Mulligan) and inspiration for music, it’s genuinely touching and displays tons of beautifully done moments that you can really feel their bond growing through the screen.

The cinematography combined with the music is beautiful as well, the mountain town and folk music aesthetics really add a lot of flavor to the film and build the atmosphere it needs to really deliver. The cinematography from G. Magni Ágústsson really brings the whole beauty of the film together in the end with tons of shots that stay with you until the credits.

Overall The Ballad Of Wallis Island is a beautifully acted and done film that really inspires you especially when it comes to its theming.

The Ballad Of Wallis Island is available on all VOD platforms.

7/10 B

Nonnas (2025) Film Review

After losing his beloved mother, a man risks everything to honor her by opening an Italian restaurant with actual nonnas — grandmothers, as the chefs.

Nonnas is directed by Stephen Chbosky director of The Four Corners Of Nowhere (1995), The Perks Of Being a Wallflower (2012), Wonder (2017) and Dear Evan Hansen (2021). Nonnas is based on the life of Joe Scaravella the owner of Staten Island restaurant Enoteca Maria who risks everything to honor his late mother by opening a restaurant with grandmothers as chefs.

Nonnas is exactly what you expect it to be, a heartwarming film that really touches your heart incredibly quickly. The cast is incredibly likable and even at times manages to elevate the material into delivering some great performances, there’s even some themes of love, grief and healing going on here (even if they aren’t executed in a very deep way.)

The performances are the best part of the movie, Vince Vaughn actually gives one of his better performances here. It’s not anything groundbreaking but this is one of the rare occasions where you can feel the passion is there, it helps that the script from Liz Maccie while not anything incredible still gives Vaughn something to work with. In the end he comes off as incredibly charming and really does a solid job with bouncing off of the rest of the cast.

Susan Sarandon, Lorraine Branco, Talia Shire and Brenda Vaccaro are all just fantastic, each of them brings this certain level of charm to the movie that really brings the viewer along for the ride. The disagreements and remarks they throw at each other gives the movie some decent laughs and the performances from all of them in general is really solid. It helps that they all are fully committed to their performances, which is mainly what keeps the movie afloat.

The rest of the movie is decent, the true story is told in this straightforward way that does not harm or really benefit the movie. The writing is filled to the brim with charm, there’s some moments of tackling grief with Joe Scaravella (played by Vince Vaughn) trying to move on from his recently deceased mother, even if these moments are not anything incredibly deep it’s nice that they are here in the first place.

Overall Nonnas is a movie that’s pretty straightforward and is incredibly charming, there might not be a whole lot going on here theme or writing wise. But it is undeniably a cute and heartwarming story that the cast manages to make work.

Nonnas is available on Netflix.

6/10 C+

A Minecraft Movie (2025) Film Review

A mysterious portal pulls four misfits into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they’ll have to master the terrain while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected crafter named Steve.

Minecraft is directed by Jared Hess director of Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Nacho Libre (2006), Gentlemen Broncos (2009), Don Verdean (2015), Masterminds (2016) and Thelma The Unicorn (2024). Minecraft is based on the 2011 video game of the same name.

Minecraft is the type of move that truly has to be seen to be believed, it’s a terrible movie yes but there are points where I have to give some credit to Jack Black and Jason Momoa for absolutely not caring and deciding to act completely insane. It reaches “so bad it’s hilarious” territory which did get a few laughs out of me. Having that said this is still a mess of a movie that mostly falls flat on its face.

As I said earlier, Jack Black and Jason Momoa give completely insane performances that really makes you wonder “what on earth are they doing?” I’m not even sure if they know either to be quite honest. It’s going to vary from person to person whether these performances are annoying or they are so bad they are hilarious. Jack Black explaining the basics about Minecraft and announcing it like he made a new discovery is completely unserious it’s almost baffling. Unfortunately everyone else is given very little to do, Emma Myers and Danielle Brooks who don’t actually give terrible performances are given so little to do they may as well have not been in the movie at all. Sebastian Hansen fairs a bit better in the relevant to the script department but his character also does not leave a lasting impression. Jennifer Coolidge is in this for some reason and is mostly regulated to a gag where she likes a Minecraft villager…the less I say about that the better.

