#avalon talks

I watched the movie in theaters three times and I loved it all three times. I had high hopes for this movie and all of my expectations were exceeded. I highly recommend watching this movie especially if you're a fan of the franchise because it sorta expands on the lore. Personally, I think that it's one of the best movies in the franchise. I don't say that lightly because all of the films except the fourth film are fantastic and entertaining. My favorite movie of the franchise is Final Destination 3 because I vividly remember watching it in theaters and it messed me up for a bit. I'm talking about having nightmares about dying on a rollercoaster, but this post isn't about that movie. This post is about Final Destination Bloodlines so let's get into it.

For starters, I love that it focuses on a family trying to cheat death because it's always been a group of friends or strangers. I feel as if it being a family made the stakes higher. I can't imagine how awful it would be to have to watch your family members die in gruesome ways and more than likely you can't save them.

I really love that the main character was played by Kaitlyn Santa Juana who is a woman of color. I think that the franchise should have more people of color as the main character. I also enjoyed Teo Briones as Charlie because it was awesome to see him in another project since I haven't seen him in anything since the Chucky TV series.

Everyone's acting was great and I applaud everyone involved because there wasn't a single bad performance. I want to single out Richard Harmon because he was the standout for me. I haven't seen any of his prior work, but I'm going to start watching The 100 soon.

Another thought is that the characters are written in a way that you grow to truly care about them, therefore, you're left devastated when they die. I know that my favorite characters are Erik and Bobby. I love Erik because of his smartass personality, but also because he geniunely loved and cared about Bobby. Speaking of Bobby, he was so freaking precious with his little graphic tees and his pet Paco. I wanted him to survive so badly especially since he was willing to temporarily sacrifice himself to save the remaining family members. Given what the movies are about I knew that more than likely no one was going to survive. However, I was still heartbroken when both Bobby and Erik met their fates especially since it felt very malicious and the buildup was fantastic. I must say that I might favor the Campbell siblings over the Reyes siblings. I simply enjoyed the dynamic between Erik and Bobby more than the dynamic between Stefani and Charlie. As you may have noticed, I left out Julia because she's the one character that didn't have much development. She didn't feel very important to the story. I will say that if you do take the time to watch her in the background, you will see that she was helping Bobby look for Paco and she was concerned when she found out that Erik had been involved in the fire at the tattoo parlor and she did tell Stefani that she loves her, but hates her sometimes. You also learn that Julia and Stefani used to be best friends before Stefani left for college and basically cut ties with everyone. I do wish that Julia could have gotten a bit more focus and development. I also really loved Howard because the character was so sweet, loving, and understanding. He was great in the little bit of screentime he had.

All of the kills were so creative and fun. I know that everyone loves the MRI one and I wholeheartedly agree that it's the best one in the movie. It might even be the best kill in the entire franchise. I also know that some people didn't like the ending disaster because it involved a train and logs like Final Destination 3 and Final Destination 2 respectively. However, I'm not one of those people because I quite enjoyed it. I think that it was a nice way to pay homage to those two movies. I also love that the penny that initially caused the tower collapse came right back around and ultimately caused the death of the final two remaining descendants of the tower collapse visionary.

Speaking of the tower collapse, this disaster is definitely in my top three favorites alongside the rollercoaster and car pile up. I love how the entire disaster was started by an annoying kid with a penny. The buildup to the disaster was very suspenseful and left me feeling so anxious, even though I knew what was coming. I also enjoyed all the kills that happened in the tower like the one man and the elevator or the annoying kid and the piano. I really loved the degloving scene when Iris was trying to save a young Bludworth. It's literally my worst fear whenever I'm wearing rings. I think that Brec Bassinger was fantastic in the small amount of screentime that she got as young Iris. I would have happily watched a movie focused solely on a young Iris that was learning how to avoid death. I do wish that we had learned what exactly happened to Paul to cause his death because it's mentioned briefly that it was an accident of some sorts. Speaking of Paul, he was such a great character because it was so sweet how much he loved Iris. I would have loved to see more of their story. Anyways, this disaster has solidified the fact that I'm not going anywhere near a tower that has a glass floor. I'm not about to play with my life like that.

Finally, I love more than anything that Tony Todd was able to reprise his role as William Bludworth. It was heartbreaking to see how sick and skinny he was. I did love that he was able to come back to the franchise one last time and he had a chance to say goodbye to the fans. Speaking of that, I loved his speech about how life is precious and you should make the most of the time that you have. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried and I still think about the speech to this day. I also loved how we finally learned that Bludworth was a survivor of the tower collapse and that's why he seemed to know a good amount of information about death yet never tried to intervene with the other survivors. I do wish that we could have seen more of the friendship between Iris and Bludworth because it would have been interesting to see them figuring out how to cheat death over the years.

8: what is your biggest challenge?

Probably making each POV different. Sometimes it’s hard to get into another characters head after being in another one of them for so long.

9: how would you describe your writing style?

I have no idea lol maybe similar to Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and the Lunar Chronicles? Obviously not that good though

16: what would your characters be for Halloween?

(i love this question!) Cass (boy) would probably be a zombie

Kodah (girl) would probably just throw on cat ears and call it a costume.

Jack would get SUPER into it. Probably dressing up as some nerdy thing like Indiana Jones or Spider-man.

David would NOT be into it, but he would dress up anyway to impress Liz. He’d do something easy though. Throw on a utility belt and tell people he’s a monster hunter sort of costume.

Liz would be something cute, probably a group costume with Jack (Her best friend) like if he were Indiana Jones, she’d be Short Round. If he was Spider-man she’d be White Tiger or Jean Grey.

Wendy would forget that it was Halloween entirely. But Jack, being an amazing boyfriend, would have a backup costume for her. He’d have her be the same thing he is so he can show her how to be in character.

20: Post a brief excerpt. 

This is the first couple paragraphs, from Jack’s POV.

I wake up in a cold sweat for the fourth time this week. Bits of my recurring nightmare still flashing in front of my eyes like an old movie reel. My heart is still pounding in my chest regardless of the fact that I’ve been awake for ten minutes now, just laying in bed staring up at the dark ceiling. Sighing, I slap my hands over my eyes and rub them with my palms. I’ve been having the same nightmare every night for almost a week now. The same cold air, the same car, the same grey blur that leaps on the hood, and the same scream, Liz’s scream, as the car rolls over.

I tilt my head to the side, reaching out with one hand to grab my phone. 4:00 am I have to wake up in three hours for school. I groan and toss my phone back onto the nightstand. As I close my eyes all I can picture is the car as it’s finally stopped rolling. Glass is sprinkled all over the ground from the shattered windshield. It’s almost dark outside and judging by the urgency in Liz’s voice as she calls for me, that’s not a good thing. The driver falls out of their seat and fumbles out of the car, only to let out a scream and collapse. 

This was the last time I saw your eyes and heard your voice. Just a few hours later I was giving you CPR and talking to 911.

But never for a minute do I forget that I am full of love. Love I give, love I receive, and love that I see.