The newest chapter of the bloody successful franchise takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice in Final Destination: Bloodlines. Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.
As the horror franchise returns to cinemas for this first time in 14 years, Nick L’Barrow spoke with the films cast, including Kaitlyn Satna Juana, Rya Kihlstedt, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Anna Lore about building the family bond of the characters, and whether they skip ahead reading the script to see if their characters make it out alive!
Nick: It’s such a pleasure to meet you all! It’s kind of great that I’m talking with you all on Mother’s Day, because this is one of the only Final Destination films that I felt really homed in on the family connections between the characters, rather than just the random group of people. I’m curious to know how you all discovered that familial bond with each other, and how that works to help the audience actually get invested into characters who are most likely going to die?
Owen Patrick Joyner: I thought it was a smart gamble! It’s something different, and new. I don’t know how much of that idea was attributed to Jon Watts, who wrote the original treatment, but I really trusted where these guys were going with this story and these characters.
Anna Lore: We did so many rehearsals as a family unit, like improv rehearsals where we could just build those relationships. They took it really seriously, which sometimes as an actor is rare to get in a movie. I think that attributes to a lot of the heart in the film. Richard [Harmon] and I would share earbuds with music all the time, and he just felt like a real brother.
Rya Kihlstedt: I think that’s the magic of this film. That’s the core. The stakes are just that much higher. I think the fun of the other films is that you’re cheering for death. And this time you’re actually kind of cheering for the family.
Kaitlyn Santa Juana: That’s something that drew me to the script so much, because when I was reading it, I was like, “Oh no, this can’t happen right now. I just want a few more minutes with these guys! Just give them a chance!”
Nick: Speaking of the script – it’s no surprise that when you come to a Final Destination film, you’re going to have a lot of characters die! When you first got a script, did you rush through it to actually see if and how your characters die?
Rya Kihlstedt: Well, we we’re actually all relieved to discover that not one of us die…
Richard Harmon: It was funny to try and see how long we would make it in the film, and then I was shocked to realise that I make it the whole way through!
Teo Briones: Wait, what script did you guys read?
Rya Kihlstedt: Yes, I read ahead to see how I was going to die! For sure!
Anna Lore: When I was reading it, and I was in the 60s setting of the beginning for so long, I was lost! I was like, “Wasn’t my audition for someone in modern day?” [laughs]
Owen Patrick Joyner: I went for the slow burn. I took it one page at time.
Kaitlyn Santa Juana: I was so fully invested in the story as a fan first. I wish that we could give people these scripts to read, just to show you guys how detailed these sequences are! It’s like two pages long of just description. Every little detail and aspect!
Teo Briones: So many of the sequences play out in the film exactly like they did when I read the script. They had such a precise and unique vision for how they wanted this movie to feel and look.
Nick: Does being in Final Destination: Bloodlines exacerbate any fears you had about the idea that literally anything and everything is trying to kill you, all the time?
Owen Patrick Joyner: It actually helped my fear because I realised that death doesn’t have like 60 crew members helping pull it all off [laughs]. Death’s not getting me, they don’t have the special effects. Before I filmed this, the trauma was way worse!
Anna Lore: I’ve always felt like anything can kill me! So, no change.
Richard Harmon: I have immeasurable confidence in my durability…
Anna Lore: That’s what we like to say! Richard Harmon is durable!
Owen Patrick Joyner: Yeah, he’s actually got that tattooed on him.
Richard Harmon: Yeah, right across my lower back. And I scream at Death, “What are you going to do, coward?”
Rya Kihlstedt: I mean, I don’t put a knife in the toaster anymore…
Kaitlyn Santa Juana: Oh, my God! I used to do that as a child. My grandma used to tell me off for it all the time.
Teo Briones: We actually learned earlier too that two to three people are year are injured by vending machines! So, anything can happen!
Thank you so much to the cast of Final Destination: Bloodlines for their time, and to Warner Bros. Pictures for organising the interview. Final Destination: Bloodlines is in cinemas May 15.