The writing is not only terrible but chaotic and not in a good fun way, rather than exploring some creative points of the Minecraft world or trying to explore what makes this world so interesting. We instead get a lot of shouting from Steve (played by Jack Black) explaining very basic rules of the world with none of it being interesting. One moment that has quickly become a meme online is when he says “Chicken Jockey” and you know what? That moment in particular really sums up this whole movie, it’s loud, obnoxious and has no sense of thought. I hate using the term but this is the prime example of brainrot at it’s worse. It’s nothing but easter eggs constantly thrown at the viewer, which might be fine enough for some fans. But for others who are looking for an actual story you are straight out of luck.

The CGI is also unappealing to look at, it takes so much away from what made Minecraft so interesting. It’s supposed to be a world where you feel creative as well as being…well you know fun? Here it all feels very corporate like this was a bunch of business executives idea of what Minecraft looks like, the world looks inconsistent and none of it gives off this creative atmosphere. It’s a complete and total mess that does not result in anything visually appealing, this does not want to make the viewer explore this world at all.

The closest thing we get about creativity in this movie is how creativity defeating evil, it’s a half-hearted message that ultimately does not really mean anything especially when you take a look at the rest of the movie and how lifeless it truly is.

Overall Minecraft is a terrible movie, it might please some younger fans but for everyone else this is an endurance test to sit through.

Minecraft is available on all VOD platforms.

2/10 F

Clown In A Cornfield (2025) Film Review

Looking for a fresh start, Quinn and her father move to the quiet town of Kettle Springs. They soon learn the fractured community has fallen on hard times after losing a treasured factory to a fire. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning clown emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time.

Clown In A Cornfield is directed by Eli Craig director of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010) and Little Evil (2017)

Clown In A Cornfield is a slasher film that starts out how you would expect the traditional slasher to but then the film takes a turn that makes it standout quite well. Combine that with some fun kills, solid acting and some darkly comedic writing and you have yourself a very fun film.

The performances are all around solid, Katie Douglas is definitely the standout of the main cast. She nails the part of this new girl in a new town, she’s charming and connects well with the rest of the cast. Some of the character development of Quinn (played by Katie Douglas) comes off as genuine and the interactions she has with her father Dr. Glenn Maybrook do end up being meaningful. Kevin Durand is also quite great here, he plays his part well even if he’s not in the film all that much.

The writing is darkly comedic which I was honestly not expecting. There were moments here where I bursted out laughing, I do like that the film did not heavily rely on being meta to be funny. Often times being way too meta can easily backfire, but here it was a nice mix of meta humor and other types of humor to keep things interesting.

The film has this dark yet comedic atmosphere that almost feels like the classic horror comedy feel, there is also some Goosebumps DNA and I mean that in a good way. The film is able to play off a ton of silly moments in this dramatic way which in turn makes said moments even more hilarious, it’s not exactly reinventing the wheel by doing this as other films have done this and admittedly better. However Clown In A Cornfield has the charm to back it up which gives the film the energy it needs to execute its comedic tone well.

As I said before the first bit of the film is a very traditional slasher film which the film does a great job at. The rest of the film turns the story on its head and goes for some pretty neat ideas that are actually executed quite well. There definitely could have been room for a bit more development in some areas however with how the film pushes the story at a nice pace and does not overstay its welcome it mostly works wonderfully.

Overall the charm of Clown In A Cornfield is what pushes it to the finish line, the film is not going reinvent the slasher genre even with its third act. Having that said it’s an incredibly fun film that any fan of the slasher genre will love.

Clown In A Cornfield is currently in theaters.

8/10 B+