This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows a scene from "Final Destination Bloodlines." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

It’s been over a decade since the “Final Destination” series last hit the big screen.

After five films it felt like the series about cheating death and facing the consequences in gruesome fashion had run its course. That is until now, with the arrival of “Final Destination: Bloodlines.”

This is a film that hits multiple goals – serving as both a reboot and an enhancement on the lore of the previous entries. “Bloodlines” comes at the audience in rather creative ways, adding a spin to what has come before it while setting the table for any future incarnations.

“Bloodlines” begins with a flashback to the late 1960s. A young couple Iris (Brec Bassinger) and Paul (Max-Lloyd Jones) are on a date to the grand opening of a CN Tower, Space Needle-like structure known as the Skyview Restaurant Tower.

The lovely night out turns deadly as a series of chain reactions that causes hundreds of people to die horribly as the tower collapses. As Iris is about to be one of the last people to die, the film cuts to present day with her granddaughter Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) having trouble sleeping because she keeps having the same recurring nightmare of the tower collapsing.

Stefani sets out to find her grandmother and see why she keeps having these visions. When she finds her, Iris (played in present day by Gabrielle Rose) is in seclusion, spending her days trying to prevent Death from coming for her.

It turns out Iris’ vision prevented the deaths of all of those people, but they have all met their demise since in gruesome fashion, with their offsprings, who in theory should have never been born, suffering the same fate.

Stefani realizes that Death is now coming for everyone in her family.

Part of the charm, if you want to call it that, of the “Final Destination” films is how Death has become this invisible entity that picks off its targets like a Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees, albeit in creative mousetrap-like set pieces.

“Bloodlines” brings that to the table with a few elaborate set pieces that blend humor with bloodshed. The best is the initial setup, one that is not for anyone who has any fear of heights. (It’s the one time I would suggest avoiding seeing it in IMAX because even in a standard print it still nearly gave me vertigo). It’s a sequence that may be among the best in the franchise, perfectly captured by co-directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein.

Fans of the series will appreciate the familiar beats and tropes, but “Bloodlines” is smart enough that it can stand on its own – the kind of film where you don’t need to see the previous five to understand or appreciate what is going on.

The craftsmanship and original spin is enough to give this franchise a much needed boost, but the film has one more ace up its sleeve in the final film appearance of the late Tony Todd. A staple of the franchise with appearances in four of the previous five films, Todd’s appearance doesn’t just tie this together with the other films neatly, it also gives the long time horror icon one final mic drop – a final scene on the big screen that is the perfect sendoff not just for the character, but the actor’s career.

Maybe that’s why “Bloodlines” works so well, because it is a film that respects its past while looking ahead to the possibilities with likely future installments.

If You Go
“Final Destination: Bloodlines”
Starring: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones
Directed by: Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein
Rating: Rated R for strong violent/grisly accidents, and language.
Playing at: Regal Bowling Green Stadium 12, Regal Greenwood Mall Stadium 10, Highland Cinemas (Glasgow)
Grade: B